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Brake lights fuse done gone bad 900

posted by  sasjzl on  Mon Oct 18 14:12 CST 2010
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last visit: Sun Aug 3 17:24 CST 2014
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Hi all,

1996 960 Wagon.
My brake lights fuse blew for the first time and I am going to do my best to clean the contacts and replace both bulbs but I am wondering if anyone can suggest any likely suspects as to the cause of the blown fuse. I have been reading about the 'brake light warning relay' but I am not sure where it is located other than under the drivers side dash. When the brake lights went out I was alerted by the brake light warning idiot light coming on very briefly and erratically. For example it did not correlate at all to when the brakes were used. I thought it was just a fluky thing but fortunately happened to be driving behind my wife while she was driving it and noticed there were no brake lights. I am kind of disappointed that the light did not just stay on as I would have expected but better something than nothing. I have read that the infamous and aforementioned brake light warning relay can be very sensitive to unbalanced pairs of lights. Another thing I need to mention is that for some reason the previous owner removed the third brake light from the tailgate. I have had the car for a while though and this is the first time the brake light fuse went awry. If anyone out there could suggest any other diagnostics I am all ears.

Thanks very much,
Jim Lee








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    Brake lights fuse done gone bad 900

    uid 27's pic
    posted by  Art Benstein on  Tue Oct 19 01:53 CST 2010
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    last visit: Fri Oct 17 20:10 CST 2014
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    Hi Jim,

    First, look at the "blown" fuse. Did it crack or just sever, or is there melted metal and flash burn?

    A brake light fuse undergoes mechanical stress with each use of the pedal, so it will crack one day for no other reason than wear.

    A fault will leave the burn evidence, and your first look should be at the wiring to the tailgate. The bulb failure sensor isn't likely to be the fault cause.

    Please remember to post your findings back to all forums.


    --
    Art Benstein near Baltimore

    Thieves who steal corn from a garden could be charged with stalking.








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      Brake lights fuse done gone bad 900

      posted by  sasjzl on  Tue Oct 19 07:44 CST 2010
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      last visit: Sun Aug 3 17:24 CST 2014
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      I did not see any evidence of burning. Just looked severed as if someone cut it. That is a good top though to see how the fuse blew. Hot or cold. I will clean the brake lights as well as I can today.

      A further development is that after I replaced the fuse now the brake lights are working but the 'brake light warning' light is also lighting up every time I use the brakes. Is that strange or what? When the fuse was blown it only lit up very erratically and had nothing to do with using the brake.








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      Brake lights fuse done gone bad 900

      posted by  brickie on  Tue Oct 19 02:23 CST 2010
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      last visit: Thu Oct 28 05:18 CST 2010
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      My thoughts – I wonder if a very loose bad connection bulb could have caused your problem. I had a very loose headlight connection that ended up melting the driver side bulb socket. Maybe constant in-rush current can heat things up.

      The 960 wagons have those strange bulb holders that rotate into the light assy. I’d clean all those contacts, gently bend them to increase contact pressure, apply electrical grease and reassemble them with a new fuse to see how things go. In the least, this should be done anyway regardless of what is causing your issue.







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