Right rear brake light / turn signal.

[BroncoJoe19]

Here is a picture of the brake light switch. You can see that it is adjustable by screwing it in and out.

EDIT: After futher testing, this does NOT appear to be the brake light switch. I do not know what it is for but it does not appear to activate the lights.

Of course like everything else under the dash it is a pain to get to.

It appears that when you depress the pedal, the switch button goes out closing the circuit.

It is a shame that these trucks don't have quick release seats so that one can easily lie on his back when working under the dash. B)

BTW... HOW do you KNOW that the rear bulbs are good? Did you ever take them out and TEST them?

While what Shift1313 said is sometimes true... that if you have a bad bulb, the remaining bulb will flash double time, I have also seen it that when one bulb goes bad, the remaining good bulb will just stay on instead of flashing.

This is the first time I had/took the opportunity to look at my bronc for comparison.

Since checking the brake switch is such a pain, please answer these questions after you replace your battery, and we can better help you nail this thing down.

IF when you replace the battery later today, and IF it still doesn't work, then please

be sure that your lights are turned off.

1. put your left directional on, and see if the left front blinker light lights

2. see if left rear blicker lights, and note it and let us know.

3.

THEN... do the same thing on the right side.

 

[shift1313]

hey joe. this thread is so confusing since its actually helping two different people. im not sure which truck the first poster has but love my bronco has an 83. his BL switch is even more of a p ain than your 90. it looks like this.







the switch actually mounts where the rod for the master cylinder clips on to the brake pedal. the arm for the master has a flat spot on it.

like this



when you push the pedal and the brake pedal changes angle but the rod for the master doesnt the corner of the flat part comes in contact with the brake light switch. When i stated earlier that you could bend the tab it was for this style. if whomever this post is helping has an 87+ truck it should be like yours.

hope the pictures help.

lovemybronco. if you have to replace your switch there is a cotter pin/spring pin(red in the first pic) that keeps the brake master rod on the pedal. you can see in the second pic the BL switch has a hole on one side and a slot on the other. also note there is a bushing that goes inside all of this and a washer that stays on the brake pedal stud that all this rides on. it is really simple to pull apart but a big pain to put back together.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

Hi Matt (Shift1313)

Yeah it is confusing. The first guy posted 6 months ago in Sept 2007. At this point he has not been back since then. So I am not worrying about him. It did initially confuse me though in trying to help lovemybronco.

Also although love_my_bronco has asserted that his/her bulbs are all good, he/she never confirmed that both filaments of all four bulbs were tested. He/she has stated repeatedly that all the lights work, but my brake lights do not get brighter. That means to me, that the brake filament does not work... bad bulb.

Further he/she states that neither brake light gets brighter... that means two bad bulbs, or a bad switch.

In addition the directionals don't blink. (They just stay on.) ALL of them stay on? OR just the front? the question was asked, but not answered (yet)

It *may* be a function of the flasher, but I have seen directionals that blink double time when one bulb was out, (as you stated) but I have also seen -- when one bulb is out that it would not flash, but would just stay on. Ofcourse the bad bulb would not light. My guess is that Love_my_bronco has two bad bulbs, and the type of flasher that just makes the good bulb stay lit.

On top of that... the Bronco has TWO switches mounted to the brake pedal!! The white one that I posted a picture of, (which looks like the ones I had seen on other cars I had,) and the one you posted pictures of. I don't know what the white one is for, but it does not appear to acitivate the brakes, so I will have to go back up and edit my post. I am curious.. mine is a '90 bronc, what year is yours? and does it have both switches? My white switch is about four inches higher up the brake pedal lever than the one yuo posted a picture of.

 

[love_my_bronco]

Hi Matt (Shift1313)Yeah it is confusing. The first guy posted 6 months ago in Sept 2007. At this point he has not been back since then. So I am not worrying about him. It did initially confuse me though in trying to help lovemybronco.

Also although love_my_bronco has asserted that his/her bulbs are all good, he/she never confirmed that both filaments of all four bulbs were tested. He/she has stated repeatedly that all the lights work, but my brake lights do not get brighter. That means to me, that the brake filament does not work... bad bulb.

