No brake lights ??

[Highbanked Hauler]

 I have tail and signal lights but no brake lights SO I checked the brake light switch with a test light and there was power going through it.  Any ideas  ??

[BLK 68 R/T]

Test for power at the actual sockets. If no power there, start working backwards, the plug behind the kick panel would be the next place to check. That will isolate the problem to the dash side or the rear harness.

[Canadian1968]

If you have power to the lights for your signal and running lights . The connection by kick panel must be OK.  I would have a closer look at the plunger style switch on the brake pedal itself .  There should be 2 connectors . One single wire and the other will have 2 pink wires I belive. Make sure the switch is moving freely . I guess there is a slight change all 4 lights need to be changed??

[A383Wing]

you could have a bad turn signal switch also.....check for power coming out of the switch when brake pedal is pressed.....I'm gonna guess it's the dark brown and dark green wires that run to the rear of the car.....

it will be the same wires as the rear blinkers

[Highbanked Hauler]

If you have power to the lights for your signal and running lights . The connection by kick panel must be OK.  I would have a closer look at the plunger style switch on the brake pedal itself .  There should be 2 connectors . One single wire and the other will have 2 pink wires I belive. Make sure the switch is moving freely . I guess there is a slight change all 4 lights need to be changed??

    Since the brake and signal lights are the same filament in the bulb I have to believe the bulbs and sockets are good as I have signal lights in all four.

     I DID FORGET TO SAY I don't have park or signal on the LEFT front ( with a good bulb)  but do have both on the RIGHT front.  I did have a blown fuse also but replacing it didn't help....

[Highbanked Hauler]

you could have a bad turn signal switch also.....check for power coming out of the switch when brake pedal is pressed.....I'm gonna guess it's the dark brown and dark green wires that run to the rear of the car.....

it will be the same wires as the rear blinkers

           Turn signal switch is the one in the steering column  right ?

[A383Wing]

yup...under the steering wheel....check your connector that comes out of the column..if it's connected fully, use a test light to see if you have power coming out of the wires to the front and rear wires in the connector

[440]

Easiest way to test the brake switch is with a continuity setting on a multi meter (one that beeps is preferred). With the button pushed in the circuit should be open and register nothing on the multimeter. When the button is let out it should close the circuit and the meter will register a figure and beep.

If you get nothing at all the switch is bad.

[Highbanked Hauler]

Easiest way to test the brake switch is with a continuity setting on a multi meter (one that beeps is preferred). With the button pushed in the circuit should be open and register nothing on the multimeter. When the button is let out it should close the circuit and the meter will register a figure and beep.

If you get nothing at all the switch is bad.

   With a test light and power to the back of the switch I got power at the front with  the  plunger out and no power with it pushed in.. So I am GUESSING it works.   With nothing to the left front parking light makes me think the problem is somewhere else..

[440]

That should be a sufficient test method too. I would test for voltage at the sockets as mentioned earlier. I would also try removing all bulbs and testing with one good known bulb, I've seen bad bulbs do funny things.

Is this a sudden issue as in were working then stopped,  or a first time issue?

[Nacho-RT74]

Aren't brake and turning lights going thorugh the hazzard switch after the turning switch? That changed by 70 with the newer hazzard switch location on steering column, but earliers you could get brakes on even with hazzards on, while on 70 and lates you can't, hazzards are primary.

[Highbanked Hauler]

That should be a sufficient test method too. I would test for voltage at the sockets as mentioned earlier. I would also try removing all bulbs and testing with one good known bulb, I've seen bad bulbs do funny things.

Is this a sudden issue as in were working then stopped,  or a first time issue?

   Yes, we were getting ready to leave and my wife walked behind the car to put stuff in the trunk and saw there were no lights so we started checking from there. Its the first time that I know of put it that way.   I have all 6 tail lights and all 4 signal lights  in the back.  and only the right side in the front, no left front.

[Highbanked Hauler]

Aren't brake and turning lights going thorugh the hazzard switch after the turning switch? That changed by 70 with the newer hazzard switch location on steering column, but earliers you could get brakes on even with hazzards on, while on 70 and lates you can't, hazzards are primary.

     Don't know. the 4-ways haven't worked since the car was a daily driver in the  early 70S and I never chased it as everything else did work.

[Nacho-RT74]

ok, I can base the test mode on the 70s and later system

pink wire up to brake pedal switch... allways hot.

Once you press the pedal, white wire is energized up to turning switch...

This white wire, feeds the dark brown and dark green wires ( one goes to each side on rear ) being spliced into the turning switch while turning switch is in rest position.

SOOOO, if you are sure you have power on pink wire at brake pedal when you press the pedal and turning switch is in rest position, you must get energized the white wire arriving to turning switch plug, AND the dark brown and green wires coming out from turning switch. IF NOT, even with turning switch working when you activate, this switch could be still somehow damaged... sometimes is psoible to fix it, sometimes is replacing time.

Sometimes is something so easly like the white wire or its terminal failing under the column at plug.

The turning switch is somehow a complex matrix system with points atnd tracks what gives diff inputs and ouputs routes according with the activated function...even more on 70s and lates with hazzards built into.

When you turn on the turning switch to either side, the side activated gets a new input source from turning flasher, while the other one still keeps the original source from brakes pedal switch, so you can still press the brakes while riding even with turning switch on, to keep brakes function at the opposite side. Lets say, you turn on left side to blink, green which is left side becomes on a turning signal wire being feeded from flasher source which is red wire coming into the turning switch... Brown wire ( which is right side ) will keep linked to white to be able still to get brakes to it.

thats the power flow on 70 and laters setup... will check the earliers wiring diagram and confirm what could change on these

[Nacho-RT74]

ok, just checked diagram and earliers are pretty much the same just diff way to feed the hazzard system and from there up to lights, so go ahead with the check like mentioned to test the brakes and turning light system.

On earliers, hazzards gets two sources like input, emergency flasher and brake light too, and SOURCES STRAIGHT JUST front blinker system ( light green to left and tan to right )... then the turning switch gets that source too, to splice it into the rear system from there, I guess while tunring switch remains in rest position.

A question for all of you guys with pre 70 systems.... when you press your brakes with hazzards on, do the front blinkers gets stay on, or do they keep blinking ? just out of curiosity

[A383Wing]

A question for all of you guys with pre 70 systems.... when you press your brakes with hazzards on, do the front blinkers gets stay on, or do they keep blinking ? just out of curiosity

on my cars the fronts stop blinking and stay on bright

[Highbanked Hauler]

  Thanks  Nacho,   I'll read this a few times and  give it a shot and see what turns up.

[Nacho-RT74]

A question for all of you guys with pre 70 systems.... when you press your brakes with hazzards on, do the front blinkers gets stay on, or do they keep blinking ? just out of curiosity

on my cars the fronts stop blinking and stay on bright

that's what I thought looking at the diagram! Also pilot lights on clusters should turn stay on

On post 70 cars, when Hazzards are on, brake lights are totally out of the game, even in rear.

And I guess on earliers with hazzards on, the turning function makes a different blinking beat than the hazzards in the side you turn on turning lights.

[A383Wing]

on my 66 cars....there are separate flashers for the turn signals and the 4-ways.....and yes, they blink at different rates