No brake lights. Any help appreciated....

[jimdigs]

I checked the main fuse and that is fine. I wiggled the 3 main fuse wires under the hood, nothing. Can one bulb going out on the breaks cause all three to go out. Thanks, this is on my 88 carbed festi.

[Team Lightning]

One bulb should not cause all 3 bulbs to stop working. I'd check the switch on the brake pedal next.

[jimdigs]

One bulb should not cause all 3 bulbs to stop working. I'd check the switch on the brake pedal next.

Thanks for the reply. How do I go about checking that?

[Team Lightning]

It’s above the pedal. If you have a volt/ohm meter, unplug the switch and try to ohm thru it with the pedal pushed. You should have 0 ohms or close to that. It should not be be “OL” or something similiar. There should be a number. Some meters have a beep for checking diodes and it can be misleading. The beep on my Fluke 77 will beep at 250 or so ohms or less. I always use the ohm setting when checking for continuity in a switch or circuit. One more thing, check for voltage at the sockets. I know the odds at not favorable, but, it’s possible you have 3 bad bulbs.
I’ve seen more than one car lately with 2 bad brake lights, when the third one goes, no lights at all.

[jimdigs]

It’s above the pedal. If you have a volt/ohm meter, unplug the switch and try to ohm thru it with the pedal pushed. You should have 0 ohms or close to that. It should not be be “OL” or something similiar. There should be a number. Some meters have a beep for checking diodes and it can be misleading. The beep on my Fluke 77 will beep at 250 or so ohms or less. I always use the ohm setting when checking for continuity in a switch or circuit. One more thing, check for voltage at the sockets. I know the odds at not favorable, but, it’s possible you have 3 bad bulbs.
I’ve seen more than one car lately with 2 bad brake lights, when the third one goes, no lights at all.

I cannot pull the plug out for the life of me. Is it just the one bolt holding the switch in place? I guess it would be easier to take the bolt off then drop the switch down, then unplug the thing.

[WmWatt]

There is also a fuse box under the dash on the driver's side.

Do the rear lights come on when you turn on the headlights? If so you are looking at no brake lights when you depress the brake pedal and that would implicate the switch activated by the brake pedal. If so I'd give the switch a blast or two of WD-40 and press it several times to work it in before taking things apart.

[jimdigs]

There is also a fuse box under the dash on the driver's side.

Do the rear lights come on when you turn on the headlights? If so you are looking at no brake lights when you depress the brake pedal and that would implicate the switch activated by the brake pedal. If so I'd give the switch a blast or two of WD-40 and press it several times to work it in before taking things apart.

I checked the fuse there first. They were fine. The lights DO NOT come on when I turn the headlights on. When I turn the 4 way on the the yellow tail lights do come on. So does that mean it is the switch if the tail lights Do Not come on when I turn the headlights on?

[WmWatt]

If the headlights come on but the tail lights don't come on that's a tricky one. Doesn't sound like the brake pedal switch as that only turns on the brake lights. If both front and back didn't come on I would spray WD-40 into the switch on the steering column. I'd probably do that anyway. Can't hurt. Likely time to consult a wiring diagram. For that I'd do a search of the site because people have posted links to wiring diagrams here previously.

[jimdigs]

If the headlights come on but the tail lights don't come on that's a tricky one. Doesn't sound like the brake pedal switch as that only turns on the brake lights. If both front and back didn't come on I would spray WD-40 into the switch on the steering column. I'd probably do that anyway. Can't hurt. Likely time to consult a wiring diagram. For that I'd do a search of the site because people have posted links to wiring diagrams here previously.

The headlights come on but the back lights do not.

[jimdigs]

I was wrong. I checked again and when I turned the headlights on the back tail lights DID come on. So I bought a switch at autozone for $13. I struggled a bit trying to take the switch off, its hard to get at especially for an overweight old guy After I figured out that only one bolt unscrews as the other is part of the bracket, it came off pretty quick. I had to modify the new switch as it had an extended plastic piece that would not allow the plug to fit properly. I now have brake lights once again. Thanks for all the help you two, couldn't have done this without the info.