more brake light issues

I think basically what he is saying is to hook them up before you cut/drill anything and test them to see if they will be bright enough.

 

My pickup just has a second bulb, it is not a special brighter bulb, just a second bulb that lights up a second 'chamber' in the tail light. It appears brighter due to the more lit up surface area.

Many tail light/turn signal combinations are only brighter because they light up 2 filaments in the bulb. The running light is one filament, then when you hit the brakes the second is illuminated.

Just trying to clarify what is meant by 'brake light bulb'

Usually these are just an 1157 or 2057 bulb, nothing really that special.

 

I had a problem with my brake lights. I was getting 12 volts at the switch when I stepped on the pedal but no lights. Ended up being a bad connection inside the TS. (7 wire 900 style).

 

All right, the original poster wanted help with his brake light switch. So here goes, Hook up your wire as you had them. Now short out (run a temparary jumper wire) between the posts on the switch. If your brake lights light up, Replace the switch. If not, find your wiring problem and try this test again.

When replacing the switch keep in mind that the brake fluid is nasty stuff. You do not want it on you but especially you do not want this IN you. It will eat paint and rubber parts. Wear eye protection and keep your mouth shut. Note: the brake system uses special neoprene parts that do not react with brake fluid.

First top off your MC with brake fluid (you do not want to have to bleed the brakes because you ran the MC out of brake fluid). Then loosen the old switch and with the new one in one hand and the old one in the other, quickly unscrew the one and replace with the other. 15 seconds is too long. After this is done retop off the MC (you do not want your brakes to fail because they did not have enough fluid), and do two tests. First check for leaks around the threads of the new switch. Have a buddy push really hard on the brake pedal while you look for leaks this should take at least thirty seconds of pushing and looking at one long push. Do not scimp here. The second test is do the brake lights now work? They should! If not try the shorting test again. I have bought new switches and found out that they were bad, so check!

As far as what extra lights to use, I use those oval sealed clearance lights (like truckers use) for both brake, tail, and turn signals on the back of my utility trailer. The outboard lights are amber and are turn signals. the middle set are my red tail lights, then the inboard pair of red ones are my brake lights. It passed the state inspection this way. Your state may be different! Call the state troopers, they will know.

IHTH, good luck, Matt W.

 

You have given a very descriptive explanation, cpt logger.

I had recently adapted a tilt GM column using a Painless Conversion kit #30806. I had to reroute wires in order to perform a successful conversion. This also permitted me to allow the use of a four way flasher that I had not had previously. I will have a write up on this in the near future.

I agree. The first and best test is to make sure that there is power TO the switch. If so, then run a jumper across the switch terminals and have someone look for the brake lights to light up. If they do not, then it does sound like that the switch is bad.

BUT, I will not rule out the possibility of a bad ground wire, or both bulbs burned out simultaneously, I have seen this happen. (Or one bulb has been burned out for some time and the second had just recently failed). Just to make sure, it would not be a bad idea to pop the lenses off and look at the brake light filaments anyway, they will be the thicker filaments on the shorter stubs.

Do remember, when replacing a 1157 or 2057 bulb, they are polarized, meaning that if you look at the pins located on the side of the base, they are offset. You will notice that one pin sits higher than the other. When inserting your bulbs, look inside the socket and you will notice that the grooves are offset accordingly. (I use to work for a few auto parts stores, and I have seen bulbs turned 180 degrees frequently. Some people have not paid attention, or were not aware of the offset pins).

If by chance that you have performed a conversion to a system where the turn signals are independent from the brake lights, then skip this last paragraph.

Good luck.

 

Well, mtndewmaniac66, I had not thought about checking the light bulbs and grounds. I just ASSuMEd that this had been done. My mistake! Good catch!
I look forward to your four way flasher post. Matt W.