Brake lights out

[somewhereinthecity]

Hi guys (and gals):

My brake lights on my 73 Chrysler T&C work intermittently. They were fine yesterday, but are not working today. What are most likely causes? Kind of thinking there must be an actuator on the pedal assembly --at least this is how it works on my Dart... -- but it was too dark when I got home from work to investigate farther. If not the actuator, what else could be a likely cause? Bulbs are fine -- high voltage filaments work fine with turn signals.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[65sporty]

I would start by checking the brake light switch at the pedal. Do you have a wiring diagram? One wire will have power and one will get power when the pedal is depressed.

 

[CBODY67]

What about the turn signals? Will they flash with the brake pedal depressed fully? Just curious.

CBODY67

 

[somewhereinthecity]

What about the turn signals? Will they flash with the brake pedal depressed fully? Just curious.

CBODY67

Yes, they do flash with the pedal down.

 

[CBODY67]

Yes, they do flash with the pedal down.

Thanks for the reply. Stop and Turn signals are on the same filament of the bulb. That would indicate the basic wiring to the bulb still works. Head toward what puts the voltage to that circuit for the brake light function. Either the turn signal switch or the brake light switch can activate that circuit. With the turn signals working, that winnows-down the possibilities.

The stop light switch is an adjustable item at its mounting bracket. Although unlikely, it might just need to be re-adjusted. You can adjust it to where it takes just a minor brake pedal movement to trigger the brake lights, or a much more significant pedal movement. If the car has Cruise Control, it should have 4 wires in multiple connectors going to it? See the factory service manual for correct adjustment.

CBODY67

 

[somewhereinthecity]

Thanks for the reply. Stop and Turn signals are on the same filament of the bulb. That would indicate the basic wiring to the bulb still works. Head toward what puts the voltage to that circuit for the brake light function. Either the turn signal switch or the brake light switch can activate that circuit. With the turn signals working, that winnows-down the possibilities.

The stop light switch is an adjustable item at its mounting bracket. Although unlikely, it might just need to be re-adjusted. You can adjust it to where it takes just a minor brake pedal movement to trigger the brake lights, or a much more significant pedal movement. If the car has Cruise Control, it should have 4 wires in multiple connectors going to it? See the factory service manual for correct adjustment.

CBODY67[/QU

 

[somewhereinthecity]

Yes, I think it's probably the switch -- or the cam that contacts it. In my old Scamp, it somehow got bent, and no longer contacted the switch. This must be off just a hair for it to work sometimes but not others. It's a safety issue, so I want to get this fixed stat!