SavageBelief

Bought the car a few weeks ago, haven't really had time to work on it since we're moving, but the brake lights aren't working.

I replaced the fuse under the hood (horn was out too) with a glow fuse. When I hit the brake pedal the fuse blows immediately (LED on the fuse lights up). I assumed short in the line somewhere so I checked continuity at the lights. 0Ω on both sides so the short is confirmed. But before I go tracing lines I wanted to make sure that this is in fact a fault and not the way it's supposed to be.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

did you check the bulb sockets? unplug the socket before you check the wire. the terminals may be touching or melted together so power and ground are touching. unplug both bulb sockets, then replace the fuse with a new one. if it doesnt blow, check for power at the connector (without plugging the socket in). if power is there, 12v when pressing the brake pedal, then your wiring is fine and its a socket issue or the bulb is too far into the socket causing a short. if the wires are fine, and you plug in the empty sockets without bulb and fuse still doesnt blow, then its a problem with the bulb seating. just adjust how it sits and dont push it in too far or the metal contacts will touch each other. also be sure the bulb metal terminals are bent flush with the base as much as possible. i had this issue with the front signals a while back and it was a bulb seating problem.

SavageBelief

I checked all the bulbs, they were fine. Oddly enough I wanted to see where the disconnect was so I put in another fuse. I bought one of those multi packs so I only had the one 15A that I'd already blown so I used a 20.

Guess what. The brake lights work now.

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

I would use caution, not sure what model we are talking about here but I would imagine the brake lights themselves would draw 5-10 amps or less when on. The original fuse would have to handle 15 amps with the brakes on and also the current required if you were to blow the horn at the same time as using the brakes = under 15 amps total.

You may have an intermittent short that is currently not present.

electric130

iTrader: (44)

this is the best way to set your car on fire. if the system is designed for 15A, then don't put a bigger fuse in there. the fuse is designed to protect the wires. putting a 20A fuse in there allows the circuit to draw more amps than the wires can handle. they'll get hot and can catch fire. go back to the 15A fuse and fix the problem. or roll the dice and hope you don't get burned......litterally.