I drive a '99 Ranger and post here from time to time, but my wife's 2001 Windstar has a brakelight problem. She drove to work and parked and went inside. Later someone came and told her the tail lights were on. She went out and found the light switch wasn't on but the lights were. She started it up, moved to another parking spot and got out to see no tail lights on. After work the battery was dead and it's a new one. Can brake lights stick on? Can they come on after the car's been parked?

 

I guess anything is possible but I wouldn't expect the two bulbs for the brake lights would drain a new battery in just a few hours. There might be more to this like a short, why do you have a new battery in a 2001?

 

A failing/failed power brake booster can keep the brake pedal from returning and thus keep the lights on. The next time it happens, try to pull the brake pedal up from the floor with your foot. The only other thing I can think of would be a brake switch that is out of adjustment and, in a very unlikely case, a bad brake light switch.

 

I too wonder why you have had to replace the battery in a 2001 vehicle.

If the above good suggestions don't pan out, consider the following.

If you don't have anything obviously on, includuing any aftermarket equipment thats been added & if this just suddenly began, I might suspect something like a leaky or shorted alternator regulator diode, or perhaps something out of sight, like a stuck glove box or underhood courtesy light, or even a bad/shorted battery cell, I've seen faulty new things right out of the box, every thing is suspect until proven otherwise.

So, why not run that puppy by your favorite autoparts store, like Advance Auto, AutoZone, ect & let them put their portable machine on the vehicle that load checks all the electrical system in the vehicle.

This equipment can check the battery for leaky/shorted cells, the alternator output under load & the regulator diodes for leakage, as well as any excess system electrical drain.

Then pulling fuses to each major electrical system can further isolate any stray elecrtical drain & help home in on the fault, as the drain would cease when the right fuse is pulled.

Hope these suggestions prove helpful in your quest for answers. Let us know what you find.