brake lights stuck on

[AeR0]

so i was driving tonight stopped the car and got out and noticed my brake lights were on.. not the tail lights but the brake lights like im standing at the back of the car and it looks as if someone is inside pressing on the brakes..

i know werid eh? but anyhow i disconnected the battery hooked it back up and its fine...


anyone else had this problem and know what it is or whats going on?

[rixGAphx]

The hostage in yer trunk was signaling for help.

Now that he's dead, your troubles are over (or rather, just beginning...)










Seriously, The Brake Lamp system is very stoopid and idiot proof, because it's so important.
Though the computer (BCM) monitors it, the system virtually always fails in a mechanical, non-computer manner.
And when it 'fails', it *almost always* illuminates the 'Brake' idiot light.
Since you don't mention it, I assume your 'Brake' idiot light isn't/wasn't illuminated.

There's little switch under the dash, that rides close to the brake pedal arm, to turn the Brake Lamps on when the arm goes 'down'.
Sounds like your switch is/was hanging-up on something.
This causes the Brake Lights to stay 'on', then stops hanging-up and the lights go 'off'.
The BCM doesn't consider this a 'problem', so it doesn't set a code.

Hope this helps,
-Rick

[SE2000]

I agree, hostages can be a real pain in the neck.

And also about the switch.

[Brken123]

Hey guys. I'm having the same problem as the guy in the first post, only with mine, it has happened twice now where the lights have been on all night, and I come out the next morning to a dead battery. How hard is it to replace the switch? Cost?

[AeR0]

mine wasnt with the switch though i just disconnected my battery and everything worked fine

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by Brken123
Hey guys. I'm having the same problem as the guy in the first post, only with mine, it has happened twice now where the lights have been on all night, and I come out the next morning to a dead battery. How hard is it to replace the switch? Cost? First, crawl under the dash and examine the switch.
More often than not, there's a loose wire or such that has dropped near the switch, and occasionally dangles just right to keep the switch 'on'.

Make sure the swithc is free to move and never gets hung-up.
Mebbe spray some WD-40 at it.

Shouldn't be more than a $20 dealer-only part, and once you see it, you'll know it's just a 10-minute snap-in/snap-out procedure.

Good luck,
-Rick

[Brken123]

Thanks for the suggestion. Right after I posted this, I went out to check it out. I noticed, while examining the switch, that there are two white "tube" looking things, with little white tips sticking out. Both of those tips have to be pressed in (which is what happens when you don't have your foot on the brake pedal) in order for the lights to be off. Somehow the switches had rotated so that every time the pedal came to the resting position, the switches simply moved out of the way. All I had to do to was push them back in, and give them a slight twist to "lock" them in place.

I did this at 11 this morning, and so far so good! Hopefully this was the remedy to the problem. Now, on to find out which damn speed sensor is messed up, due to my car doing the random abs, trac off, and svs light trick.

Thanks for the suggestion Rick!