Hi, I’m driving a 2003 Ford Windstar. The brake light (tail light) is acting strange because every time I put it to park remove the key from the ignition, the brake light stays on. I don’t know what causing the problem. Need help, thanks.
I’ll bet your cruise control does’nt work either.
Pull up on the brake pedal, do the brake lights go off?
Actually, I need to step slowly on the brake pedal and the light will turn off. But I don’t know why it keeps going on and off. In other words after I put a remedy turning the lights off and driving it another day and put it to park, the brake light will come on again. Does this one has something to do with the ABS system?
If you are a DIY type, see if you can change the brake light switch. It should be located at the very top of hinge on which the brake petal hangs. Most likely the switch has gone bad.
Is this the light on the dash or the exterior brake lights on the rear of the van?
If it’s the exterior brake lights it looks like you need to replace the switch on the brake arm above the pedal.
The dash brake warning light should not be on with the key out of the ignition.
If it is on then, i have no idea what would cause that.
Hopefully one of the other guys on here will know more about that.
01 Windstar.
Cruise control doesn’t work and the brake lights on the back of the vehicle often stay on or come on by themselves even when the vehicle is parked.
This has been going on for some years. The battery would drain and then the car would not start.
Last year the battery would be intermittently dead and I would have to get it jumped. The battery (several times) and the alternator have been replaced (at the prompting of repair folks.) I never believed it was the battery or the alternator; I always suggested these were symptoms not problems.
Two weeks ago the instrument gauges rotated back and forth when I started the car. They did not stop; all gauges went from resting position to maximum position repeatedly. I shut the van back off and started it again only only to find it was doing the same thing. Concerned and agitated, I drove home with moving gauges. While driving the tach arm went beyond its limit and got stuck in the drive identifier to the left of the Park P. It’s still there.
Two days later, the van idled up and down rapidly waiting to make a left turn and then almost died. After my turn the blinker arm came back down in place but the light would not shut off. Within a mile, and after two more turns, the van died. I put the van in park, took the key out, got out and the blinker was still going. The headlights were also on although the switch was in the off position.
The van had to be jumped again. It drove about 200 yards at a low idle and then died again. After 3 more jumps (and 15 minutes of letting it charge off another vehicle) I got it to a dealer.
After 4 days of “we can’t figure it out”, they said that the brake switch and the after-market electric remote starter were draining .01 amps from the battery causing the batter to die out. I had already disconnected the remote start wire from the battery. They replaced the brake switch and disconnected the remote start under the dash.
The brake light and ABS lights were also on and I was told that the ABS hydraulic control unit and electric control unit (that goes with it) needed to be replaced ($2,700.00). I did not have that replaced as I believe they were possibly seeing those codes due to my unskilled changing of the front brake pads.
When I got the van back it drove fine for two days. Then yesterday the blinker failed to shut off again, then the radio turned off by itself (3 times) and then the idle went low and the van died. I tried to restart it but the battery was dead. There wasn’t even enough energy left to get the windows up. After the car sat for an hour, the battery recharged itself enough to get the windows up but it would not start.
The dealership is supposed to come get the vehicle and try again. I’m concerned they aren’t looking in the right places or are now just going to try whatever they can.
Does anyone have any ideas?