brake and hazard lights stay on

Came home from work, parked in the garage and damn if the brake and hazard lights stay on after I take the key out of the ignition. Is this a wiring short or fuse issue or something else?

TIA

Torris

Same thing happened to me last month on bringing car home from repair shop. I called them as to what they might have done when they replaced tail light lense and was embarrased to find that it was the switch. Frank

Yup, happened to me too. Took the car to one of those carwashes where they clean everything, even inside. Got back to the motel and my wife asked me why I didn't turn the lights off. I looked out and sure enought the parking lights were on. What the h***? I'm a zillion miles from home and I'm having another problem with this car. I finally find the switch on top of the steering column and that did the trick. I never knew it was there; what's the point of it anyway? It only is used by accident by the cleaning crew!

Al

Your parking lights are keyed.

The switch is there to allow you to leave the lights on and take the keys out, but you don't want flashing lights.

Barry

So why go the expense of adding another switch when all you have to do is leave the parking lights unkeyed?

Al

Parking lights were originally developed so that horse drawn carraiges would not run into cars on dark nights where there were no street lights. The batteries had sufficient capacity so that the lights could be on all night, maybe even for a number of nights, without recharging. Since this is hardly the case lately, why do we even bother with parking lights? In most jurisdictions it's illegal to drive with them, although this is hardly enforced.

Does anyone reading this thread actually have a story where the parking lights were useful? I think most of the time the headlights on my vehicle were sufficient to prevent me from running into a parked car even when it's parking lights are not turned on. ;-)

Al

Al

I spent a year in southern Germany back in '71 thanks to the US Army. It was very common to see cars parked in dark, twisty alleys with parking lights on. Quite civilized in my opinion.

Al wrote in news:no.spam-45CDA0.16004209052005 @news.verizon.net:

According to the info at the bottom of this page the switch is required by law in some countries:

Some cars (maybe lots of them?) would turn on the front and back park light on one side only if you left the turn signal on when the car was off. I know my Opel done that.

I use them without headlights when driving in campgrounds or backing down the boat ramp after dark to avoid disturbing/blinding others but I never leave them on with the car parked if that's what you meant.

-rick-

Makes perfect sense for that application. But you had to reach back 34 yrs for an example '-)

Al

Yup, another good use for them. But you are driving and not parking. ;-)

Al

OK, and what would be a good reason for that? More micromanagement by gov't?

Al

Are you familiar with jurisdictions outside of the US?

I've had the same problem the OT complained. You make a good point, but there are reflectors all over cars these days - you don't need to leave any car lights on. I think the column mounted parking light switch is pointless in this day and age. Now if people are driving without lights and hit a car without lights....well, I guess that's not something you can really plan for.

My two duckets, LK

But you still have to remember to turn a light switch off. It's just a different switch, which seems to me to make it even easier to forget. I gotta say, the column mounted parking light switch is a *stupid* idea from a United States citizen's perspective. And (not necessarily directed at you) don't tell me it's required in "some jurisdictions." RHD is required in some jurisdictions, but that doesn't mean we all have it.

-LK