The brake light switch possibly needs adjusting, or has failed.

 

Only time I've seen this is when the brake light switch fails or hangs in the closed position. Replace the switch

 

and this can happen even if the car’s shut off??
I thought I had something to do with the tail light fuses trying to find them right now

 

and this can happen even if the car’s shut off??
I thought I had something to do with the tail light fuses trying to find them right now

Only thing with the fuses would be if they blew the lights wouldn’t work at all. It’s either a switch issue or a relay issue. Not sure if/where the relay is, start by checking the switch

 

You'll probably find small piece of plastic that looks like the tip of a crayon on the ground. You need a little nub for the brake pedal to lean on. Look under the brake pedal and you'll know what I mean. People have taped a penny for a quick, temporary fix.

 

Brake lights will always be able to work even if the car is off, unplug the brake pedal switch and see if they turn off, or try press the switch in further with something and see if they go off.

 

My bet is on the little rubber cushion that conacts the stop lamp switch crumbling apart like Dudewithoutapet said. Pull the STOP fuse until you get it fixed unless you want to melt the plastic bulb holders.

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Where is this fuse???? On the inside by drivers side?

and where did that switch belong

also my car died (((

 

 

That shit was on for like 20 something minutes I feel so bad

 

The switch is touching part of the brake pedal when the pedal is up, and the cushion is on the brake pedal. So, the switch is mounted to the rear side of the pedal closer to the back of the car direction.

 

Didn’t know the stop fuse prevented me from shifting and had to find out the hard way.

 

There is a shift lock override near the shifter lever on automatics.

 

For safety, any failure in brake-light mechanicals or circuit will cause brake-light to turn on. Better than applying your brakes and having no lights turn on. Might get rear-ended that way.

So by default, brake lights are ON. Letting up on brake-pedal pushes on switch at top of travel and turns light OFF. Push on pedal, releases switch and circuit changes to default ON.

In this case, broken cushion button prevents pushing on switch to turn OFF brake lights. Thus circuit stays in default ON state.

Seems countre-intuitive since pushing on switch closes circuit in most cases. But in this one, pushing on brake-pedal switch opens circuit and cuts power.

 

I just unhooked my battery when not driving, until the part came in - the dealer had to get it shipped, and this was like eight years ago or something.

Even if the corovid thing doubled the price, you'll still get change from a five dollar bill...

For safety, any failure in brake-light mechanicals or circuit will cause brake-light to turn on.

Kind of like the cooling fan on the radiator - if the switch fails, the fan stays on.

 

Yes the little rubber pad. Its a classic failure. Ive had it on my corollas, my friend on his Landcruiser, countless others. Cheap fix. Rubber doesnt last forever

 

Bought a felt pad from the dollar store super easy fix thank you everyone for your help. I think about buying the rubber piece later this week

 

There's a youtube video showing how to fix this for 3 cents. Essentially, take 3 pennies, tape or glue them together, then tape them to the brake pedal over the switch.

 

I had a similar problem on a Geo prism years ago. I use some super glue gel and a thick button to replace the worn down piece of plastic.

 

I use a speed clip like those that snap onto a speaker to bolt it in. Just slip it over the hole in the pedal where the rubber pad goes.

 

Tail light switch behind the brake pedal arm, underneath the dash.

 

I put a bolt with a nut in the hole on the pedal where the broken plastic piece was. The head of the bolt was where the plastic piece used to be. Guarantee it will never fail again. I would think over time with heat, cold and vibration, anything glued or taped to the pedal will fail again in time.

 

Yes, but if the bolt sticks out farther than the rubber cushion did they it could put more pressure on the switch and eventually damage the switch. The metal bolt contacting the plastic part of the switch could also do damage from rubbing over time. You're solution may last a very long time, but maybe not as long as the correct rubber cushion which lasts 20+ years