Further he/she states that neither brake light gets brighter... that means two bad bulbs, or a bad switch.

In addition the directionals don't blink. (They just stay on.) ALL of them stay on? OR just the front? the question was asked, but not answered (yet)

It *may* be a function of the flasher, but I have seen directionals that blink double time when one bulb was out, (as you stated) but I have also seen -- when one bulb is out that it would not flash, but would just stay on. Ofcourse the bad bulb would not light. My guess is that Love_my_bronco has two bad bulbs, and the type of flasher that just makes the good bulb stay lit.

On top of that... the Bronco has TWO switches mounted to the brake pedal!! The white one that I posted a picture of, (which looks like the ones I had seen on other cars I had,) and the one you posted pictures of. I don't know what the white one is for, but it does not appear to acitivate the brakes, so I will have to go back up and edit my post. I am curious.. mine is a '90 bronc, what year is yours? and does it have both switches? My white switch is about four inches higher up the brake pedal lever than the one yuo posted a picture of.

alright sorry that i havnt been on ive had some computer difficulties.

yea im a male and my name is Matt. now to answer some questions. umm i checked my tail light switch and it was the one that Matt posted turns out it works fine. also ok im trying to figure out how to state it. with all lights off (daytime) when i use my turn siganal (either side) both the rear and front lights come on but didnt flash so i think thats just the flasher fuse.

as for my tail lights. you might be right it could be the second fiament but their new bulbs. ill get another set just to check.

my battery is shot looks like im picking up a new one. so ill check all this when i can. all my running lights work. head lights side lights and my tail lights. i think that answers questions if ya guys got anymore ill see if i can answer them i hope this helps you help me

 

[BroncoJoe19]

alright sorry that i havnt been on ive had some computer difficulties. yea im a male and my name is Matt. now to answer some questions. umm i checked my tail light switch and it was the one that Matt posted turns out it works fine. also ok im trying to figure out how to state it. with all lights off (daytime) when i use my turn siganal (either side) both the rear and front lights come on but didnt flash so i think thats just the flasher fuse.

as for my tail lights. you might be right it could be the second fiament but their new bulbs. ill get another set just to check.

my battery is shot looks like im picking up a new one. so ill check all this when i can. all my running lights work. head lights side lights and my tail lights. i think that answers questions if ya guys got anymore ill see if i can answer them i hope this helps you help me

Hi Matt.. welcome back /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

OK so this tells us a lot.

First you do not have to buy new bulbs, because both filaments are working.

One filament is for your running lights, the other is for brake/directional.

Since your directional filament lights (but doesn't blink) that means that the socket is ok, and that your grounds are ok. IT is probably (almost certainly) your flasher as stated above. Replace that first.

Now that we know that the filament to the brake lights are working and that the sockets are good, we need to see WHY you are not getting power to the brake lights.

Check FUSE #13 HAZ/STOP

IF the fuse is good, check to make sure that you get power to the brake switch.

Let us know how you make out.

 

[love_my_bronco]

ok so far i know the brake switch is good as for power getting to it im not sure. i changed out every fuse for brand new ones even if the old one were working. i checked every fuse myself. so directional and brake lights for the rear run on the same filament? hmm im gonna have to trace wires to see whats the problem there.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

ok so far i know the brake switch is good as for power getting to it im not sure. i changed out every fuse for brand new ones even if the old one were working. i checked every fuse myself. so directional and brake lights for the rear run on the same filament? hmm im gonna have to trace wires to see whats the problem there.

You may want to take a second look at fuse #13. Just in case...

the right rear brake light should be the orange lt blue wire

and the left... Lt green orange

coming from the sockets

the blacks are ground

Good luck

 

[love_my_bronco]

just to state for the record. some ofe the wires under my dash (all of the light wires and a few others) were melted so ive been fixing the melted shorted wires. im all done with the wireing now i gotta wire up the fuse box again. so far thats what ive been doing. umm i think you were right the brake switch wasnt getting power so when i install the new battery (nice gel batter) then ill see the issue. hopefully that was the problem. you stated the the hazard fuse was #13. ill check it out to see if it was something i did.

