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Brake lights out, fuse blown


mangled thumb

New Member
Joined
Aug 3, 2009
Messages
1
Vehicle Year
2003
Transmission
Manual
Hi all - my first post here, so be gentle.

My new-to-me '03 Ranger no longer has brake lights. A quick internet search reveals the culprit to be the brake switch, although most of the reading I've done seems to indicate that the fuse doesn't blow. So, perhaps this is different?

Anyway, some specifics:
- turn signals, reverse lamps, etc all work
- when brake switch is disconnected, brake switch fuse #13 doesn't blow
- when rear bulbs disconnected and brake switch connected, fuse blows
- opened up the brake switch, everything "appeared" normal - no cut wires, or anything like that
- truck had a cap (I've removed it) and trailer connector. Coincidentally, the trailer lights don't work either, although they didn't work when I hooked it up to my other car either. Don't recall if the lights worked after the cap was removed - I think they did, because that was over a month ago and I think I would have noticed by now.

Any ideas what to check? I'll probably whip out the multimeter tomorrow to check for 12V across the connector, but I have a feeling it's not the switch. I suck at electrical diagnosis...

Thanks!
 

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