Hello again all. I've narrowed down this problem, and I think I just need a few pointers to make sure I am on the right track/help me where to look for the final fix.

I have an '89 Camaro Convertible. Recently I had an electrical gremlin that I fixed (See: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/tech...emlin-ecm.html). I do not think these are related, though the timing is suspicious, I will admit.

My brake lights do not work and today I attempted to find out why. I have a factory repair manual for my car with the electrical diagram which really helped. I replaced the brake light switch and that did not solve my woes.

I used a test light to see where power was coming from and going to. When the key is on and the brake switch is depressed, I have power on both sides of the switch. When the brake switch is not depressed, I only have it from the hot/fuse side. Now, this doesn't seem correct to me, which may be apart of my problem or perhaps I am wrong. If I could get clarification on this aspect, it would be appreciated.

Also, in the book it specifies that the wires at the brake light switch are ORANGE and LT BLUE. But mine are PINK/BLK STRIPE and PURPLE, respectively. Is this correct for my car, or has someone been in there rewiring stuff with different colors? My car has cruise control and my switch reflects this. Do CC cars have different colors or something? Again, may not be my problem right now, but it sure leaves a big question mark in the air.

At the *** end of the car, I have no power getting to the brake filament part of the bulb, or the wires directly connected there. It should be noted that all other running lights, headlights, blinkers, and hazards work.

So, I've effectively narrowed down what I suspect to be a break in the light blue wire. I believe the wire is broken somewhere AFTER the brake light switch, but BEFORE the wire directly connected to the bulb housing.

I have googled and search but I can't find a picture of the physical layout of the wiring in my car. Do I have to rip up carpet? What color is this wire, is it LT BLUE? I've never had a problem with my brake lights before, so I have to assume this is a problem of wire deterioration or breakage since that's all there is in this damn circuit.

Thanks for reading, and thanks in advance for any help you may offer.

 

That sounds correct to me. When the brake switch is not depressed, the switch should be open. When you depress it it closes the circuit so you should be getting power from the fuse box through the switch, so both sides should match. I don't know if that's exactly what you meant, but hopefully that helps. I'm assuming these switches are not ground-side switched (never looked at the diagram for it).

 

If I read your post correctly , and you are probing the pink/black and purple wires , those are the wrong ones to be looking at since they control your Torque converter clutch . The Orange and light blue are the correct ones for your brake lights and may be on a different switch than the one you are looking at . My Firebird , for instance has two switches at the brake pedal , one switch is a dual switch for brake lights and TCC and the other is a single switch for the cruise control with an electrical contact and a vacuum break for the CC .

The correct switch will be powered by the "stop/Hazzard" fuse and will be powered on all the time regardless of key position

Good Luck with it

 

That's possible, and I'm gonna take another look, but the unit that I bought was called a stop light switch and has a provision for the CC vacuum hose that is running to it. I mean, how many switches can there be down there? It's hard to see pass all the wires down there, but I'll take another look physically and at my wiring diagram to see if purple/pink is supposed to lead to a TCC switch.

I know that the switch in question does not get power all the time, only with the key on. So maybe you're right.

 

They sold you the wrong switch . If you look on the other side of the brake pedal from where you saw the switch you were probing you will find the other (correct) switch I'm referring to . It will have two plugs attached to it and no provisions for a vacuum hose .

 

Well OrangeBird, you were right.

Now I have to find the REAL brake light switch, but I can't see jack up under there... anybody have a picture of its location?

 

I'm sorry I don't have a picture , but as a description of where it is ;

The switch you already changed was likely to the right of the lever that hangs from the dashboard for the brake pedal to attach to , am I correct ? If so , look at that switch , now look at the Left side of the lever and in approx. the same general orientation as the other one was , there you will find your switch .