I drive my kids...please help.

[jessvanilla]

Ok, my problem is that the brake lights don't work when I step on them. the automatic rear lights don't come on but when I turn on the lights they work and when I step on the brakes the blinkers stop blinking. The blinkers flash quickly when they are on. Anyone have any ideas...

[Doug Tatham]

It doesn't sound like a typical short, which is good since they are hard to find. It sounds more like the wrong bulbs are installed or the bulbs are installed incorrectly. If you look at the sides of some bulbs they have posts. Usually they aren't the same distance from the bottom of the bulb. You need to make sure that the bulbs aren't rotated 180 off when you install. Several bulbs have two filaments, one for parking lights, one for blinking. If the blinking filament is out, the other will still light up when the lights are turned on. If one bulb is burnt out it will cause the blinkers to go quickly. Check your bulbs make sure they are good, the correct ones, and installed correctly.

[jessvanilla]

Thanks so much...I'll have to try that. It has to be something like that...Cause they worked fine for a day after I posted then they started acting crazy again.
OK .. so I went down to check it and All of the lights bulbs are working. They blinkers still blink fast and the other bulb that's not supposed to blink has a faint blink....There is a little bit of water in one of the front blinkers but it still works...Due to rain a few days ago. When I step on the brakes...the directional arrows in the dash both light up...faintly but they do. What's the next step????

[Doug Tatham]

Remove the back bulbs and test the blinkers to see if they work then. If not, replace the bulbs and remove the side bulbs. Repeat with the front bulbs.
You may also try removing the back light assembly and cleaning the contacts.

[jessvanilla]

I don't think it has anything to do with the bulbs...I went camping this weekend and they didn't work when I left....It rained and has been damp out since then and they haven't given me a problem...everything is working normally....I did work the blinkers without the bulbs and they work....I have no IDEA...Thanks for your help!

[Doug Tatham]

It's not going to be easy. You're going to need to trace the wires and see if there is damaged insulation anywhere. Check the sockets and make sure they are dry. If you have any lamps that are leaking and water building up inside, you'll probably want to replace it. You must have a short or ground somewhere, from my experience it's usually the socket. I replaced a socket one time and started blowing fuses, it turn out that the metal trace wasn't trimmed properly and was shorting out.