I had a 1991 grand prix that did that too, and the brake lights would stay on even after the car was shut off. I had to replace the brake light switch located up above your brake pedal (mine was white, and about the size of a baseball). It was a #%$&* to do but thats what it was for me. BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!! [thumb]

 

Did you ever get it fixed? I have the same Prob. Thanks!!

 

Unfortunately not.

I am dreading my trip to the dealership.

 

So you are now driving around with the brake lights permanently on? That's rather dangerous as people behind you have no indication when you brake. If you ever have to emergency brake, it's quite likely anyone following will hit you.

You said, "
I did have a tail light burn out." Did the brake lights work normally after you replaced the bulb and has it been a while since you changed the bulb? Sometimes if the wrong bulb is used, or it is inserted wrong, it will short the tailight and brake circuits together, making for an odd interaction.

 

No, I was not thinking correctly when I wrote that. It should have said turn signal. The 'clicker' made a different sound when the turn signal bulb was burned out. It worked fine afterwards including the brakes.

And uh yeah, thanks for the tip.

 

OK, I got it fixed. I can help you out Significant!! What you explained in your thread is EXACTLY what my prob. was. The shop found an electrical short. I drive an 02 ZTW. In the rear tail lid there is a 3rd brake light. Inside the lid is a rubber boot. This boot protects the wiring and harness that supplies power to the upper brake light on the door. They found the wires were badly corrodid and they were shorting out. They said thast because of the movement in the rear door(up/down) that this causes the wires to wear and the weather can also get to them. So they ended up repalcing the defective wires and harness and VIOLA!! works like new!! This also caused the cruise to not work. This prob. explains why. With the brake lights on the module sensed this and would not let the cruise activate. Makes total sense to me . It cost me $135 to fix , $110 labor and $4 for the wiring LOL. But hey I can't bitch electrical prob. are the worst to diagnose and I am happy with my resolution. Hopefully this helps you out. If you need more help just ask.

Dave

 

same problem



!!!!

 

Wow Dave... I'd go back to that shop, it sounds like a good shop from what you're saying. Here in Memphis there are very few who can diagnose a blown fuse- one of our news stations did a consumer "test" and found one out of 7 who checked the fuses.

 

LOL, my usual guy could not get it. WE checked everything possible before he reccomended them and the shop foreman even praised the tech. who got it in just over an hour. If you are ever up here in the great grey NORTH , I reccomend them to you. LOL

 

Hey thanks for the info Jay-Stew. My cruise-control also stopped working. It was flaky for a while, then just stopped. Makes complete sense.

I was just about to take it in. You might have saved me a fortune.

Thanks so much!


I am going to PM you as I too live in Canada.

 

Hey thanks for the info Jay-Stew. My cruise-control also stopped working. It was flaky for a while, then just stopped. Makes complete sense.

I was just about to take it in. You might have saved me a fortune.

Thanks so much!



I am going to PM you as I too live in Canada.

Hey no prob. I was hoping you knew but I fixed it first. LOL

 

I had the same exact thing happen when I installed my LED CHMSL, but since it was different overall I had to do some more work to get everything going..

 

This information is great - thanks a lot to all who posted on this thread. I had posted another thread similar to this one before. Many of these symptoms are what I have right now in an 01 wagon, high mounted stop lamp not working at all, cruise not working and brake lights getting stuck on.

I haven't had a chance to dig into the troubleshooting yet, but you can guess where I'm gonna start - the wiring harness for the high mounted stop lamp.

Thanks again.

 

Check the sensor on the brake peddle i just posted in the other thread. It would cause the same symptoms. Its worth it to check in case that is what it is.

Check the brake sensor the is located on the brake peddle. Mine slipped off once and i just had to put it back on.

Here i snapped some pics for ya. Its the sensor on the right. Yours might look a little different b/c mine is a manual.

 

Daddy wagon, kudos to you for your ability to use a search function, weather it be google or this sites own function.

 

brake lights stays on

Funny, I have the exact same problem.
Fuses are fine...
I undid the back door to look at the wirings and it looked fine but didn't check inside the rubber boot as you call it (little hose in "L" shape right next to the center brake lites right?).
It was suggested to check the brake connector on top of the brake peddle.
Ford told me that it was common for Focus that water would rust wires in back door and to check them.

resume:

How did you fixed the brake light staying on?

How did you fixed center brake lights to make it work?

Thanks guys!!!!!!!!![scratch]

 

!!!!

 

same problem

!!!!

 

It was exactly as others thought; The wiring harness on the rear hatch had a short. I cut open the casing, repaired the 'snipped' wires and everything works 100%.

The cruise is obviously integrated to the brake lighting in order to detect a brake peddle press and turn off.

 

Brake lights are on only when in gear.

I have a friend that is having a very similar issue that is described in this thread. His issues seem to have started after a solenoid replacement in the transmission. (Solved a different issue.)

Here is what we have tested:

-Brake Lights are on steady in R-N-D (all) Brake lights are off in Park.

-Center High Mount Stop Light (CHMSL, AKA 3rd Brake Light) has 12.24 volts at the connector when in park and the brake pedal is applied. But, it only has 5.46 volts when in gear or neutral without brake pedal applied.

-Could not get any continuity from the CHMSL plug and the body of the car. (Looking for a short in the wires)

-Hazards work fine when in Park or any other gear.

Any ideas for testing or repair?
[wrenchin]

 

So, finally my wife stopped driving the car long enough for me to have a look at the harness going from the body to the tailgate (inside the rubber boot) and wow! The wire to the high mounted stop lamp is completely severed and 4 or 5 other wires have the insulation cracked or missing in multiple areas.

This leaves me with a couple of questions
1. What is the best and most practical way to repair this? (the local Ford Dealer quoted $347 for the harness assembly?????)

2. If I repair the wires, is there a special type of wire in addition to the proper gauge size that I should use?

3. If the high mounted stop lamp wire is severed, would this cause the cruise to not operate?

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

 

> What is the best and most practical way to repair this?

Splice using solder, heat shrink tubing, and plastic wire wrap (all available from Radio Shack) Note: Don't forget to slide the heat shrink tubing onto the wire BEFORE soldering it (slide it out of the way). When done soldering, slide it over the splice and shrink it in place with heat. If you want to be really sure, put a small bit of plastic electrical tape over the heat shrink tubing before using wire wrap, if you can do it without making it too "fat."

> If I repair the wires, is there a special type of wire in addition to the proper gauge size that I should use?

Any good quality stranded, not solid, wire should work.

3. If the high mounted stop lamp wire is severed, would this cause the cruise to not operate?

Possibly. If the brake is "on" the cruise control automatically disengages. If the "wrong" two wires were shorted, voltage going "backwards" in the circuit might look to the cruise control like the brake pedal depressed.

 

i have the same problem. so can i just replace the wires and it would be fine?

 

is this something that needs a lot of work? man i dont want to get rear ended and loose my car : (

 

i need help. somebody? anybody?

 

Brake lights stay on

All. Had the same issue where all of a sudden the cruise control doesn't work and the brake lights stay on when in gear. Checked the hatch wiring bundle and repaired a few frayed wires. The problem remained so I pulled the 3rd brake light and replaced the worn bulbs and the problem was fixed. Hope this helps.