1995 Ford Escort LX Wagon Brake lights always on when car runs

[rwbrown1965]

My wife and I can't figure this out. If anyone has any suggestions, thanks and God bless!

We were having starting problems with our escort (1995 LX wagon, 1.9 liter): it would crank sometimes but not start. So, we replaced the battery, but still have the problem once in a while. It wuld crank, but not start. Stop cranking, wait a couple seconds and try again and it wuld start. We also did a tune-up on the car.

About a week later, my wife started the car and noticed that the rear brake lights were on. Whether depressing the brake pedal or not, as long as the car is running, the brake lights stay on. Turn the car off and the brake lights go off. When the car is turned off, if you press the brake pedal, the brake lights will come on and when you take your foot off the brake, the brake lights go out. But as soon as you turn the car on, the brake lights go on. We even took the fuse out and the brake lights stayed on!

[A. Souphound]

Originally Posted by rwbrown1965

My wife and I can't figure this out. If anyone has any suggestions, thanks and God bless!

We were having starting problems with our escort (1995 LX wagon, 1.9 liter): it would crank sometimes but not start. So, we replaced the battery, but still have the problem once in a while. It wuld crank, but not start. Stop cranking, wait a couple seconds and try again and it wuld start. We also did a tune-up on the car.

About a week later, my wife started the car and noticed that the rear brake lights were on. Whether depressing the brake pedal or not, as long as the car is running, the brake lights stay on. Turn the car off and the brake lights go off. When the car is turned off, if you press the brake pedal, the brake lights will come on and when you take your foot off the brake, the brake lights go out. But as soon as you turn the car on, the brake lights go on. We even took the fuse out and the brake lights stayed on!

There is a short between the brake lights and another power source. While the tail lights are burning, remove one fuse at a time until the
lights go out. This will tell which circuit is supplying power. From there it's a matter of finding where two wires or connector terminals are making contact.