Not on my F250 or Excursion... but on my 17yo's "new to him" 2000 Nissan Frontier. Being a generic electrical issue, I'm just panning for ideas at the moment, and any of you guys who are sharper than me on the sparky thigns can probably help.

Initial Symptom.
When first purchased, his brake lights would not work even though his taillights would light up.

Problem discovered and fixed.
The PO had installed an add-a-fuse to supply power to his stereo (removed prior to selling to us), and when he removed the stereo, he placed the add-a-fuse in the wrong slot. Moved the add-a-fuse to the correct slot and viola... brakes lights work like a champ.

NEW Symptom.
Came home last night and noticed his brake lights on, and thought he must have just gotten back from going somewhere and had not got out of the truck. Later, he came in and told me that his brake lights would not go off at all.

Attempted Solutions Thus Far.
I had him pull the add-a-fuse completely out, and simply install a 15a fuse by itself into the correct slot. No luck. Lights would still not go off. He pulled the fuse and just left it out until we can find and fix the problem.

Suspicions.
I am suspecting that the issue may be with the brake light switch, and that it is probably located above the brake pedal. He will be investigating that himself today.

What other issues, if any, do you think we might be facing?

Thanks again for any and all input.

 

You guys are taking the logical path-checking the brake switch by disconnecting the switch will prove that the switch is or is not the problem. If you still have the same problem, look for any wiring that may have been altered by the previous owner. Could there be two uninsulated wires touching each other? Look for wiring that has been cut and re-spliced. If I was betting, the brake switch failure sure sounds like the most logical. Larry

 

I have very rarely seen the brake light switch fail in the on position. Was or is there an auto start installed in the vehicle? they tie into the brake lights as well. with the switch unplugged and lights are still on clean up all that wiring under the dash, and make sure nothing is back feeding on the light side. Happy Hunting Dave

 

My old 280z used to do that. It was the brake light switch.

 

Thanks for the input. We will chase the wiring details further as you all have suggested.

Regarding the truck... no auto start... it is simply a basic Desert Runner with manual seats, manual windows, but the air is literally freezing cold on it and it only has 100K miles which is pretty good for a 2000 year model.

There was a trailer ground wire spliced into the rear end wiring, but we removed that and taped up the uninsulated portion of the original ground wire just to clean that up a bit. We'll have to see how much "junk wiring" there is under the dash from the initial stereo modification, and clean up what remains unnecessary at this point.

Thanks again, guys.

 

My brother's Honda Civic had a failure which kept the brake lights on. The plastic spacer between the brake pedal and the switch cracked and fell out, causing the switch to stay on. I improvised a replacement from a nylon grommet.

 

Brake Lamp Switch. Either loose or broken.

 

I've never seen a brake lamp switch near the brake pedal. I've always seen them on the master cylinder. It's a pressure activated switch. When you apply the brakes, the pressure activates the switch, which provides a ground to the lights. The lights should have power at all times. So you could have a short to ground some where. Possibly the switch itself.

 

I have seen many electric switches on the pedal. Our trucks are like that. When the pedal is mashed, it removes psi off the normally closed switch and energizes the brake lights. I have seen some manufacturers use a rubber "titty" to soften the blow to that switch and have the rubber titty fall out thus leaving nothing to de-energize the switch when the pedal is released.

 

hmm. I'ma go look at at that. I haven't had any problems with my brake switch yet. That's probably why i haven't seen it.

 

The problem is confirmed to be "non-contact between the brake pedal and the switch". Either the switch has moved or something is missing between the two. I'm going to use my trusty dusty color borescope camera tonight to see what needs to be done.

 

FINAL UPDATE.

There is a rubber grommet "stopper" which snaps into a hole in the pedal frame and keeps the brake light switch depressed (off) unless the brake pedal is pushed. Ther eis also another switch which prevents the shifter from being moved out of Park unless the brake pedal is pushed.

Internet pricing for the OEM Nissan part is $4.12 each for the two rubber grommet stoppers.

Local dealer pricing for the exact same Nissan part is $13 each.

We found a push-pin type plastic trim connector at Lowes which fit perfectly and properly depresses the switch pin when the brake pedal is not engaged. Total cost $1.04 plus sales tax.

 

Sounds just like my brother's Civic. Glad you got it fixed without paying the Nissan stealership twelve dollars for a fifty cent piece of plastic.

 

dang ******* will get u every time

 

Pete, you and your son did well. You helped him and he also learned a valuable lesson on not taking the easy, expensive way to fix a problem. In fact, we all learned from your approach to think outside the box as they say. Congrats!