Author Topic: Brake Lights Not working  (Read 1811 times)

Offline rherring40

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Brake Lights Not working
« on: September 15, 2018, 08:03:58 PM »
75 Chevy K20 Custom Deluxe manual transmission.

I rewired the rear lights over 1 yr ago.  all was good until this week. Basically No rear lights. 

This is what I have tried (twice)
Entire new rear light wiring 1 yr ago.
1. checked all fuses.
2. check brake switch (behind the brake peddle)
3. check all ground wires.

Offline VileZambonie

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Re: Brake Lights Not working
« Reply #1 on: September 15, 2018, 08:27:43 PM »
Is this a fleetside or stepside? No rear lights, means no reverse, tail, signal or brake. If that's the case, I would look at the connector just beyond the firewall that leads to the rear harness.
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74 GMC, 75 K5, 84 GMC, 85 K20, 86 k20, 79 K10

Offline Rapid Roy

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Re: Brake Lights Not working
« Reply #2 on: September 15, 2018, 09:21:10 PM »
Welcome
1974 Cheyenne 10 LWB STOCK 350 W HEI /TH350/AC/4 BBL Quadrajet
Mopar by Birth
Chevy by Choice

Offline roundhouse

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Brake Lights Not working
« Reply #3 on: September 16, 2018, 09:28:07 AM »
You say you’ve checked the pedal
Switch

You mean the switch has power coming in all the time and then going out when you press the pedal ?

If so then it’s just a matter of tracing the wire till you find the bad connection

Use a LED test light with a sharp probe and stab the wire before and after each connection

If you have any butt connectors
The kind you get at the auto parts store that you crimp on the end of the wires to connect them

Check them first
They are garbage and never stay connected
  Residential wire nuts last longer than typical butt connectors

You can buy high quality butt connectors that have threaded ends that hold the wires good but the crimp type usually don’t work very long

This is assuming the only lights not working are the brake lights

If you lost all the lights , parking and reverse , then it’s a connection that’s come unplugged

The one at the firewall under the hood
As already mentioned

And sometimes the problem is in the large connection behind the fuse box that passes Thru the firewall

My truck had a lot of wires that would not make good connections in that plug and I just bypassed that connector block with new wires to repair the ones that wouldn’t work

I took this connector block apart and squeezed all the prongs etc

No luck
I just bypassed the block with some wires

Also if I remember right the brake lights go Thru the turn signal switch right behind the steering wheel

And those wear out
And are easy to replace and almost every auto parts store has em in stock
Just hook a string to the old wire before you pull it out of the Column so
You can fish the new one back down
« Last Edit: September 16, 2018, 09:34:27 AM by roundhouse »