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1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

Brake Light Issues

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Old May 8, 2023 | 08:20 PM
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Brake Light Issues

Hey everyone I'm having a rather confusing issue with my brake lights. For context I recently switched them to LEDs but I don't think that's the source of the issue. They work fine until the headlights are turned on, then they are constantly at the brightness they should be for braking (meaning they aren't dim like running lights) then when I press the clutch pedal even slightly they go to the brightness they should be (meaning taillight brightness). So when the clutch pedal is depressed they operated normally taillights, brake lights and turn signals. All three different brightness levels. When the clutch pedal isn't depressed it goes from brake light brightness to a hint brighter when the brake pedal is pressed.

I might be wording this poorly but, any help is appreciated! Let me know if you all have any questions.
 
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Old May 8, 2023 | 08:51 PM
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Originally Posted by jmill83
I recently switched them to LEDs but I don't think that's the source of the issue.
My very first thought is to switch back to incandescent bulbs and see if the problem resolves itself. If so, your new LED bulbs are the problem, not the truck.

If the system misbehaves with incandescent bulbs, here's a troubleshooting guide for you:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ing-guide.html


Originally Posted by jmill83
Let me know if you all have any questions.
Where do babies come from?
 
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Old May 9, 2023 | 07:43 PM
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Weird problems like that are usually caused by grounding problems. If you have a long piece of scrap wire laying around, hook one end to the battery negative and hook the other end to the ground wire on one of the offending lights in the back. If it starts working normally, you know you have a grounding problem. If you suspect the socket ground is bad, you can take the scrap ground wire and touch the copper ends to the edge of the bulb when its in the socket. The metal part of the bulb is the ground of the bulb.
 
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