I apparently have no brake lights. Or at least that is what the cop said. So I checked the faq.s and recent postings and learned about the light relay( the red cylindrical relay in front of the fuse panel) and how to clean the contacts in the light housing and checked the bulbs. Well I did all that and even tried two relays from a junkyard and both times the brake lights still dont work. I seem to think that I may have an electrical short somewhere b/c well first of all the car (b/f I got it) had an electrical fiasco and I can only assume it is related to that. But in fairness my ingnorance or unfamiliarity with the vehicle also plays a major role. If it is a short it should be easy to repair as there are no back seats or carpet in the car. Also is the red dash light that has a light bulb with an X through it a light that says your lights are on, or that something is wrong. If it is the latter then both times I replaced the relay and started the car to see if the brake lights worked, that dash light was off then turned on within a minute or so.

Any Help or encouraging words would be thankfully accepted.
Thank you all in advance.

Check all the fuses, too. My (1992 740 Wagon)cyclops went out, and caused all the brake lights (and shiftlock) to not work. It was just a fuse, not the relay.

Good luck.

I'm not familiar with the '86 dash lights, but the Bulb Failure Sensor can affect (or be affected by) the brake lights (power to the lights has to pass thru the BFS). Here is how that system works—

The Bulb Failure Sensor tests the following three groups of lights:

• Tail lights
• Brake lights
• Low headlight beams

If BF light is ON when all these lights are OFF(or all tested lights are OK), it could be the BF Sensor at fault.

If the BF light is OFF when car is first started, but comes on later, isolate the cause (with car running) as follows:

1 – Step on Brakes.... If no BF light,
2 – Turn Parking (tail) lights on.... If no BF light,
3 – Turn on Low beams. Should be the cause of the BF light (or a circuit problem)

"Mismatched" bulbs (different brands, age, or socket condition/corrosion at the common ground points for Left & Right light housings ) in any of the 3 light groups can cause a false BF light.

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Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current) — 240s (one V8) — 140s — 122s — since '63.

i am going to help you because this is an easy one. It is the nuetral safety switch. You may be saying how does he know this is the problem, because i have been there done it, also the fuse you kept replacing was only for the bulb failure light that illuminates on your dash. good luck

I am searching for information on the brickboard about why my bulb failure light comes on when i push on brake pedal. Bulbs are fine, fuse is fine, can you please explain your experience and more about the neutral switch you mentioned. I can be contacted off the list if you prefer. juddrackham@mac.com
thank you

You can get FALSE bulb Failure lights due to a difference in resistance between the two bulbs. Could be different brands of bulb, or more corrosion (teminals, PC lands, bulb socket) on one side.

Basic operation is outlined in my post above.

To my knowledge, the neutral safety switch has absolutely no connection to Bulb Failure sensing, in a correctly functioning Volvo.
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Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current) — 240s (one V8) — 140s — 122s — since '63.