1993 Nissan PU. When I hit the brake, to put truck in gear, my dash lights and radio lights come on. When I release the brake, the lights go off. I am thinking that the lights on in the console by shifter may be shorted. Anyone heard of this particular problem or any trouble shooting sugestions?
Thanks,
Robby
Try removing your stop lamp bulbs. I've never heard of it, but it's possible that the dual filament 1157 bulbs or their sockets have shorted somehow causing the brake lamp current to bleed over on the park light line... Try unplugging one tail light assembly at a time to see if it eliminates your problem.
You might also have someone check to see if the park lights on the front of the truck come on when the brake pedal is pressed too... This will tell us if the entire circuit is energized or just the interior illumination.
Have you had this problem as long as you've owned the truck? Any recent repairs or additional equipment added, such as trailer harness connectors?
Heath
__________________ 1997 Nissan XE Truck - 133,000 Miles
1990 Infiniti Q45 - 91,000 Miles
2005 Infiniti G35 Sedan - 34,000 Miles
The parking lamps are lit when the brake is depressed. I just purchased the truck. No electrical work has been done. My wife did mention that my brake lights are extemely bright. I'll give it a try.
Thanks,
Rob
After your last post, I realized that the 1157 bulb is dual element. I just figured that one element burned and the remainder shorted to the other. I was going to pull the bulb and check the elements. I pulled the bulb and elements looked fine. I was going to ohm the thing out before moving on to troubleshooting the circuit. Low and behold the 2 contacts on the bulb had been mashed together. seperating the 2 and filing them down solved the problem. I didn't even have to go buy new bulbs, I'm cheap that way.
Heath, thanks for the point in the right direction.
Robby
Glad to hear that it helped! We have a lot of problems with the 1157s on the Q45s. The tips melt, which seem to be a combination of a higher current draw on cheap aftermarket bulbs, and too much pressure from the springs in the sockets. Swapping them for higher quality aftermarket bulbs, like Sylvania LL or going back with factory bulbs seems to solve the problem.
Haven't heard of it before on the trucks though - so yours may be an isolated incident. I'd probably just let it ride for a while and see what happens.
Glad it worked!
Heath
__________________ 1997 Nissan XE Truck - 133,000 Miles
1990 Infiniti Q45 - 91,000 Miles
2005 Infiniti G35 Sedan - 34,000 Miles
We have a lot of problems with the 1157s on the Q45s. The tips melt, which seem to be a combination of a higher current draw on cheap aftermarket bulbs, and too much pressure from the springs in the sockets.
Heath, now that you brought this up and that turned out to be the problem with this gentlemen's truck, I remember when I used to be on an email list for Oldsmobile G-body cars (the 1978-1988 RWD Cutlass). We had problems every now and then with corrosion in the 1157 sockets, and the lights would sometimes short out that way. I had an '84 and never had that problem, but some cars did, especially ones with moisture problems in the tail light housings.
Never heard of the problem that happened in this case -- with the two terminals on the bulb actually bonding together. Robt, do you think it was a bulb defect from the factory, or does it look like someone improperly installed that bulb (mashed it in there) before you had it?
The lead contacts were deeply indented, as if they got pretty hot. The lead then was compressed to the center of the bulb where they made contact. The socket tension didn't seem to be an issue, didn't have to use excessive pressure to reinstall bulb. The bulb on the other side had no abnormalities, and after the short occurred, it was pulling the same current. I think it was this particular bulb, but I didn't install them in the first place so I can't say if they had excessive lead solder from the factory.
Again, thanks for the help.
Robby
Quote:
Originally Posted by jadcock
Heath, now that you brought this up and that turned out to be the problem with this gentlemen's truck, I remember when I used to be on an email list for Oldsmobile G-body cars (the 1978-1988 RWD Cutlass). We had problems every now and then with corrosion in the 1157 sockets, and the lights would sometimes short out that way. I had an '84 and never had that problem, but some cars did, especially ones with moisture problems in the tail light housings.
Never heard of the problem that happened in this case -- with the two terminals on the bulb actually bonding together. Robt, do you think it was a bulb defect from the factory, or does it look like someone improperly installed that bulb (mashed it in there) before you had it?
__________________
If you're gonna hit a Gorilla, hit him with everything you got. Don't hit him soft!
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