I need serious help guys. I have a 2006 Mustang v6. Her name is Clash. Some of my brake lights are not working. I tried changing the bulbs but they still will not work. Each tail light uses 3 bulbs. 2 are out on the passenger side, one is out on the driver side and the whole 3rd brake light is out. I checked the bulbs and they are good. The bulbs work in the slots on the tail light that were not out but dont work in the ones that were out before I tried to change them.So its not the bulbs. I dont think its the housings for the bulbs because all of them light up when i turn on the headlights/tail lights. I dont think its a fuse because not all of the brake lights are out. I dont think its the brake pedal switch because some of the brake lights do work.My baby is hurting. please help!!!
Assuming it is only the brake lights, I suggest that you look carefully at the wiring you can see. I would also suggest replacing all the brake lights, even those that appear to be working normal. Look for wires that might be damaged.
Are all the lamps not working located on the turn lid? If so check where the wires go from the car to the lid.
Campo, it appears as though you have power back to the light fixture, so that would eliminate the switch and fuse. I would first take a look at the individual lamp sockets for an open ground. Ford uses a dilectric grease in those sockets which tends to trap moisture and cause the spring inside the contact to corrode. That is what I found in my daughter’s 2005 Freestyle. You may be able to clean out the crud, but be prepared to replace the sockets.
The circuit for brake lights is not the same as the park/ tail lamps. You could still have bad sockets.
It is only the brake lights. All the wiring I can see looks good. The lamps not working are all brake lights and are random. Remember 3 bulbs per each tail light. one driver side one light all the way to right not working. on passenger side 2 lights all the way to left not working. and 3rd brake light is out
would it be odd to have that many bad sockets all at once?
would it be odd to have that many bad sockets all at once? I only removed the left light.But it appears that the sockets for the 2 working lights are black sockets, the one not working is a gray socket
The circuit for the rear traditional brake lights (not the one in the middle), is the same as the hazard lights. What happens when you turn the hazard lights on?
Do you have a trailer hitch on this vehicle? If you do, I would start by checking the wiring for the trailer.
OK, when I turn the hazards on the same brake lights that are out do not light up. What does that mean? I do not have a trailer hitch.
this is a rough diagram of lights out:
the lights on each side are divided into 3 separate lights with one oval shaped 3rd light in the center.
driver side :
[][][x]
middle 3rd brake light
(xxxxxx)
passenger side:
[x][x][]
all together from left to right:
[][][x] (xxxxxxxx) [x][x][]
Is this one of the fancy Mustangs that has the turn signals come on one light at a time, flowing in the direction in which you are turning? If so, it could be that the controller of those lights is fried for some reason.
Based on your diagram, the third brake light does not work, correct?
You need to stop what you are doing, look in the owner’s manual or on the fuse panel door, figure out which fuses are for the brake lights or might be any way related to them, and check those fuses. You have assumed the fuses aren’t the problem but you haven’t ruled it out.
Sometimes, if you are lucky, electrical problems can be solved by an adept do-it-yourself mechanic, but based on what you are telling us, it might be time to hire a professional mechanic.
It doesnt have the fancy tail lights. The whole fixture (all the lights) blink at the same time. Correct the 3rd brake light does not work. I checked the fuses, they are fine. I’m thinking its the light fixture going to some of the lights based on other comments here.
Sometimes, there is one wire going to the brake lights, and it has some kind of clamp connecting all of the bulb sockets in a single fixture to that one wire. These clamps are frequently used to install trailer wiring, but they might have been used in the manufacturer process or a repair as well. Try to find where these wires come together and check the connection. It might just be a loose connection, and if you are lucky, it might be near the fixtures where you can get at it.
They are right next to the lights. Maybe 6 inches behind. Big gray clip that snaps together. The wires are exactly as you described. It all looks and feels tight.
You don’t necessarily have them all at once. You might not have noticed when the first 2 or 3 died.
Try replacing or reinstalling the clips and I think the problem might be solved. It might be a loss of connection you can’t see. All it sometimes takes is a good tug on one of those wires to mess up the connection. Better yet, remove the clamp and install a better more reliable connector.
You should also check the connections where the wires connect to the back of the fixtures. Like I said above, sometimes all it takes is one good tug to screw up a connection.
It could be odd, but considering the short distance between each other and that they are exposed to the same weather/conditions at the same time, it could be not so odd. It happened to me on my 1982 Opel Rekord 2.0
I don’t have a whole lot to add, but I think the problem will either be with the socket itself or one or more of the connections to the wire. You really need a $10 test light. Turn the parking lights on and the 4 way flashers. Each socket and bulb has two contact points. One is for the brake light portion of the bulb and the other is for the tail light portion. Connect the aligator clip of the test light to a ground and then probe each of the contact points in the bulb socket. The light will light if there is power there. If you have power there, then you have a poor contact to the bulb itself, or to the ground portion of the socket or bulb which is the base of the bulb. If no power there, then follow the wire back to the first connector and check for power there. You’ll need to keep following the wire back to the point where you have power.
Well? Any progress?