Hey guys,

I have been having a problem with my brake lights ever since my rear left brake light has gone out and I replaced it. The problem I am having is that when I replaced the bulb and everything seemed fine until about 5 min driving with the car. Every time I pushed in the brakes the light malifunction light would display on my dash then go off when the brakes were not pressed in. Checking the lights again everything seemed normal. On my way back home the same night I got pulled over by a cop because all of my brake lights the left and right and the bar would remain on no matter if I were pressing the brake nor not. Last night the light indicator on the dash was constantly on when I turned the car on and all three of the brake lights were on and would not turn off no matter what. So I played around with the back left brake light and tried to replace the bulb just to see if it would change anything and now the back left brake light will flicker on and off with no rhyme or reason and it seems that when the brake light it on all three of the breaks lights will come on and when the rear left brake light is not on the other two lights will work normally. I can't find anything on this forum but it kind of seems like the wires for the rear left brake light are malfunctioning or maybe it is a fuse or something? Anyone have a problem like this before?

 

Barring any connection problems in the lamp assemblies themselves ( grounds etc ), this is ALL controlled by the ICM ( Illumination Control Module ), a fancy name for the headlight switch and the fuse panel / circuit board that is part of it.
The fuses are behind the panel at the end of the dash ( driver's side ).

If it is not a fuse problem ( probably not ), then there is something wrong with this module, or the brake pedal sensor switch which inputs to this module via the brake lamp relay. ( the antilock brake module also has a say here )

 

Could you have a moisture problem? Are you sure you are using the correct bulbs, they look for the resistance load on the curcuit. If no fuses are blown, could you have a piece of wire or conductive debris in the bulb socket? I'm thinking the bulb is wrong and causing feedback to the others and lighting them up.

 

The bulb is right because I bought a two pack and replaced one last year. I used the spare to replace the burnt out bulb and my dad who has a mercedes c230 which uses the same brake light bulb let me use his bulb which is the same one this car uses. It goes in locks fine and is not loose. I looked inside the light fixture and did not see any debris or anything and to my knowledge upon looking at the brake assembly I do not see any signs of moisture at all getting inside the unit itself. So from what I am reading I should check the fuses for the brake lights themselves which I am sure the fuse schematic inside the dash panel for the fuses. If not that then is it easy to check the switches myself or would that be something you would recommend I take in to have it checked?

 

I have one of these in perfect condition that I'll part with for a fair price, should you end up needing this... I think they're $400 at the dealer but I won't be anywhere near that

Just let me know...

 

I would try buying a new bulb, bud.

 

I had access to three new bulbs I was playing around with yesterday one from my leftover one and the two my dad had. I am pretty sure 99% sure it has nothing to do with the bulb at this point.

 

What happens when you leave out the replacement bulb?
Where the other lights on when all the brake lights were on as you said it was night?
There was a problem like this some time ago and the problem was the bulb was in wrong or it was the wrong bulb and the brake filament was getting power from the night light circuit, somehow the power got across the bulb contacts and once that bulb got power the other brake lights got power as well.
The wrong bulb had the two terminals on it differently spaced compared to the correct bulb. The bulb may have been mislabeled.

 

When the replacement bulb was not in the car the other bulbs functioned normally. When I put the replacement bulb in the car sometimes the bulb would stay illuminated as if the break were on just on the left side, sometimes the running light element would be on as it normally should, the problem I was having was when the bulb was in and the running light was illuminated when I tried to put it back into the light assembly the light would shut off. It's hard to explain and I may need to make a video to show you guys what I am getting because it does one of three things 1. The light will stay on as if I am hitting the brake constantly 2. The light will stay on (dimmer like it should if the running like were on) but when I go to place it back into the headlight assembly it shuts off 3. The light just stays off which what was happening when I gave up on it last night. This is the problem I am getting.

 

Sounds to me like the socket the bulb plugs into is bad or one of the terminals is bent out of shape and is touching other terminals. Compare the drivers side to the passenger side and see if all the connections are the same between both. I am talking about the recess that the bulb plugs into.

 

Alright cool I will definitely check that, it was our initial thought regarding this issue is that the black module that plugs into where you screw the bulb in is problematic or something of that sort. I will investigate further and maybe post a few videos so everyone can understand better.

 

I hope you meant tail light assembly, or now I am more confused than you .......

 

The bulb is dimmer because it is the wrong filament lighting, that is the light filament not the brake filament.
The bulb is in backward or it is the wrong bulb, as the bulbs share a common neutral contact the power goes into the other circuit no matter which lighting circuit is powered up. That was the cause of the earlier and similar fault.
Switch bulbs from side to side and see what happens.

 

It was the wrong bulb...embarrassing after taking off the taillight, checking the brake switch by the petal, etc. It is doing well now..whooops!

 

Sounds to me like the brake light switch on the pedal is faulty or may need adjustment. If there's no short in the system, like a cut wire that's grounding itself when it shouldn't be then it's a good bet that the switch is your problem.

 

The post immediately in front of yours gives the solution.

 

I had the same problem on my 2005 Crossfire this past weekend. No power to the brake lamps when switch was pressed. The #2 fuse was good, the bulbs were good. The relay under the hood was not clicking when I pushed the brakes so i took it out and tested it with a 9V battery. It seemed to be switching good but would not work when in the car. After reading these threads, I figured that it was the switch but some folks were reporting that the switch was located on the master cylinder. (Not true on my 2005 Chrysler Crossfire Auto.)

I pulled the dash assembly and found a brake lamp switch on the brake pedal mechanism. A trip across town to a Napa Auto Parts store and I was back in business.

I swear though, they must put the dash in on these vehicles when the seats are not installed. Getting my 200 pound self underneath the steering wheel to work on the brake switch was not a fun task.

 

I have a question about the exterior lamp sensor being on all the time . What lamps fall under this sensor is it all lamps in car or just outter lamps like stop and running and headlights low and high beam, because I replaced the tag lamps back to the factor long tube bulbs took out the LED bulbs and the exterior lamp sensor stays on all the time while cart is running with lights on and off . Why would the yellow lamp on dash be on all the time while car is running ??? . This is next to the last light on the dash I need to fix other than the TPS warning lamp which is the easy part I am hoping is easy fix.

 

How about the marker lights in the top outer corner in each of the headlamp units?
Did the light suddenly appear or had you done something to the lights?
The dash indicator light just shows problems with the exterior bulbs.

 

My dad is having the Exact same issue, what is the bulb part #, i keep getting different #'s when i search.. Thanks