Hi all,

Hopefully someone will be able to help me with next steps on this one.

I have a Motorhome on a 97 Ford Econoline E-350. I recently noticed the brake lights have stopped working.

Things I have checked so far include.

- Hazard lights (working) same filament as brakes AFAIK??

- Indicator lights (working)

- Fuses are good

- I can shift the unit out of park so I'm assuming the BOO (brake position) switch is good

-I have tested successfully for 12v on the harness side Green with Red stripe wire to the BOO switch

-I have tried a jumper wire between green/red & green wire on BOO harness, the brake lights did not come on. (again unlikely it's the BOO switch as this bypasses it)

- I left the BOO switch harness disconnected, started the van and tried to shift out of park, I couldn't, but after reconnecting, I could again shift out of park. Again this tells me the BOO switch is fine as it is used both for the Trasmission lock and the brake lights. It also tells me there probably isn't a short between the harness and what ever controls the transmission lock (and you would assume brake lights)

Given the Hazards still work (I'm told the use the same filiament), that eliminates the wire out to the lights and the bulbs..... So I'm stumped now.. Any idea's what to check next. I read something about a multi function switch which I think everything runs through to control the indicators, brakes etc.. Is it possible this is broken? Where is this / how can I check.

Thanks,

Brad

 

What about taillights (from headlights on)?

Did you check the actual bulbs?

 

Yes, tail lights are fine, I checked the bulbs, they appear fine. Also there are two filaments in each bulb, one for the tail lights, the other for brake / indications / emergency lights.

Since the indicators / emergencies lights work fine (and use the same filament as brakes), I hope can assume the bulbs are fine.

I need to find out more about the location of this multi purpose switch.

Brad

 

this multi-purpose switch you speak of is also known as the turn signal switch, and is your most likely problem.
the only other possible cause of your problem i can think of would be bad grounds at the taillights. bad grounds cause weird things including what you have. pretty simple to test.

 

To get at the turn signal switch do I have to remove the trim from the top of the drive shaft? I assume the switch is physically part of the actually indicator/signal/wipers lever?

Thanks.