Stereo & Electronics - Issue with Brake Lights and Running Lights,They Will Not Work

Hi everyone,

I have been reading through threads for 2 days here looking for an answer but I am stumped.

Problem with 98 Firebird Formula:
Brake lights (all 3), fog lights, Hazard lights, Partial Dash gauge and running lights not working. Also, when the headlights are turned from on to just parking lights, the lamps close. They should stay up I believe in case you need to swap out headlights.

Here is what does work: Headlights, Reverse Lights, Turn signals left and right. Lights will blink when the unlock button is pressed.

What we have tried so far: We have access to a 99 Trans Am so have been switching some parts around and checked all the fuses....twice. have swapped out the brake switch and headlight switch for the working one in the TA. Nothing seems to make a difference at all. I put a meter on the orange wire (on the plug) coming into the brake switch and its reading power. When I jumped a wire from the orange wire to the light greening wire, should the lights come on? They do not. I'm not really sure how the power is run through the car.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Is there a certain place to test for power to see where the hiccup is? Is there a place to jump power?

Thanks!

Chris

How long have you had the car? Did you get it "new" like this?

You are describing multiple unrelated problems, so a lot of them are going to need to be dealt with separately.

My first guess is that you have
- Brake lights - first check the harness connector just inside the car behind the hatch carpet. The brake light signal goes through here and then splits out to the bulbs in the rear harness.
- Hazards - I'd start with the flasher.
- Gauges and dash - light bulbs.
- Running lights - what is a "running light?" Are you talking about the DRL's, the parking lights?

Hi,
We have had the car since it was new. Just took it in the other day to get some new tires. Would that cause anything? ABS wire cause all this?

Flasher works because the turn signals work fine. Harness checked, no power there. Sorry, running lights I meant parking lights.

Ugh...this is frustrating.:confused:

Hi,
We have had the car since it was new. Just took it in the other day to get some new tires. Would that cause anything? ABS wire cause all this?

So you took it to get tires and then all this stuff was messed up afterwards? If so, I'll bet some of this stuff was happening before and you didn't notice it. Or maybe they Ferris Bueler'ed your car and drove it through an electrical storm? (I know for a fact that the tires on my car are not connected to the electrical systems. :) )


Flasher works because the turn signals work fine.

Nope. There are two flashers. One for the turns and one for the hazards. It has to be this way because they are different - the hazard flasher has to light up twice the bulbs and handle double the power.


Harness checked, no power there.

If you aren't getting power to the rear harness and your brake switch is good, you'll want to test the turn signal switch. That would be the next likely culprit. The power for the brake lights go from the brake switch through the turn signal switch and then on to the back. Does your Libby Light (3rd light on the hatch) come on when you press the brakes?


Sorry, running lights I meant parking lights.

You should test the headlight switch to see if its working properly. This could also be why your headlight doors are misbehaving.


Ugh...this is frustrating.http://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:ls1tech.com/get/forums/images/smilies2/icon_confused.gif

This is why automotive electricians make $300 an hour. :)