Right Brake Light Not Illuminated When Brakes Aren't On

sottenad · 11-29-2012, 05:49 PM

So, the title sounds misleading, but I have a Right Brake light code on my dash and sure enough, the right brake lights are out. Except they aren't. When the car is running, the brake lights (the two bottom bulbs) are supposed to be slightly illuminated. On mine they aren't. Assuming after reading all the DIY's and posts here that the entire harness was bad, I picked up another harness and all new bulbs to test, but the same problem persists.

Nows where the problem gets a bit weirder. If I unplug the harness and let it sit for more than 5-10 seconds unplugged, then plug it back in, the brake lights illuminate like they should (at about 50%), for around 5 seconds, then turn off again. I almost couldnt believe what I was looking at, so I recorded it:

To reiterate, the brake lights illuminate perfectly when the brake pedal is depressed, its just this "non-braking" state where they are failing and throwing the code.

A note on software: I just (this morning) had my car updated/reprogrammed by the dealership, but this problem existed at least 6 months before I took it in.

Anyone have any ideas?

11-29-2012, 05:49 PM	#1
sottenad New Member 2 Rep 5 Posts Drives: 335XI Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Seattle, WA iTrader: (0)	Right Brake Light Not Illuminated When Brakes Aren't On So, the title sounds misleading, but I have a Right Brake light code on my dash and sure enough, the right brake lights are out. Except they aren't. When the car is running, the brake lights (the two bottom bulbs) are supposed to be slightly illuminated. On mine they aren't. Assuming after reading all the DIY's and posts here that the entire harness was bad, I picked up another harness and all new bulbs to test, but the same problem persists. Nows where the problem gets a bit weirder. If I unplug the harness and let it sit for more than 5-10 seconds unplugged, then plug it back in, the brake lights illuminate like they should (at about 50%), for around 5 seconds, then turn off again. I almost couldnt believe what I was looking at, so I recorded it: To reiterate, the brake lights illuminate perfectly when the brake pedal is depressed, its just this "non-braking" state where they are failing and throwing the code. A note on software: I just (this morning) had my car updated/reprogrammed by the dealership, but this problem existed at least 6 months before I took it in. Anyone have any ideas?
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