No taillights or blinkers

[KyleB]

I have a '96 Cobra and I keep blowing a fuse that controls the brake lights and and blinkers. If I turn on the headlights, the side markers and tails still light up but they do not get any brighter if you hit the brakes or turn on the blinkers.

If the headlights are off and you hit the brakes, nothing. Same with blinkers.

Has anyone experienced this?

 

[ttocs]

check the break switch, its a flimsy little plastic piece located on the top of the pedal and known to break.

 

[CC'S95GT]

Also ck the head light switch and pigtail. Mine melted and shorted out and I had no dash lights or tail lights.

 

[ttocs]

but before those two, have you checked any fuses? Not sure which one but it takes less time to pull and check each one to be sure they are all good then it does to dig out the manual. Don't forget the fuses by the batt.

 

[KyleB]

At first I thought it was just blinkers, so I replaced the blinker switch on the steering wheel. When that didn't work I noticed I had no brake lights, so I replaced the brake switch. When that didn't do any good I started pulling fuses. One of the 15 amp fuses under the dash was popped. I was able to replace it and they started working again, but I seem to pop one ever day or so. I have a short somewhere, but I haven't noticed anything.

 

[ttocs]

done any work or had any accidents on the drivers side? Replaced/removed the lights on either side recently? If I am not mistaken the hrns comes down from the switches and then goes down the drivers side. replace the fuse and then go and get shake/jiggle(technical terms I know) the wires at the switch and see if you can get the fuse to pop. Do the same thing with the exposed wiring on the drivers side in the trunk. Its possible that you just have a bulb that shorts out occasionally. Also not sure if the back up lights are on the same circuit so check them as well.

 

[CC'S95GT]

Another place to look is behind the clutch and brake pedal.I have heard of a couple guys that found frayed wires back there causing lighting problems.

 

[zepher0n]

Not sure if this will help, but I had no turn signals or reverse lights. Ended up being the reverse signal module near the transmission and some wires that were frayed. Everytime I put it into reverse, it shorted on the wires and blew the fuse.

 

[Saint]

My friend this has same issue...he went through 3 head light switches...But your issue doesn't seem quite the same....My 2 cents....Theres multiple things in the car that can cause lighting issues that are usually the last thing to come to mind here is a list

1, The multi function switch.. get a multimeter and test it according to the haynes manul (note: this switch was redesigned by ford)
2, The ignition switch on the steering column (believe it or not)
3, The voltage regulator in the back of the instrument cluster...I think cobras have 2 of them on each side at the bottom The are little square circuit boards...sand the contacts on them and Clean the clear brain on the back of the instrument cluster with 70% alcohol The voltage regulator can cause a multitude of light dimming issues and then eventually it will cause the car not to charge because it completes the circuit for the green wire coming off the alternators harness.

Also while youre at it check the bulb sockets for corrosion attempt to clean the contacts or replace them

If you don't have a haynes manual buy one, same goes for a multimeter, haynes book: $24.00 multimeter $11.00 at advance auto parts....two things that has saved me thousands

As for my friend that had the issue with the head light switch that kept burning up..He still hasn't resolved it after 2years...I keep telling him I'll look it over and fix it but he won't listen so I'm trying to buy it from him so it can stop rotting Ford did tell him though that he needed a new light harness which is nifty $1,000

 

[KyleB]

Another place to look is behind the clutch and brake pedal.I have heard of a couple guys that found frayed wires back there causing lighting problems.

That was it, I didn't see it the first couple of times, but sure enough there was a wire being touched by the clutch

 

[Mustang Mark]

do the front turn signals still work?

 

[KyleB]

do the front turn signals still work?

They do now... Problem is solved!

 

[CC'S95GT]

Woo Hoo.
Glad you found it.
did you git a pic of it?

 

[KyleB]

Woo Hoo.
Glad you found it.
did you git a pic of it?

I did not, as it was very hard to see to begin with and my car has a completly differnt/after market clutch pedal setup. I am glad to have it fixed though!