Brake lights don't work. '99 are bulbs dual system?

[mangomoon]

I was stopped yesterday and informed that my brake lights do not work on my 1999 Ford Ranger. I waited until dark, tested all lights, from headlamps to turn signals and all work, but no brake lights. When night driving lights are turned on, why does the red panel illuminate in the rear where the brake bulbs are? Is this the same bulb? I don't want to spend the half hour to replace the bulbs only to find out that it is another problem, therefore I will call my mechanic, but I have heard that these are dual bulbs on the Ranger, therefore they burn out together instead of one bulb?

Any suggestions?

 

[exbass94]

I don't really understand what you mean by the "red panel where the brake bulbs are," but checking/changing the bulbs really isn't hard and takes less than 5 minutes. Another possbility is the the brake light switch crapped out. The one on my '94 Explorer has crapped out about 3 times already. The good news is, it's a really cheap part and is real easy to replace as well. To check to see if yours is bad, look underneath the dash and you'll see a small wire harness going to your brake pedal. Unplug the harness from the brake light switch, take a scrap piece of wire, and stick each end of the wire into the plugs on the harness. This will complete the circuit and the brake lights should turn on. If they turn on, you'll know for sure that the brake light switch is bad. If they don't, then the problem is somewhere else. Checking fuses would also be a good idea.