02 ford escape no brake light and shift problem
 

hello guys i have a 02 escape v6 3.0 and i have several problems that i cannot figure out. recently i have a very rough idle and a plugged cat so i changed the upper and lower gaskets and "fixed" the cat if you know what i mean :-X22and that fixed that but now i got other problems ive had since i bought the car at a wrecked car auction. here is a list lol

1. all brake lights dont work if i press the pedal
2. i cant get out of park without pressing the interlock manual release button.
3. i have a cel code and it says my brand new dpfe valve has high voltage.


1 issue: i looked at the fuses and they were blown, so i replaced them and they still dont work, checked the light bulbs and they are fine. i heard of a bad ground that can be causing it and that wire is under the battery tray and i cleaned it and that still didnt fix the issue. there is also a supposed fix and its that its a mis adjusted brake switch. how can i check mine/ adjust it?

2nd issue: i looked for a fuse for the shifter and i cant find one lol :( i heard i need to adjust something in the shift assembly and im wondering if someones can shed some light for me on that.

3rd issue: let me tell you the story, when the car was running fine one day it lost power to go uphill and long story short i blew up 3 egr valves and i got the car looked at by 3 people and they said it was a plugged cat so i took the cat out gutted it and put it back on because cats are expensive and i dont want to risk plugging it again with a new one so i got a new egr, new dpfe valve and got a used egr tube. now the car doesnt violently idle and shake the whole cab but i got a code which says its a high volt dpfe. idk whats wrong its a new dpfe valve from ford. i also looked up it could be a stuck open egr valve so i troubleshooted that by applying vaccumm to it and the car dies so that means it works. could the problem be because the gutted cat?

can some one help me? i would appreciate it thanks!

If the brake lights don't work as brake lights, but work as turn signal lights, there are two places they could be messed. The multi-function switch on the steering column and the brake light switch.
The brake light switch is co-located with the shift lock switch, and may even be the same switch.
I'd look at them first.
Check the color codes for your COP wires. It is easy to mess them up and get them out of order, causing misfire and poor running.
The DPFE reads pressure in the exhaust system. It produces a voltage proportional to the pressure, I believe. If your system is backed up, as in the 3rd cat is plugged, you'd have a high reading I think.
You can pull an O2 sensor to relieve pressure as a test, but not for running as hot exhaust gas will do tricks on the stuff under your hood.
tom