brake lights not working

WoodrowStar · Post by **WoodrowStar** » 09 Apr 2010, 21:17

greetings, brake lights not working on a 1995 850 turbo sedan. fuses are fine, other light fuctions are fine. thanku.

bright · Post by **bright** » 09 Apr 2010, 23:41

OK, let's go over the fuses again. I'm not being condescending, but I've had a weird problems and it turned out to be just that.

I was in a McDonald's drive thru, and the law of karma came to me. The car's brake lights would not come on at first, and then would weakly light after a couple of seconds. I was lucky, as I had the drive through guy warn me, and I had a chance to fix it. Cops were out in force and they were writing tickets as fast as they could. It was a net positive for me.

I looked at the fuses. They all seemed fine. I always carry extra bulbs and fuses, but the ones installed were OK. I went back to the fuse and it did look OK. I figured I was out nothing to slip in an extra fuse. And that was that.

Honestly, it could of been years of corrosion or vibration or humidity or just bad/good luck. I've had some of the most bizarre problems known to mechanic kind over the years. I was grateful this one was simple, and I triple checked before I began the detailed analysis.

Change the fuses, more than once, and see what happens then. Get back to us afterwards and let us know if that was it or not.

WoodrowStar · Post by **WoodrowStar** » 10 Apr 2010, 09:06

ok thanks, ill try the fuse replacement.

Post by **jblackburn** » 10 Apr 2010, 15:52

Brake light switch! Common failure item on all cars, it's just under the dash kickplate. There's one Torx screw just below the steering wheel, after that it will pull directly out and you can access the brake switch. You may be able to just adjust it, unless it has broken entirely.

bright · Post by **bright** » 10 Apr 2010, 17:18

That's a good point. I'm going to get an extra brake light switch too.

I always carry an excess of parts and tools. It seems like they always come in handy. The most recent weird thing was that the windshield wiper nut came undone and the wiper arm jumped off of it's spindle. Poring rain, and it behaved like the washer transmission had begun the death spiral. Turns out just needed to tighten the nut.

Things I carry:
For a road trip
Complete full size wheel (tire plus rim)
electric air pump
tire plugs (which ruin a tire, but it doesn't matter if you are in the middle of nowhere and need to limp to help)
3/4 of tool kit
extra cooling hoses
thermostat
dielectric grease
Gorilla duct tape
extra electric harness for common parts
tools to remove door panels and allow windows to be manually raised
simple splicers
extra coolant & distilled water
radiator/coolant cap
oil (engine and power steering)
extra hydraulic hoses and adaptors
clamps (usually worm)
wiper blades

around town
1/4 tool kit
Gorilla Tape
Electric air compressor
distilled water
extra radiator/coolant cap
all external bulbs, most internal bulbs
wiper blade

These are things that experience has taught me will and can go wrong. I've lost window power, window transmissions, hoses, radiator coolant systems, a/c, removed from dashes to wrestle with vacuum leaks, tire leaks, loose power steering hoses. You name it, it's probably happened to me. And I've been pulled over for it.

WoodrowStar · Post by **WoodrowStar** » 27 Apr 2010, 18:58

it was the brake switch under the dash....worked fine after adjustment..thanks to all who replied

bright · Post by **bright** » 27 Apr 2010, 20:16

Thank you for the update. It's always appreciated. Good Luck.

Post by **cn90** » 27 Apr 2010, 20:39

At that age, a new brake light SWITCH is a good idea.
Very easy to replace.

Bevs850 · Post by **Bevs850** » 26 Sep 2016, 11:57

Just wanted to give a huge "thank you" to everyone for their help! I'm a 51 year old female with a 21 year old 850 that didn't have any brake lights, but had all others (you know the problem). After researching MVS, I tried swapping fuses first, then took the switch on the brake pedal apart. I cleaned it up, sprayed it with electrical component cleaner w lubricant, let it dry thoroughly, and snapped it back in to place (probably adjusting it in the process, too).

I now have functioning upper and lower brake lights and I'm ready for another 137,000! Thank you to everyone who contributes and Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Post by **abscate** » 27 Sep 2016, 17:54

Bevs850 wrote:Just wanted to give a huge "thank you" to everyone for their help! I'm a 51 year old female with a 21 year old 850 that didn't have any brake lights, but had all others (you know the problem). After researching MVS, I tried swapping fuses first, then took the switch on the brake pedal apart. I cleaned it up, sprayed it with electrical component cleaner w lubricant, let it dry thoroughly, and snapped it back in to place (probably adjusting it in the process, too).

I now have functioning upper and lower brake lights and I'm ready for another 137,000! Thank you to everyone who contributes and Thank you for sharing your knowledge!

Thanks for sharing that and welcome to MVS. We take that extra effort to be both beginner and female friendly on MVS which is a refreshing change