1998 Accord EX V6 (brake lights do not work)

[matttaylor]

Does anyone have any idea why my brake lights would be out?When turning on my night time lights they all come on. signals work as well. i checked the fuses and they seem to be fine.

[coolcat]

Check the brake switch???

[matttaylor]

your talking to a banker and not a braker. if you can help me out..i'm not sure what or where the brake switch is located. Thanks

[princess]

First, welcome, matttaylor! All out at once, huh? If it were just a bulb or two then I'd say clean the corrosion off the bulb's connectors. But all sounds like electrical. When you push on the brake pedal do you hear a faint "click"? Is the one in the window working, just not the taillight ones? We need more info! Have you ever noticed water in the lamp area? Maybe with more info we can help you.....:confused:

[matttaylor]

Thanks Princess for your reply. All 3 lights are out. I guess I will pull all the bulbs out and check for rust, etc. I don't notice any clicking when I hit the brake pedal. I did have some excess water collect in the floor board of the trunk (left a cooler in it).

[princess]

I'd look to see if there were any wires where the water went....it may have caused a short somehow. If all the lights, it's probably not corrosion on the bulbs. There's a switch in your pedal, if there's no sound, maybe the part that turns it on (the switch type thing) is the culprit. Electrical stuff is hard without hands on testing. I'll ask tonight if there's a pattern or something to look for.

[Inspector1]

1st thing is double check fuse # 5 in underhood fuse block... maybe switch with another to verify that is not your problem.. then proceed to check power at switch under dash to left of steering column.(You need a test light or multimeter to check)..
see photo of switch.....

I1:)

[matttaylor]

Thanks for your ideas. I will check fuse #5 and if that does't work I'll check the brake light switch. What will I do when I locate the switch?

[Inspector1]

You would have to disconnect connector on switch and check for voltage going to switch.....
Maybe Benjammin will see this and be able to give you a color code on power wire... if you have power in then check for power out while depressing brake pedal, if you have power out then its not the brake light switch..

I1:)

[princess]

not readable...

I was trying to put on the wiring diagram for the brake switch.....

It looks like the wire from the fuse to the switch is wht/yel
from the switch to the brake light failure sensor is wht/blk.
from the sensor to the brake light (outer left & right is green.

Maybe I can find it in a way that I CAN post it....I'll keep looking!

[princess]

Talked to my prince & he seems to agree...the likely cause is the switch. It's the common denominator with all the lights you discribed.

[Coil99]

Originally posted by princess
the likely cause is the switch.


I have the same problem matttaylor does. (Well, I guess he "had" the problem as I'm sure it's fixed by now given the date of his post.) All three brake lights are out. The fuse is good. Looks like it is the switch...I hope.

[Coil99]

Originally posted by Inspector1
1st thing is double check fuse # 5 in underhood fuse block...


Thanks for Inspector1 for the text and picture. Great stuff!

[matttaylor]

Yes it was the switch. Cost about $100 to get it fixed. Thanks again for everyone's help.

[princess]

Thanks for letting us know! This will be helpful for others thst run into the same problem!! AND that's what this is for, right?:D

[Coil99]

Originally posted by princess
Talked to my prince & he seems to agree...the likely cause is the switch.

Your husband works at a Honda dealership? :confused:

[princess]

yep......please don't shoot!:sorry:

[Coil99]

Originally posted by princess
yep......please don't shoot!:sorry:


Why would I do that? :confused: Lots of good folks work at dealerships. In fact, I left my Accord with one of the great ones this morning - a service manager who makes all the difference.


I'm being nosey, but what does he do? Do tell! :D

[princess]

He's been a journeyman master tech forever! (since '81 for Honda) He's a platnium......whatever that means.....

He's been very helpful when I ask about things people here are dealing with. Sometimes I can find the info on my own though. And every once in while I actually know something!!;) All these years around it, somethin's bound to rub off....

[Coil99]

Originally posted by princess
He's been a journeyman master tech forever! (since '81 for Honda) He's a platnium......


That's great! Those are nice skills to have...I wish I had them. Growing up, I always wanted to be a mechanic...maybe someday.

Does he ever post on here? I'd be interested to see what he has to say about working at a dealership. And what he has to say about working for Honda vs other brands. Heck, I'd be interested to hear some good stories from him. But I've already taken this thread off-topic far enough, so maybe in a new thread?

[Coil99]

Originally posted by matttaylor
Yes it was the switch. Cost about $100 to get it fixed.


Same for me. It was the switch. Fortunately, it was covered by the extended Honda warranty. Gotta love Honda! :D

[princess]

He pretty much NEVER posts here. He has, on rare occation explained a how-to when it was too detailed to do 3rd party. He conciders this MY thing.

There's stories alright, but I don't think they'd be good for consumers ears! (Some make fun of the lack of brain cells he's seen out of co-workers & no one wants to know those people are working on their cars!);)

Every now & then I post one, sometimes I just can't resist!

He built his first car. He bought the shell of a '67 442, & put the rest in. He got an original 400 from a 442 & a muncie tranny with the hirst shifter.... the only thing he couldn't find original were the front seats! It had a bench for a few years, then the buckets were not from a 442. It was his pride & joy for years!!

So he started at 15, then went into the USAF for 4 years, U-2's there, he still worked as a gas station "mechanic" during that time & went to college for all the licenses for auto. Had some airplane & power plant too, but it was ages ago.

It's his aptitude, not his passion. He'll talk all day about computers, cameras, remodeling.....but gets quiet about cars. But that's due to dealing with it 10 hours per day! Seems to take the fun out!:)

Now back to the actual thread:

I'm so glad to hear the problems are solved with the brake lights! See, he does know his stuff! ;) It's actually not that easy to just have symptoms sometimes without being able to do your own tests..... but some things are just obvious, I guess! There's a couple of other techs on here too.