Tail lights/panel brake lights dont work

Tiny
CANDI MARSICANO
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 FORD ESCORT
  • 1.9L
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 140,000 MILES
Got pulled over was told my panel brake lights were out. I have checked it out and yes the side brake lights work but not the center ones. I have checked the bulbs and they are in working order. When I turn on head lights the tail lights they do not come on either. I have checked fuses and that is good to. I do have a burnt out passenger side license plate light would that cause the middle panel lights to not work? What more could I check to see why they are not working?
Wednesday, September 14th, 2016 AT 8:01 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
TY ANDERSON
  • MECHANIC
  • 719 POSTS
Looks like there are three different kind of wiring schematics. Is your car the hatch back, the sedan or the wagon escort? Each one is wired differently so it'll help narrow this down.
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Wednesday, September 14th, 2016 AT 8:48 PM
Tiny
CANDI MARSICANO
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Sedan type.
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Wednesday, September 14th, 2016 AT 10:35 PM
Tiny
CANDI MARSICANO
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
When I bought car three months ago my friend followed me and he told me today those lights were working and now they are not. Maybe something got knocked loose?
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Wednesday, September 14th, 2016 AT 10:37 PM
Tiny
TY ANDERSON
  • MECHANIC
  • 719 POSTS
If both rear turn signals bulbs light up then I would check the "Tail" fuse its a blue 15A fuse under the driver side dash. If this fuse is not burnt then the next two parts to check is the relay. The relay in under the driver side dash above the fuse box. Then the headlight switch itself (I wouldn't suspect this switch if the front park or amber light turn on).

The only way to isolate this is to use a DC volt meter to see if power is getting through to the relay and switch assuming the light bulbs are good.

There is a chance their is a broken wire somewhere so I would have a mechanic search for this because it could be any any where from fuse box to the lights bulbs. Another likely spot is were the wire go to the lights in the middle on the trunk where the wire bend.
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+1
Thursday, September 15th, 2016 AT 8:15 PM
Tiny
CANDI MARSICANO
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Thank you I will check these things. Good information to know.
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Friday, September 16th, 2016 AT 9:56 AM

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