My brake lights stay on until I begin to press the brakes my car. When I press the brakes on my car, the brake light won't turn on and won't turn back on. Does this mean I need to replace my brake light bulb?

Theres a little switch that activates the light. It could possibly be sticking

I would check to see if the brake light switch is stuck.

The brake light switch under the dash is compressed by the brake pedal when not in use, that should be the issue. You can check the voltage at the switch next to the brake pedal to verify voltage.

If the lights only stay on when key is in ignition, your central brake lights (or one of the lights) are out. The other lights stay on as a warning that the centrals(or other brake light/s) are needing replaced.

• Push the driver's seat as far back as possible, allowing you to lay on the floor on the driver's side.
  
• 2 Shine a flashlight at the top of the brake pedal stalk and find the stoplight switch. It will be a plastic cube either connected to the brake stalk or directly opposite the brake stalk, depending on the vehicle.
  
• 3 Depress the brake pedal and feel where the brake light switch contacts the stopping plate, a metal plate in direct line with the stoplight switch.
  
• 4 Feel for an open hole where the stoplight's plunger-style button presses. If a hole is present, you simply need to replace the rubber stopper.
  
• 5 Press and release the plunger-style button on the brake light switch and ask an assistant if the brake lights are turning off and on. If not, the switch is bad and must be replaced.
  

Stoplight Switch Stopper Replacement

• 1 Clean out any remaining debris left behind by the old stopper from the hole that the stopper goes into.
  
• 2 Press the new stopper into the hole on the metal plate until it snaps into place.
  
• 3 Shine the flashlight on the stopper and check that it sits flush against the metal plate.
  
• 4 Press and release the brake pedal and ask your assistant if the brake lights are turning off and on.
  
• 5 Replace the stoplight switch if the lights continue to stay on.
  

Stoplight Switch Replacement

• 1 Loosen and remove the bolts holding the stoplight switch in place. It could be between one and four bolts depending on the vehicle.
  
• 2 Pull the stoplight switch from its mount. Disconnect the wiring harness from the stoplight switch by pressing or pulling the locking tab and puling the harness away from the switch.
  
• 3 Plug the wiring harness into the new switch until the locking tab clicks into place.
  
• 4 Place the new switch on the mount the old switch was removed from and tighten the bolts with a ratchet and socket.
  
• 5 Press and release the brake pedal several times and have your assistant check for proper operation.
  

Thanks for choosing FixYa and welcome. You need to check the brake switch. Your brake pedal contacts the brake switch when it is pressed down. There is a small button on the brake switch that activates the lights. It may be stuck or broke. Try to loosen the button first. If it won't, buy another one. They only cost a few dollars.

on your brake pedal there is a switch that controls your brake lights over time it comes to lose just enough for the switch won't come in contact with the pedal

If your rear brake lights are on all the time, I would first check your brake pedal. Near the top of the pedal, probably just about where the pedal is attached to its pivot, you'll see a little switch that is either pressed in or released when you step on the brakes. That's the switch that controls your rear brake lights. As an experiment, have a helper look at the brake lights while you manually pull or push this switch all the way in and out. These switches wear over time and can stick in position. Fortunately, they're not expensive to replace, if that turns out to be the problem.


If your brake light switch seems to be working properly (hard to tell if the brake lights won't go off), a second possibility is that there's a short somewhere in your wiring and your brake lights are getting power from the shorted wire. I think this is a pretty unlikely cause, because most of the wires that rub up against the brake light wiring are for your turn signals and tail lights, and these are not normally energized. If you said that your brake lights always came on when you activated your turn signal or when you turned on your other lights, then this cause would be much more likely.


Check your brake pedal switch and the wire connections to it. I have a feeling that you'll find your problem.

this sounds like a defective brake light switch.

brake light switch stuck or bad