DrChill

Hey Fellas, been readin these posts for a while and have got a hell of a lot of good information off of this forum. Colorado boy here. I have a 1988 Reg 4x4 2.4 manual.(no rust anywhere by the way) Heres the problem. The brake lights dont work. All my other lights work. The fuses are good the bulbs are good. Im stumped. Have looked to see a similiar problem on here but to no avail. Anyone have any ideas??? Was hoping it is something I could fix my self. But electrical problems are a weak point for me. Thx

DrChill

Sent this post out over a month ago and no bites, isnt there anyone out there with any experience with this problem??? Thx Fellas

apaka

well i bought my truck and i had no brakes...turn signals...reverse lights and a whole bunch of other things that...well...i should have

i spent a lot of time testing the actual signal being sent and i figured that there was a short/break in the wire...but totally undetectable. i tested the harness under the carpet just before the wires leave the cab and go under the truck and found that i had signal there, so i straight wired right from there to the rear of the truck and they work great...although i still havn't fixed my backup lights, i have two connections on my transmission...but i have no connecting plugs to them...ugh.

my advice...simple and maybe useless...take off your rear light...determine the colour code for the wire for your brakes (haynes will tell you this) and trace the wires as far back as possible. I have an '84 and over the almost 21 years on the road there is good chances for old wires to short and burn...corrode (sp?) or get cut at weird spots. check the sensor at the brake pedal to ensure that's working...cause...well...that's what sends the signal. actually check that first, lol.

trial...error...circuit tester...and some luck
my best tools

try that and if that doesn't work...sorry for the excess time wasted
good luck

DrChill

Thx for the tips, tell me a little more about this sensor by the brake pedal. I was looking down there but not really sure what I was looking for. I was assuming that I would see a sensor like the one for the clutch but I saw no such thing. What does the brake sensor look like?. Im a chef here so I can do basic maintenance on my truck, oil, plugs, brakes, but have no clue about wiring issues. This is so frustrating, Again thx for the advice!

apaka

just follow the brake pedal arm up to the top by its pivot point. There should be a push button sensor that will detect when the brake pedal is not moved from the pivot point. Two wires running to it...its a simple little detection switch.