4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999) Visit the 4th Generation forum to ask specific questions or find out more about the 4th Generation Maxima.

Brake lights wont go off? wtf?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 06-20-2008, 01:13 PM
  #1  
wants an I35
Thread Starter
iTrader: (23)
 
ROCKART's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Delray Beach, FL
Posts: 3,284
Brake lights wont go off? wtf?

my friend has a 97 GLE same as mine with 133k on the block. im pretty sure its auto.

his brake lights wont turn off. ever. they stay on all the time.

he said he pulled the fuse that corresponds to them, and that caused them to turn off, but as soon as he puts it back in they go back on.

what is causing this?

is it an easy fix?
ROCKART is offline  
Old 06-20-2008, 01:41 PM
  #2  
mod or sell?
iTrader: (30)
 
internetautomar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Skokie (look it up)
Posts: 19,760
his brake light switch by the pedal is probably stuck/bad.
internetautomar is offline  
Old 06-20-2008, 05:12 PM
  #3  
Addicted to the Org
iTrader: (16)
 
maximized98's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 1,534
Yep, brake light switch. There is always power going to the brakes, when you push down on the pedal it pushes the switch down to ground it and tah dah, brakes!!!!
maximized98 is offline  
Old 06-20-2008, 05:44 PM
  #4  
wants an I35
Thread Starter
iTrader: (23)
 
ROCKART's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Delray Beach, FL
Posts: 3,284
so does the switch get stuck down?

or is this a part that is going to have to be replaced?
ROCKART is offline  
Old 06-20-2008, 07:12 PM
  #5  
Senior Member
 
z32drifter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 996
More than likely the little plastic stopper that the brake light switch rides on broke and fell out. The lights are off when the switch is depressed.
z32drifter is offline  
Old 06-20-2008, 10:04 PM
  #6  
Senior Member
iTrader: (4)
 
The Russian's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Russia
Posts: 1,198
Originally Posted by z32drifter
More than likely the little plastic stopper that the brake light switch rides on broke and fell out. The lights are off when the switch is depressed.
are thosemustang wheels?
The Russian is offline  
Old 06-21-2008, 05:38 AM
  #7  
Junior Member
 
johnnyboy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 25
Yeah its the rubber stopper stuck on the brake paddle which presses the switch ,so if this piece falls off the switch is always released like as though ur pressing the brake paddle .Just stick double sided tape over the hole in the paddle in layers thick enough to depress the switch when the brakes are released.this works for me .Just make sure its works fine or you will have a dead battery

Last edited by johnnyboy; 06-21-2008 at 05:41 AM.
johnnyboy is offline  
Old 06-21-2008, 05:29 PM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
z32drifter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 996
Originally Posted by RuSSiAnMax415
are thosemustang wheels?
They are Halibrand Cobra III wheels, very popular with the Shelby Cobra replica guys.

Here's a parked shot..


They started out as track wheels for the my Z but I have bigger and lighter ones now....

z32drifter is offline  
Old 06-21-2008, 08:53 PM
  #9  
Senior Member
iTrader: (7)
 
QNO_A32's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: NY
Posts: 1,107
please dont show the enkies...lol
QNO_A32 is offline  
Old 06-22-2008, 07:07 PM
  #10  
Senior Member
 
z32drifter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 996
Originally Posted by QNO_A32
please dont show the enkies...lol
I'm a pic *****, it's a sickness...... Think Nobama will send me a check for that?
z32drifter is offline  
Old 05-21-2009, 06:02 AM
  #11  
wants an I35
Thread Starter
iTrader: (23)
 
ROCKART's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Delray Beach, FL
Posts: 3,284
well ironically enough after starting this thread almost a year ago for a friend of mine, this same thing happened to me last night.

two things to point out here: i hadent driven my car for 2 days AND it was raining very very heavily over the past two days (both of these are unusual)

so after reading the responses here, i went out to my car with a flashlight and looked for the rubber bump stop that is supposedly attached to the brake pedal arm?

