Vinsanity
Member
So the car will be completely off with switch off and one side of the tail lights stay on.. is it the cam signal that needs to be replaced or harness..
Taillights stays on while car is off
- Thread starter Vinsanity
- Start date
300rag
It's Not Going to Shift Itself
Because the ignition is off, the power source is coming from your brake light switch. Check for a defective switch first.
Simple test for this, you probably have the turn switch engaged, place it in the parked position and both brake lights will probably stay on assuming they both work, sure sign of a stuck brake light switch.
Dave
Vinsanity
Member
Will do. I bought the cam signal just in case..
Vinsanity
Member
Where will the brake light switch be..
300rag
It's Not Going to Shift Itself
On a bracket above your pedal.
Vinsanity
Member
Ok will look at it when I get off work
Vinsanity
Member
300rag
It's Not Going to Shift Itself
Can you pull the pedal back towards you at all? If so, you need to pull it back and see if the lights go out while you do. The switch is either out of adjustment or stuck in the on position.
Vinsanity
Member
Will try in a few but I was looking for the brake line switch couldn’t find it
300rag
It's Not Going to Shift Itself
Vinsanity
Member
Ok will look into it.. could this be the cause of my battery draining all the dang time
Battery drain can be involved or can be caused by a completely different issue. If the brake light switch is not the cause of that, look for a plunger-style switch for the trunk light, if it has a trunk light. It should be on a piece of metal at one of the front corners or the trunk opening.
Otherwise, a bad diode in the alternator, letting current flow backwards to ground with the engine off.
CBODY67
Otherwise, a bad diode in the alternator, letting current flow backwards to ground with the engine off.
CBODY67
PurpleBeeper
Member
Here's my 2-cents. The brake light switch, above the brake pedal, which will contact the "arm" of the brake pedal is most likely your problem like 300rag said. It's usually white, about 2" long and "way up in there" on a bracket near the brake pedal "arm" with 2 or 3 wires running to it. It is almost for sure the reason your battery keeps going dead.
The switch is a button which gets pushed by the brake pedal arm. The button is always being pushed when your foot is not on the brake pedal & your brake lights stay off. When you push the brake pedal, the pedal's "arm" moves & releases the button, which turns on the brake lights.
Most likely fix --> Adjust the brake switch. You will see that the brake switch itself is threaded & held onto its bracket with a cheap looking aluminum nut. If you loosen that cheap nut, you can adjust the brake light switch forward/backward as needed, then re-tighten the nut. You want to brake switch button to "almost be released" so that the brake lights will come on even if you just tap the brakes. HOPE THIS HELPS!
If the brake switch is properly adjusted and the problem persists, the master cylinder may be hanging up a bit and not releasing all the way which might make the switch still be in the on position. This happened to me
LocuMob
Fluid Technician with a hat
Get that taillight fixed on the driver's side, so you won't get pulled over and have to explain all the things that are wrong on your car.
Brake light switch, up under the dash way up there. Use a flashlight and follow the brake pedal from the pad up till you see it, cheap looking little thing. Start there and worry about the brake lights going off when they should. Worry about the power drainage after the lights are fixed.
Brake light switch, up under the dash way up there. Use a flashlight and follow the brake pedal from the pad up till you see it, cheap looking little thing. Start there and worry about the brake lights going off when they should. Worry about the power drainage after the lights are fixed.
Gerald Morris
Senior Member
That mechanical brake light switch down by the pedal is more trouble than its worth to fix or replace, with one of the same sort. I REMOVED MINE, got a hydraulic switch, attached it to the master cylinder at an unused port, and my brake lights behave very nicely, until the hydraulic switch fails. Found a better grade one now. ($10 @ Oh Really)
Any way you dice and slice this matter, its MUCH easier to replace a hydraulic switch than to contort ones aging skeleton and diddle with a mechanical switch while standing on one's head, which is exactly what I did while foolishly stuck on the mechanical switch paradigm.
That circuit also feeds the map light, and other odd lights. Shows some sloppy electrical thinking when the old Mopar engineers designed this.
Any way you dice and slice this matter, its MUCH easier to replace a hydraulic switch than to contort ones aging skeleton and diddle with a mechanical switch while standing on one's head, which is exactly what I did while foolishly stuck on the mechanical switch paradigm.
That circuit also feeds the map light, and other odd lights. Shows some sloppy electrical thinking when the old Mopar engineers designed this.
LocuMob
Fluid Technician with a hat
Replacing th switch is easy, only takes a few minutes, even if it is kind of goofy to get at. No need to make it more than it is, it's just a simple switch.
As for the wiring, how many circuts did old cars have vs today's computer everything vehicles? They also had drum brakes, and non-collapsing steering columns. We've come a long ways in 50+ years.
Gerald Morris
Senior Member
I think I have 6 primary circuits protected at the fuse box. Yes, the old stuff WAS simple! I like them for that. Yes, its just a simple switch, but a bit of a pain to adjust just so. I did it for the first year I had Tilly, got tired of it occasionally coming loose a wee bit, and got the setup I now have, which is still mighty simple.
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