meisterg

Hello all, I recently noticed that I did not have any brake lights on my 98 Maxima GLE. I located the fuse and sure enough it was blown. I replaced the fuse and the brake lights worked for a short time before blowing again. I pressed them a couple of times last night and they worked, went out this morning going to work and they were working when I got in my car but when I had to keep my foot on the brake backing down the driveway the fuse blew again.

It seems that my brake light switch and the bulbs are working correctly because like I said it took some time for the fuse to blow, also when I just have my lights on the tail lights work, its only when I apply the brakes. It wasnt instantly after the brake pedal was pressed. Im not sure if that really means anything though...

The spot on my car which has suffered the most from rust is the rear wheel wells, Is there possibly a ground located around here somewhere near the wheel well that could possibly be damaged?

If there is no ground should I remove the center light and both tail lights, press the brakes and see if the fuse blows without any bulbs?

I dont know much about cars, the dealership wants $115 just to diagnose the problem, and my luck its something simple. Im about to go take a look at it just thought I would post here first. This place has been a great deal of help in the past hopefully I cant get this problem solved. Thanks!

SneakyBastard

Sounds to me like a short in the brake light wiring. Or possibly the brake light switch under the brake pedal arm. The only reason it would blow a fuse is because of a surge in the amperage to the brake lights themselves.

If it is only in the braking stage of lighting the rear bulbs, clean out your bulb sockets first and try again. If it does it again, check the switch under the brake pedal arm...Even though it seems ok, it may not be.

If it happens again, there is a short somewhere in that circuit.

If there is rust in the rear wheel well, look through it and see if you can see the wiring harness running to the back brake lights. I doubt that is where the wiring is, but, you can never tell. If the wires are exposed from openings in the rusted area, try and get at them through the trunk area and see if they are bared..

meisterg

thanks for the reply! I took out the 2 bulbs on each side, not the two on the trunk lid, there seems to be a cover over those ones. Anyway took the bulbs out, the bulb sockets look surprisingly clean, I took the bulbs out and wiped them off, replaced the fuse... again and held the brakes for about 30 seconds, started the car and did the same, and did not blow a fuse, it blew way quicker this morning.

Im going to take it around the subdivision when it gets dark so I can tell if they go out again but hopefully just taking out the bulbs and putting them back in did something?

komik

I looked in the FSM but there is no troubleshooting section for the brake lights. The wiring diagram is pretty straightforward. Red/Yellow wire from fuse box to brake light switch. Red/Green wire from brake light switch to rear of vehicle which then splits to each of the five brake lights. The ground for the "third" brake light connects to the grounds for the lights in the trunk lid. The grounds for the fender mounted lights connect both to the body and to each other.

What I would do to test it is this:
- Remove all brake light bulbs and apply the brakes. If the fuse is still good, reinstall the bulbs one by one, testing in between, to identify the one causing the problem.
- If the fuse blows with all bulbs removed, then the short is in the wire leading to the lights or the switch itself. You can test the switch by elimination. Disconnect it and jump a wire (carefully) to bypass it. If the fuse blows the switch is good. If it doesn't the switch is bad.
- If the fuse blows with the switch and all bulbs removed then you have a pinched / cut / stripped wire somewhere along the way. Have you recently had any large or sharp objects crammed in your trunk which could have nicked a wire?

meisterg

thanks komik for the reply. So I got ready to take it around the subdivision, while the car was stationary the brake lights seemed to work but shortly after I put it in reverse and started backing down the driveway it blew the fuse again. I will try taking all the bulbs out tomorrow and trying that, and the brake light switch is so difficult to get to with the steering column right in the way. Ill have to research how to deal with that.

I have not recently put anything in my trunk that could have nicked a wire, maybe I should just take everything out of my trunk though.. *sigh*

Thanks again for the replies ill have to get back on it tomorrow...

DennisMik

iTrader: (2)

Brake light bulbs have been known to blow fuses. The little metal arms that hold the filaments will warp from the heat and touch one another. Only way to find out if this is happening is to replace the bulbs. Maybe replace one or two and see what happens.

And don't forget about the high mount brake light in the rear window.

Reality sucks

iTrader: (3)

As stated, you need to swap out all the bulbs...The excess draw from one of them can cause hi amp draw and blow the fuse, as they are all connected.
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jdreid13

Could the bulbs be the reason why a STOP LIGHT (15AMP) Fuse keeps blowing because I have isolated everything else, but that third light bulb? And I'm finding it hard to understand how a bulb can blow a 15amp fuse

komik

Corrosion at the base of the bulb could create a short with a strong enough connection to blow the fuse rather than passing the current through the filament of the bulb.

You could try removing all the bulbs, then re-install them one by one until the fuse blows to help narrow down the short.

jdreid13

Appreciate the help, I figured out that I had two ground wires tied to one another from the third brake light and the spoiler light, which kept blowing the fuse. So I separated them and capped them off.