i didnt see it.

am i looking in the right place? am i misunderstanding?

i also didnt see the place where the bumpstop is supposed to push.
ROCKART is offline  
Old 05-22-2009, 01:54 PM
  #12  
wants an I35
Thread Starter
iTrader: (23)
 
ROCKART's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Delray Beach, FL
Posts: 3,284
anyone got a pic?
ROCKART is offline  
Old 05-28-2009, 11:10 PM
  #13  
wants an I35
Thread Starter
iTrader: (23)
 
ROCKART's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Delray Beach, FL
Posts: 3,284
i still dont see the "little plastic thing" in the switch. hell i cant even find the switch

can someone please help? my car has been dead for a week now.
ROCKART is offline  
Old 05-29-2009, 12:25 AM
  #14  
No more Maximas...
iTrader: (26)
 
pmohr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Oak Ridge, TN
Posts: 14,331
Originally Posted by ROCKART
i still dont see the "little plastic thing" in the switch. hell i cant even find the switch

can someone please help? my car has been dead for a week now.
You just need to get up under there with a flashlight. The switch is mounted to the pedal bracket right in front of the pedal arm, IIRC.
pmohr is offline  
Old 06-01-2009, 07:07 PM
  #15  
wants an I35
Thread Starter
iTrader: (23)
 
ROCKART's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Delray Beach, FL
Posts: 3,284
Originally Posted by pmohr
You just need to get up under there with a flashlight. The switch is mounted to the pedal bracket right in front of the pedal arm, IIRC.
ok i found this thing today. apparently the little black plastic thing that is supposed to sit in there shattered........ i have no idea how that happened considering i didnt use my car for two days before i noticed the brake lights always on...


anyway i got a dime and some tape and made my own thing to hold the switch down (where do i get a new black thing for that hole??). i jumped my car, drove it around 5 miles or so and came home and turned it off.


i then went to work for a few hours and came back ---------- only to find out that my ****ing cars battery had died AGAIN.

i checked to see if my little tape/dime thing was still in place, and it was.

so im walking back toward my house and i hear a clicking noise coming from the trunk area.

its like a constant on/off switch sound, like the sound the mechanism makes when you pop the trunk from the drivers side door.


was leaving my car's brake lights on till the car died damaging so something in the trunk area?

was leaving the car with a dead battery for 9 days damaging to something else?

or are these two things not connected, and just a coincidence?
ROCKART is offline  
Old 06-02-2009, 07:45 PM
  #16  
Senior Member
 
z32drifter's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2003
Posts: 996
You can get he little stopper for the brake light switch from the dealer. If you battery was dischaged for days with the brake lights on a 5 mile drive is not going to recharge it. You need a battery charger to recharge the battery. A 10amp charger would need most of the day to recharge it. The clicking noise may be related to low battery voltage.
z32drifter is offline  
Old 06-23-2013, 04:52 PM
  #17  
Newbie - Just Registered
 
tftpdnld's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Posts: 3
Thanks to all of you who helped in the thread. I ran into the same issue with a 1996 model. I took a before and after (duct tape with penny in the middle) to those who's trying to get visual.

Hope this help.
Attached Thumbnails Brake lights wont go off? wtf?-missing.jpg   Brake lights wont go off? wtf?-band-aid-fix.jpg  
tftpdnld is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
mvm062
Infiniti I30/I35
3
11-30-2020 09:00 AM
MaxLife17
8th Generation Maxima (2016-)
43
06-27-2019 01:37 PM
MaxLife17
New Member Introductions
5
09-08-2015 02:36 PM
A32goldylocks
4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999)
2
09-02-2015 06:39 AM
Samedi
4th Generation Maxima (1995-1999)
11
08-13-2015 04:05 PM



Quick Reply: Brake lights wont go off? wtf?



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 04:26 AM.