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Brake Lights Stay On

K

KEB in GCMS

Member
I have an interesting situation with my '02 S-10. The break lights will just stay on all the time. I have to pull the fuse under the hood to keep them from running the battery down. At first I thought that maybe the break switch was malfunctioning, so I removed it and tested it and it is working fine. Also while I had the switch out the break lights came on and would not go out.

This is the truck that I use to get my parts, fuel, and hydraulic fluid in for my tractors.

Any suggestions or ideas on where to start looking for any problems that would cause this issue?
 
Shorted together wires will cause that. See if the switch has power to both connections If so the wires have melted or pinched together in the supply side wiring, not likely in the wires going back. It is possible if a trailer socket circuit is interconnecting from a hot all the time to the brake light wire. Jim
 
sounds like you have a hot wire energizing the wire to the brske light, or something screwed up in your signal switch--systematically pull the fuses on different circuits to see where the power is coming from
 
I had an 01 Silverado that did the same thing.

Take the switch loose, it worked, put it back in and sometimes they would stay on.

Been a while, but seems like I removed the rubber bumper to let the pedal come further back, and added a return spring.

It was a common problem with those. It was also the cause of the rear light sockets melting.
 
I'm taking that to mean the switch is in hand and still wired.

If it's like the Silverado, the switch does not have a plunger, it fits over the pivot pin and reads pressure on the rod.
 
Look to see if there is anywhere the wires got against the exhaust on the way back to the taillights. It could be the multifunction switch in the steering column as well. But I think it is less likely since they went to the separate bulbs for stop and turn circuits. Cannot remember what year that happened.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I will start looking at the wiring harness and report back when I find something.

Again Thanks!
 
Is there by any chance a relay for the brake lights? A stuck relay is the only explanation I can come up with that would explain why pulling the fuse kills the lights, but disconnecting the switch does not.
 
I looked at the wiring diagram in my Haynes manual and didn't see a relay in the circuit. But now that you mentioned it, I am going to look because that would cause the problem if the relay was shorting out.

Need to listen close to see if I can hear the click of the relay when I put the fuse back in.

Thanks.
 
Newer vehicles have relays in the light circuits so the trailer lights can be fused separately from the vehicle lights. I don't know when GM started doing this, but our 2012 GMC Acadia and 2017 Silverado 2500 are both set up this way. Since your Haynes manual probably covers all years of the S-10, there's a good chance the wiring diagram doesn't accurately reflect your truck. If your truck has separate fuses for trailer and vehicle lighting, it must have some relays.
 
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