1997 F150...No Brake Lights!

Hi! I'm a proud owner of 1997 F150XL. I am having a problem figuring out what's going on with my brake lights. The third brake light works, but the ones located in the tail lights do not. I have changed the bulbs, all of the fuses look good, and I have also changed the brake on/off switch on the brake pedal. Still no brake lights. All of my wiring underneath seems to be intact and enclosed in the protective covering. I am at a loss. I don't have an owner's manual. I bought the truck used a couple of years ago and never bothered to get the manual through the dealership. My bad! So, I don't know exactly what fuse goes to what. I don't know if there are other fuses or switches under the hood or inline that control the lights. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.

Does it have a trailer hitch?? If so, you might want to check the wiring for that..

All I have is a ball and a place to plug in the trailer lights. I thought about that, but haven't checked it yet. Thanks, I'll give that a try. Wish me luck! :smile:

You'll find it eventually! Make sure you check all the pin fits for tightness and corrosion, make sure all your ground wires are ok and not corroded. I have a funny feeling that it's something simple..Good luck.....Mike.....Let me know what happens...

Finally, we have brake lights! Hubby got up underneath it checked all the wiring. Everything looked great. He dropped the tail gate a little harder than normal and now the brake lights work. Sounds like a short somewhere. But, we've wiggled every connection and wire and can't find it. What's that old saying? If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

Glad to hear you got em' working!

Fords have ground straps all over the place that mount to the frame, They lok like braided siver wire.
If the conection on one of them in coroded or dirty. you will have a an incompleat circut. Get a test 12/ volt test light ot a multi-meter amd you should be able to track down the short. Work your way away from the battery, checking @ each link in the sysyem. e.g. fuse box, wire, bulbs . and you shold be able to find the problem. if droping the tal gate fixed it it will undo it as well. that also makes it seem as if it would be in the back end.