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Brake lights do not work on my 2004 dodge ram 1500, why?
Okay so let me give everyone a run down on what is happening:
My rear lights all work, they turn on when my headlights are on, they work when I am in reverse, but they DO NOT light up when I hit the brake pedal. I have checked the fuses under the hood and they are all in good condition and I have no found any other fuses for my brakes anyplace else. No lights are lighting up on my dashboard (such as ABS or BRAKE). I checked the wires going into the brake sensor with a multi-meter and I am getting the correct 12 volts in, but checking the wire out (I believe tan/brown) I am getting 0 volts out or rather no signal.
I recently replaced the shift cable that connects from my shifter to my tranny, and the brake sensor that goes down against the metal shaft of the brake pedal (I bent the button on my original brake sensor when I dropped the steering column for something else the day before). The best I can figure is that my new brake sensor is faulty and I need to return it to the dealer and get a new one, but of course what is a car problem without a kicker. If my car has the key in the igniation and I turn the key to the on position (without starting the car), I can freely shift the truck without needing to press the brake pedal (not sure if this is related to my lights problem or if I need to check the shift cable I installed also, but all my gears line up correctly at least). When I took the brake sensor off after driving a short distance I do get the ABS and BRAKE light to light up on my dashboard (yes I know you cannot reinstall the same sensor after you remove it, I took it off to give to the dealer so they could replace it with another 1).
Like I said at the top of my post, all my rear lights are working, they all light up when my headlights are on, they work when I put it in reverse, but they do not light up when I hit the brake pedal
I thought it might also be a bad brake sensor (brake switch) so I went back to the dealership and exchanged the one I had for another one, this did not fix the problem, the best I can figure now is I have a short someplace on the wire that relays the signal to the lights when the brake pedal is pushed in, but I do not thing I will be able to find that and may have to take it to a shop... minus a wire short, is there anything else that could be causing this problem? and/or the odd problem where i do not have to push the brake down to shift out of park into any gear?
I am not very familiar with the details of the switch, what do you mean by adjust it? the switch just seems like a grey plastic box, 1 end has a button that leans against the brake (which makes good contact) and has a small black plastic tab on the other side that is on a 45 degree angle when active, no other buttons or pieces to turn, what can i adjust?
7 Answers
- dodge manLv 71 decade agoFavorite Answer
you need to replace the brake light switch on it,you probably bought a bad brake light switch to put on it or something went wrong when you installed that one on it,that's the most common cause for that happening on this trucks,good luck.
Source(s): been a certified mechanic for 38 yrs now. - 1 decade ago
I'm not to familiar with newer vehicles but the older ones had a brake light switch that came in contact with the brake pedal swing arm. Look under the dash and try and find a small, used to be round, switch with a contact that moves in and out with the movement of the brake pedal.
Source(s): Forty five years of shadetree engineering, racing, and home auto repair, all Mopars, mostly Dodges. - ?Lv 45 years ago
The third light is in parallel with the brake lights in the tail lights,so the third light may be ok and the others not, it only tells you that the brake switch is ok. The bulb has two circuits, one for the brake and one for park lights so the park lights ok do not mean that the bulb is not bad in the brake circuit, usually the problem is the bulbs, check for power going to the brake light bulb and if you have it then replace the bulbs, my advice is to buy a bulb $3.50 and skip all the diagnostic. good luck
- 1 decade ago
Hi,
Check the back of the new switch.. some of these new switches need to be self adjusted.. might be as simple as that.
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- Anonymous1 decade ago
they are broken
