Hi,
I've looked through everything that I can find on the forum and online, but I have an issue where the brake lights do not work when the light switch is off. When the light switch is on parking/on/Automatic (and it's night) - all three brake lights stay on.

I pulled the brake switch electrical connection off and they still remain off (when the main lights are off).

I had replaced the bulbs with 7506s - they should be fine.

I changed the fuse with a 10a instead of 7.5 and it blew. (Autozone didn't have the 7.5 at the time - going to another one today for the right fuse.) Is that indicative of a short or will that happen if the wrong fuse is used?

Thanks in advance if there's anything that I missed....

 

Iderobertis, from the sounds of things, you have a brake light bulb that is not seated properly. What I would tell you to do is to pull the back plate off of both tail lights. You can then lay them in back of your car. At this point, remove all the bulbs associated with the brake lights. Also install a new fuse (preferrably a 7.5 amp fuse).

At this point, you will want to turn on your parking lights. You should see your running lights come on, but the 3rd brake light remain off. If your 3rd brake light comes on, then you will need to let me know and I will give you a few more checks to do). With the running lights on and the 3rd brake light off, start installing the brake light bulbs one at a time. Check the 3rd brake light between each install. If the 3rd brake light come on, you have an issue with either that bulb or the bulb socket. Remove the bulb and continue installing the other bulbs.

If you find that you only have a single bulb base that is the source of your problems, odds are you will need a new back plate to the tail lights (or a new taillight).

If you are still having issues, let me know and I will see what I can come up with for you.

 

I'm sorry about not replying sooner, but the weather was bad this weekend or else I would've been out as soon as I received a reply to the thread

I pulled everything and replaced the fuse - I did notice that one of the bulb bases had a "melty" look to it. I don't know why I didn't notice this before. I think I was too caught up in the issue being a bigger problem - or a ground issue or something else that would've run into a garage or dealer visit.

After new bulbs and the fuse, everything works again! I know it's probably a small victory, but I'll take it.

Thank you again for your help -

Lou

 

Lou, not a problem. You are not the first nor will you be the last with the bulb issue. Smile, make it a learning experience and go from there.