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Brake Lights Stay On?

36K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  drcscruggs 
#1 ·
Ok, i have an '02 TB EXT and when i turn it off and get out, the exterior brake lights pop back on after a few seconds and then just stay on.

A little history on the problem. I didn't drive it anywhere for two days once and left one of the interior lights on and ended up with a dead battery. once i jumped it i noticed the brake lights were staying on when i got out (before I noticed the interior light was still on). then I noticed that interior light and once i turned that out the brake lights would stay off when i turned off the vehicle. I also noticed that jiggling the brake pedal some times turned off the lights althought that doesn't seem to be helping this time. I did a little fiddling with the interior light and noticed it only seemed to cause a problem with the brake lights if the interior light was on before the vehicle was turned on and then stayed on until it was turned off (or something like that, i didn't 100% nail down the conditions).

Now back to the current situation with them. i've obviously checked all the interior lights and they're all off. I've checked the head lights and they're off. but when i turn the truck off the brakes lights just come on and stay on.

ok, anyone else run into this or know what to do to fix it? if not, any thoughts? Thanks in advance.
 
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#3 ·
Nope, I thought it was that at first too and probabl should have thought to mention it. The high third brake light comes on as well which does not come on with the perimeter lighting and it never turns off. Also the brake lights are brighter then the perimeter lighting. I may go play with the perimeter lighting options thought just in case it's some how related to this gremlin.
 
#4 ·
I just went and turn on the engine and the brake lights still stayed on so now i'm suspicious that the switch that the brake pedal activates is faulty. Maybe it was just starting to go before and now it's completely gone. Anyway, i'll check it out and let everyone know what turns up. If you have any other thoughts on this in the mean time then please share them as i'm open to other ideas (especially if the switch one doesn't pan out).
 
#7 ·
Just following up here it was a switch problem. I took the under dash panel off and just move the switch through it's full motion (about 45 degrees up or the same down) and it unstuck and seems to work fine now. Once I replaced the panel i removed I realized there was plenty of clearnce in the brake pedal opening for me to reach my hand up there and move the switch should this ever happen again (it's just a black box mounted on the side of the brake pedal lever. The switch box seemed to move very easily so i'm concerned an interal piece was sticking and if it happens more frequently then I'll have to pull it apart to fix it or pick up another one from chevy.

To answer the side note, I've never left the headlights on because they're the auto sensing. I have killed the battery once by leaving an interal light on and I let the brake light problem sit for a couple hours once when i didn't have time to deal with it and they were still on when i returned. So at the very least I can say it didn't turn off either of those two items.

Thanks again everyone for all your help.
 
#11 ·
Brake lights on a 2002 trailblazer stay on

I have a 2002 Trailblazer that the brake lights stay on. I was originally told I had no brake lights but when I checked they didn't appear to be working. I then realized they are constantly on. I had my wife press the brake pedal and the center light came on as it should. It went off when she released the pedal, so I don't think it is the switch on the brake pedal. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?
 
#12 ·
Dead Battery Caused by Brake Lights Constantly On (Solved)

(2003 Envoy XL) Hello all, I'm just posting this for the benefit of others. I just repaired this issue. My actual symptom was the the brake lights was constantly on (all 3 lights, both tail and the center light) and it caused a battery drain to dead. Unfortunately, it happened intermittently. So didn't realize, the constant on brake lights was causing this. Once I saw my them stuck on, then I was able to focus on the brake lights. Stepping on the brake may remove the symptom. If it does go ahead and buy/order this part to replace, it will most likely happen again. If it does not you can pull the "Stop Lamp" fuse#12 (25 amps) located in the main fuse box located under the hood. This will remove power to the brake lights so your battery does not drain. I went to my local auto store and purchase a BWD-Brake Light Switch Part#SL2043 for $12.99. Also, if searching on-line it maybe called "Stop Lamp Switch". Just be sure to search proper part for your year/model. The newer model looks very similar physically but the plugin is different. Below is a couple of vids to that should help anyone having this problem. It is a simple easy replacement could take 10 min or 30 minutes depending on how cooperative the retaining clip wants to be. All one has to do is remove the bottom panel 4 screws in my case and follow the brake pedal up and the switch is there. :) See you-tube links below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZFiG1r4yJ0&index=37&list=PLDHqcLsMnV8_V0OzJCHgCACm1f6bW6_Dm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVMEP9emouU&index=36&list=PLDHqcLsMnV8_V0OzJCHgCACm1f6bW6_Dm
 
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