 

[shift1313]

bronco joe. does your bronco have a center high mount light on the top? ive seen brake light switches before with dual zone(double pole single throw). basically the left and right lights run though one switch and the 3rd light runs seperate because it is unaffected by the turn signals where as the other two are interupted when the signals are on. my 85 doesnt have another brake light switch, only the one pictured. also the fuse #'s between his 83 and your 90 are different. or atleast from the diagrams ive seen are different. also joe is your bronco a manual or auto? the other switch might have something to do with the auto?

when i get a chance ill peek under the dash of my truck to see what switch it has. being an 89 should be close to yours.

Matt, if you had fried wires im betting you found the culprit. let us know what happens with the battery.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

bronco joe. does your bronco have a center high mount light on the top? ive seen brake light switches before with dual zone(double pole single throw). basically the left and right lights run though one switch and the 3rd light runs seperate because it is unaffected by the turn signals where as the other two are interupted when the signals are on. my 85 doesnt have another brake light switch, only the one pictured. also the fuse #'s between his 83 and your 90 are different. or atleast from the diagrams ive seen are different. also joe is your bronco a manual or auto? the other switch might have something to do with the auto?
when i get a chance ill peek under the dash of my truck to see what switch it has. being an 89 should be close to yours.

Matt, if you had fried wires im betting you found the culprit. let us know what happens with the battery.

Nope... my '90 doesn't have the center high brake light.

It is wired for a trailer, but I think that they all were.

My Bronco is an auto E4OD

I checked the Haynes manual for the wiring diagram for Love_My_Bronco's fuse box first before posting. '83 brakes are on fuse 13.

 

[love_my_bronco]

Hey Matt could you tell me which wires went to the brake switch. i cant remember what side either wire was on. i think the green one was on the left and the blue was on the right?

 

[shift1313]

matt did you cut the wires? the connector should only go on one way. ill have to look tomorrow for you. i looked on my 89 and as the connector goes, green is closest to the brake pedal(lower on the connector) and green/red was closer to my clutch pedal. hope that helps.

joe. my 89 has both switches(the white one about 4" higher) my truck is a 5speed with no towing package. im not really sure what its for but now im curious. maybe its for the RABS. my 89 has rear abs and the 85 doesnt, that would make sense.

 

[love_my_bronco]

back to square one. im getting soo mad at this. my running lights are working but my brake lights and turn siganals are now completly dead. still no flash. the arrow on my dash lights stays solid but again when i use the turn siganal without running lights (daytime) NOTHING HAPPENS!!! i have a chiltons and a haynes manuals. anythinf else you guys can send my would be awsome. looks like im doing homework tonight.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

joe. my 89 has both switches(the white one about 4" higher) my truck is a 5speed with no towing package. im not really sure what its for but now im curious. maybe its for the RABS. my 89 has rear abs and the 85 doesnt, that would make sense.

How about cruise control?

Does your '89 have cruise?

I think that it is more likely that it is related to cruise than abs, but I can't find it in the wireing diagrams for either.

joe

 

[love_my_bronco]

looked at fuse box cover on a website for my year bronco and it says # 13 fuse isnt used. #9 is the hazard fuse. almost done with wireing it up we'll see what happens.

 

[BroncoJoe19]

looked at fuse box cover on a website for my year bronco and it says # 13 fuse isnt used. #9 is the hazard fuse. almost done with wireing it up we'll see what happens.

Matt. LMB

You mentioned that you have both Chiltons and Haynes. Page 12-26 of the Haynes manual shows the fuse panel for a 1981-83 fuse 9 is not used, and 13 is haz/stop. IF the diagram in Haynes is correct THEN you may be able to rely on the rest of the wiring diagram. IF it is NOT... then I don't know what to tell ya.

Try Chilton.

Overall what would be best, would be check ebay for a 1983 Bronco EVTM manual.

 

[shift1313]

joe, both my 89 and 85 have cruise. ill have to check under the dash of the 85 again. i took a bunch of pics under there for matt trying to get good shots of the brake light switch and i dont see it in any of the pics. Ofcourse the cruise might be different because the 85 is carb and the 89 is FI.

matt dont take this the wrong way and i dont mean anything by it but is the key on when you are testing? ive seen people test before because the running lights come on with no key, but your signals will not, your hazzards will though.

