hey, i have a 6cyl 3.0L 93? Ford Ranger. My left brake light went out a while ago and I have replaced the bulb 3 times. Ive also cleaned out the dirt and rust out of the plug, but nothing i do seems to work. the weird thing is that the left blinker works... any ideas about what i should do?
Pull the steering wheel and check the wires on the turnsignal switch. It breaks the brake light circuit to the side the turn signals are activated on, other wise both rear brake lights would flash. I have seen the wires get broke at the switch before.
Whitelightning
--SNIP--
Replace that pigtail to that bulb. If there was rust and dirt in there, the socket needs replaced. There should only be a small amount of dielectric grease in the socket.. Nothin else.
Ford Tech
If the turn signal works, the socket is not the issue.
Whitelightning
Try moving the turn signal stalk around to see if the brake light comes on. Obviously, you have to step on the brake pedal while moving the stalk around.
The electricity to the brake lamps goes through the turn signal switch. If the brakes are applied AND there is a turn being indicated, then the brake light signal is cut off and the turn signal is switched on. I have a Jeep CJ5 that does the same thing, and I can get the brake light to come back by moving the turn signal stalk.
The official fix is to replace the turn signal switch, but I think this malady can be fixed at home with some contact cleaner.
But, the turn signals work on the same side where the brake lights do not work. The lamp socket is not part of the problem set, else the turn signal would malfuinction too.
The brake lights and turn signal get their power from TWO different wires and TWO different connections. If one was rusted, it could have a problem further down on that contact that possibly wasnt cleaned and thus breaking, causing it to have connection only part of the time and replacing the bulb could cause it to contact for a moment and then loose it later when the bulb seats completely in the socket...
Have you not seen this before? The 1157 bulbs are a DUAL contact bulb unlike the 1156 which is a single contact bulb. The 1157 is also a dual filament bulb. The shorter filament is for turn signals and the taller filament is for brake light operation. The short filament also comes on when the park lights are turned on. So, the park and turn lights can work, but the brake light could have a problem in the connection.
Personally, just to make sure, I would change the socket. It would take
20min, and maybe $20.00. Small price to pay to make sure you have a good socket..Ford Tech
Wrong on the 1157 thing. The TS and Brake use the same filament. The second filament is for the taillight.
You are mistaken.
The 1157 part is right, that is the required bulb and it has two filiments. But, one filiment is the running lamp and the other filiment is the turn signal/brake lamp. (I forget which filiment handles which job, but the brake and turn signal is the same filiment.
Brake lights and turn signals are brighter than running lamps. They are equal brightness to each other, but brighter than the running lamps.
Either way, thats splittin hairs.. LOL It would be a good idea to replace the socket due to the rust already found in the socket and the issue still remaining...
ok thanks, ill try that. i also have a wiper problem. i can only run the wipers on the "high" setting. if the wires of both the wipers and the brakes run behind the steering wheel, could both of these problems be connected somehow? i know its a longshot, but it would help if i knew.
thanks, adam
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