I’m having brake light issues with a 2001 Suzuki Grand Vitara. The brake light fuse keeps blowing. The last time driven with me following the driver side brake light was dimmer than the passenger side. At one stop the driver side brake light pulsed brighter for a split second then went back to dim. A few stops later it became as bright as the passenger side and stayed that way for the rest of the trip. The driver put in a breaker fuse and it was in during the observed trip. I’m not sure of the brake light visual symptoms without the breaker fuse in other than that the fuse keeps blowing which prevents the vehicle from being shifted out of park. Any idea what the problem could be? Bad ground? Thanks in advance for any help!
Let me get this straight?
You followed the vehicle while the brake pedal was being depressed, and one brake light acted differently than the other?
Tester
If the fuse is blowing, either the fuseis the wrong amperage rating, the bulb is faulty (w/a short), or there’s a current path that shouldn’t be there. So check the fuse rating is consistent w/what the owner manual says, and replace the bulb. If that doesn’t work, someone is going to have to trace the wire point to point until they find where the current path is going amiss. Likely a wire is scraping against a sharp metal edge somewhere along the way. Often this problem occurs in tail light ass’y area itself. It isn’t likely a bad ground that is causing the fuse to blow, but a bad ground could make the light go intermittently dim.
You don’t have a bad ground causing the trouble, you have a power lead shorting to ground or over load condition that blowing the fuse. Too much current flow. The driver side light problem might be a clue to the trouble but it really sounds like just dirty contacts to the bulb.
I assume the fuse blows out when you press the brake pedal which would mean the problem is after the brake switch. If you have a trailer wire harness check for a problem there. If you can disconnect the rear lights try isolating them to see if the trouble is within the bulb socket. I have seen wire insulation melt due to the heat of the bulb and cause a short.
Tester. While following the vehicle the passenger brake light worked normally the whole time. The driver side was dim, pulsed once, was dim again, then worked normally.
The fuse is the correct rating per the owner’s manual. I’ll check the contacts to the bulb to see if there are issues there. It doesn’t have a trailer harness.
Thanks!! I appreciate the advice!