Brake light fuse blowing?

Tiny
SMALEXBELLSKI
  • MEMBER
  • 2005 SUBARU OUTBACK
  • 2.5L
  • 4 CYL
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 260,000 MILES
I have a problem with my break light fuse blowing, and the shifter also sticks in park when this happens. I have to bypass the shift solenoid to drive it. I have checked the brake light switch, the bulbs themselves, and chased wires as far as my knowledge would allow. So I have come to the conclusion that it is the shift interlock solenoid, and I was wondering if there is a way to bypass this while still having the brake lights work? I was also wondering if you could provide me with a wiring diagram?
Sunday, March 12th, 2023 AT 9:13 PM

3 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,443 POSTS
The way your lights are set up doesn't share those circuits. The brake fuse goes to the brake switch and from there to other modules. The interlock is controlled by the body module as in the second image. All the items are shown in the third image. The items that are directly controlled by the brake feed are the rear brake lights, the high mount brake light and the rear trailer connector. All of those are fed from the same brown wire. A common failure point is in the trailer connector wiring. The next is in the high mount light. If it blows the fuse only when you step on the brakes, you might be able to use a short finder to track it down. They are easy to use, you connect them in circuit replacing the fuse, the circuit breaker inside then starts turning on and off when the power is on (in your case you would step on the brakes) now you run the detector along the wire in question and watch the needle, It will bounce around until you get to the short or past it. The other option would be to start disconnecting the lights in question, like the high mount lights and the rear brake lights one at a time and see if the breaker stops tripping when you unplug one.
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Monday, March 13th, 2023 AT 12:12 AM
Tiny
SMALEXBELLSKI
  • MEMBER
  • 2 POSTS
Thank you so much. It actually ended up being the wiring on both sides of the trunk underneath the boots that go from the body to the door 11 wires were splitting.
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Tuesday, March 21st, 2023 AT 5:08 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,443 POSTS
Thank you for the reply. Wiring is becoming more problematic every year. I think it's because the insulation is much thinner and when they wire the harnesses they don't notice small holes or tight spots and the moisture gets in and corrosion sets in, that's the only reason I can think of why a harness that hasn't been touched after it was built ends up with corroded sections under a taped harness with loom over it.
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Tuesday, March 21st, 2023 AT 7:04 PM

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