3 Reasons Your Brake Lights Won’t Go Off (And How to Fix the Problem)
Brake lights are an essential safety part of your car. These lights come on when you brake, showing following drivers that you’re slowing down.
If your brake lights are always on, drivers behind you don’t get enough warning when you need to slow down. This increases the chances that you or someone behind you will be rear-ended if traffic has to suddenly stop.
How do brake lights work? The brake lights are activated through a switch located next to the brake pedal. The first time you press the brake pedal, the switch completes a circuit that powers the brake lights.
This system is different from normal tail lights. The tail lights are dimmer than the brake lights and stay on when the headlights are on. Tail lights help other drivers see your vehicle in poor visibility conditions, such as: B. At night or in poor weather. If your tail lights won’t turn on, that’s a different problem. In many cases, the solution is very simple: just replace the tail light bulb (or bulbs) that’s blown out.
Tail lights are usually relatively easy for an amateur mechanic to replace, but it varies from make to make and model to make it easier. Search YouTube for videos for your specific make and model.
Why are my brake lights not turning off? Here are some simple things you can check to find out why your brake lights aren’t turning off: 1) Keeping your foot on the brake pedal
If you like to brake with your left foot, it’s a good idea to keep your left foot on the brake pedal while driving. This allows you to press the brake pedal very lightly and your brake lights will come on before you feel any braking force.
Get into the good habit of braking before you spend too much time or money on the problem. Keeping your foot on the brake pedal while driving increases wear on your brake pads and rotors.
Doing this for extended periods of time can also cause your brakes to overheat. This can lead to longer braking distances or even brake system failure.
2) Faulty Brake Light Switch
If the brake light switch circuit stays closed for any reason, the brake lights will stay on all the time. This can happen due to a defective brake light switch.
If your brake light switch is not working properly, you may experience other symptoms, such as: Inability to start the engine when the car is stopped or inability to shift out of park. On certain vehicles (such as those with push button start), the vehicle must detect that the brake pedal is pressed before it will move off. On newer vehicles, a faulty brake light switch can cause a number of very strange symptoms that seem unrelated to the braking system. These include tire pressure warning lights, ABS warning lights, and traction/stability control lights. These can occur while driving.
3) Poor Grounding or Wiring
This is one of the most likely causes of brake lights not turning off. Wiring or grounding issues can cause all sorts of problems depending on which part of the wiring harness is shorted or improperly grounded. What to do when your brake lights won’t go off
1) Double-check your work
If you’ve recently installed an aftermarket system that required the removal or replacement of the tail light assembly, it’s a good idea to double-check your work. If you’ve made any changes to the wiring, make sure it’s wired correctly according to the aftermarket manufacturer’s instructions.
2) Check your wiring
Check the wiring around the tail light assembly and under the dash near the brake light switch. Even if the wiring and insulation appear to be in good condition, there could be a problem with the wiring.
In addition, it’s always a good idea to check fuses under the hood and inside the car. A blown fuse could cause the brake light switch to malfunction.
You can also refer to your manufacturer’s service manual to find out which grounds are used in your braking system. Make sure these grounds are clean, solid, and in good condition.
3) Test the brake light switch
The brake light switch is a pretty simple device, and you can probably test it yourself with a multimeter. When the switch is pressed, the circuit should be open and there should be no continuity. This should turn off the brake lights. Releasing the switch should establish continuity. This will turn on the brake lights.
After checking continuity, make sure the switch has the correct resistance. A bad switch may pass a continuity test but not transfer enough voltage to actually turn on the brake lights. The correct specifications for your switch should be found in your factory service manual. Wiring diagrams are especially useful when testing brake light switch connections. They will show you which pins need to be connected to turn on the brake lights. Your service manual may contain additional diagnostic tips and information about expected system behavior.
4-Pole Brake Switch
Different vehicles may have different implementations of the brake light switch. For example, they may have four pins instead of two (Honda, Hyundai, and Mazda are examples of manufacturers that have done this). The best way to properly test your brake light switch is to look at your vehicle’s wiring diagram to see which pins on the switch are connected to power and which are connected to ground.
Four-pin switches often have two circuits. The ECU uses this logic to test if the brake light switch is functioning properly. If both switches indicate that they are on, or both switches indicate that they are off, the ECU detects that there is a problem and issues a code. An example of a code that may appear is P0504 “Brake Switch A/B Correlation.”