Like i said earlier another thing to check is the key switch(the part farther down the steering column. If it is between positions it can do funny things and has caused my TS's not to work before.

If it were me i would pull the tail lights off and power the bulb to make sure it actually works. I might also pull both bulbs and see if the front TS's work at that point. Like joe pointed out sometime the fronts will flash fast, sometimes they stay solid. In your steering colum is your turn signal switch. i have seen these cause brake lights not to work as well in other cars. My manual shows fuse #13 to be your haz/turn just like joe said. from there it goes up to the switch in your steering column. It does this so your turn signal can override your brake light. that might be the last piece of the puzzle for you if everything else checked out.

 

[love_my_bronco]

joe, both my 89 and 85 have cruise. ill have to check under the dash of the 85 again. i took a bunch of pics under there for matt trying to get good shots of the brake light switch and i dont see it in any of the pics. Ofcourse the cruise might be different because the 85 is carb and the 89 is FI.


matt dont take this the wrong way and i dont mean anything by it but is the key on when you are testing? ive seen people test before because the running lights come on with no key, but your signals will not, your hazzards will though.

Like i said earlier another thing to check is the key switch(the part farther down the steering column. If it is between positions it can do funny things and has caused my TS's not to work before.

If it were me i would pull the tail lights off and power the bulb to make sure it actually works. I might also pull both bulbs and see if the front TS's work at that point. Like joe pointed out sometime the fronts will flash fast, sometimes they stay solid. In your steering colum is your turn signal switch. i have seen these cause brake lights not to work as well in other cars. My manual shows fuse #13 to be your haz/turn just like joe said. from there it goes up to the switch in your steering column. It does this so your turn signal can override your brake light. that might be the last piece of the puzzle for you if everything else checked out.

lol like i said before i work in an electical shop. yea the key is in. well guys i dont know exactly happened but i gave the bronco one quick run through fixed the rest of the interior light wires (blue/red) then all the sudden everything works. turn siganals brake lights interior lights headlights EVERYTHING! and im sorry it was #1 fuse thats hazard. Matt left the fuse box panal on another thread.. (THANK YOU MATT!!!) but everything works! im happy thank you Joe and Matt i owe you guys big time!!!

 

[BroncoJoe19]

lol like i said before i work in an electical shop. yea the key is in. well guys i dont know exactly happened but i gave the bronco one quick run through fixed the rest of the interior light wires (blue/red) then all the sudden everything works. turn siganals brake lights interior lights headlights EVERYTHING! and im sorry it was #1 fuse thats hazard. Matt left the fuse box panal on another thread.. (THANK YOU MATT!!!) but everything works! im happy thank you Joe and Matt i owe you guys big time!!!

YAHOOO!!!!! /

Maybe you have alate year model '83, because the wiring diagram in Haynes's says that the '84-'86 models have hazard as fuse #1. Matt (Shift1313) has an '85 so I imagine that is the wiring diagram he posted. So in the future, whenever YOU have electrical problems perhaps you should reference a '84-86 diagram.

I don't envey you having to do all that stuff under the dash... tough quarters to work in.

I'm glad you got it all worked out.

joe

 

[love_my_bronco]

YAHOOO!!!!! /
Maybe you have alate year model '83, because the wiring diagram in Haynes's says that the '84-'86 models have hazard as fuse #1. Matt (Shift1313) has an '85 so I imagine that is the wiring diagram he posted. So in the future, whenever YOU have electrical problems perhaps you should reference a '84-86 diagram.

I don't envey you having to do all that stuff under the dash... tough quarters to work in.

I'm glad you got it all worked out.

joe

wasnt that tough. i took out the center console both front seats and the dash. just left me and the wires. well that was fun... i gotta start wrapping the wires back up and playing the cannectors a little. ill post some pictues of the mess when i can. the bright blue wires are the wires i replaced. all thats left is paint the dash (grey black and white camo) connect all the connectors and put the dash back in. thanks guys!