I removed the brake light switch doing some work, it was just dangling in the footwell, didnt realize that the moment it is unbolted the brake lights go on.

long story short, the car sat with the brake lights on long enough to drain the battery, i didnt go back into garage for a few days.

Put it back together, charged battery but now no brake lights.

could I have killed the brake light switch by running power through it that long?

 

The first questions that come to mind are:

Could the fuse have blown while the switch was dismounted or while you were remounting it?

Could the brake switch not be mounted or adjusted correctly?

Could the brake lamp bulbs have burned out from being constantly illuminated?

Cheers,

Don

 

Ok never mind. I’m an idiot. Lol

brake lights only work with ignition on.

solved my own problem.

 

AFAIK Brake light should function with ignition on and off.
It's a safety thing here in the lower states.

 

Uk cars brake lights are ignition-on, at least in the XJS build era. It is possible USA spec cars were wired differently.

 

I think after the era of Ralph Nader, safety improvements in the US became more widespread.

 

Mines a canadian car. Brake lights only work with ignition on.

My modern vehicles are different, they must have changed the regulation at some point.

 

I think the USA has always been brake lights always work, ignition off.