Brake Light Issue

[aberg83]

Lately, I've been having trouble with my brake lights. Occasionally, the brake light warning on the check panel would illuminate. I would check the brake lights and they'd still be functional. I'd restart the car and the warning would go away. After a few times of this happening, finally the brake lights actually went out while driving. I checked the bulbs, none are burnt out but there are a few that have brass housings. I also pulled the pedal switch and checked it with a multimeter for continuity when the circuit is closed and it seems to work fine. Last night, I re-installed the pedal switch and oddly everything seemed to be working fine again. Just drove the car to work (30km drive) and 2min from the office, the warning light came on again. I thought maybe the pedal switch plunger was sticky and not extending when the pedal was depressed. I pulled the knee panel and checked and it seemed to be releasing fine. Do you think it could be the brass bulbs causing this intermittent issue? Any other suggestions?

[jlevie]

Brass based bulbs, corrosion in the sockets, or aged bulbs (those with a darkened envelope) are the most common cause of the brake warning light coming on.

[goldenbb]

I had a terrible problem with my turn signals. It turns out that one of the little metal rods that plugs into the gray bulb housing had broken off. I soldered a piece of copper wire from a strand of romex on there and problem solved.

If you don't know the part I am referring to, it is the piece that the black knob is attached to--it is a square-ish black plastic housing that plugs into the gray bulb holder. The gray bulb holder also has metal contacts that can have problems, but check that plug and see if some of the ends are missing.

I have also had broken wires that looked fine on the outside. Sucks...