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Brake light sensors are some of the most crucial safety features on a Chevy S10. If you have brake lights, it warns the driver in front of them that you are putting your vehicle in motion and that the car in front of them needs to be slowed down.
If there is a problem with your braking lights, you are going to be a lot more vulnerable than you would be if you were driving at a good speed. The most common cause for a broken brake light is a bad switch. A defective brake light switch is the cause of the majority of these problems.
Possible Reasons Why Chevy S10 Brake Lights Not Working
Bad Fuse
If there are no brake light indicators, this circuit goes across the fuse box to the pedal. Somewhere, the electricity is not able to travel safely between point A and point B.You need to figure out exactly where that is.
Please keep in mind that even though the brake lights are burnt out, the tail lights will still function. It’s conceivable that all of the brake lights failed simultaneously.
Checking the fuse should be your first step if none of the brake lights are working. It will have a distinct label. Typically, it reads “stop lamps” or something like. To make sure it is not broken, you can pull it out and physically check it.
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Faulty Brake Light Switch
Determine where power is lost between the fuse box and the brake lights. The switch for the brake lights is the most popular location. They are affordable and simple to replace, which is fantastic news.
The brake light switch on your S10 is located underneath the pedal. Even when the key is turned off, there should always be electricity going to it. At this time, a test light is absolutely necessary.
The two wires basically have one that is always hot. The brake lights receive this power when you depress the brake pedal. The most likely site of failure is here.
There can appear to be two brake controls if your car has cruise control. The other is to instruct the cruise control to shut off when the brake pedal is depressed. To figure out which is which, you might need to refer to your handbook. However, unlike the brake light switch, which receives electricity while the key is off, the cruise control switch typically does not.
Bad Ground
Make that the brake light switch’s ground wire, if it has one, is securely fastened and corrosion-free. Run a jumper wire in place of the ground wire if you didn’t locate the ground wire at all. Now, put the brake light switch to the test. If it functions, repair the ground wire.
Other Wiring Issues
If the brake light switch on your S10 was found to be functioning properly, but there is no illumination of the brake lights at all, examine the wire harness connecting the brake switch to the light bulbs. Wiring that is frayed, ground-lost, or in a short-or-open condition are all potential problems.
Check the harness after they diverge to see whether you have the “third” or specialized brake light. Because the 3rd brake light is still receiving electricity, you can see that it does have power before this point.
Examine the trunk. Test any grounds that the harness may include. Check that there were no damages to the harness. This is a regular occurrence for freight.
Max Anthony
Max is a gizmo-savvy guy, who has a tendency to get pulled into the nitty gritty details of technology and cars. He attended UT Austin, where he studied Information Science. He’s married and has three kids, one dog and a GMC truck and a Porsche 911. With a large family, he still finds time to share tips and tricks on cars, trucks and more.
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