Slipspeed

I just purchased my R2 and today my friend was following me in traffic. He noted that my brake lights didn't seem to be working.

The turn signals work and the rear lights come on when I turn on the headlights but the brake lights never work.

I checked the fuses below the steering colum marked: stop and tail(?) and found them to be okay. I pulled the assemblies out and found the bulbs to be fine. I did not bull the center rear piece out because at this point I got pretty pissed.

I then closed the car all up in preparation to come inside and post this message...when I went to arm my Clifford alarm it proceeded to go off. I disarmed it and rearmed the car...no good. The alarm goes off again.

I noticed a red wire in the back that trails from near the driver side seatbelt mount and follows the hatch all the way back till it terminates next to the rear trunk latch. I suspect its for the alarm and I can't tell if it's merely the alarm attena or not.

There is also a black wire with brow spots protruding from a wire harness located directly below the rear trunk latch. It is pointed strait up and terminates in a cut.

The red wire spirals somewhat towards the last 4 inches and also terminates in a cut.

It does not appear that the two wires were once joined.

The stereo in the car was ghetto rigged by the *** clowns that work in Circuit City. Don't get me wrong...some roadshops are pretty good but not the ones in the Atlanta area.

I suspect they jacked up the alarm install when they put in the Excelon head unit, Clifford alarm, Bazooka tube, and 6X9 Xplodes.

Are there any other diagnostic techniques I can try to trace the probelm?

I now cannot use my alarm or brake lights. Is there a way I can temporarily righ something to get me home?

I have to drive this thing cross country from Pensacola to San Francisco in two weeks!!

Help!!

Import Convert

Check the ground on the stereo. I had some problems with my taillights untill I switched the ground I was using from the ghetto rig the previous owner made to the stock ground wire.

Slipspeed

That may be something that is contributing to an intermittent alternator whine when the stereo is on. There is an electric motor type whine that spins up and down with the accelerator. I thought it might have been the power lead to the amp was running next to the signal wires but it's a once in a while type noise so it's something else in the equation.

JONSKI

Maybe the brake pedal switch is broken.

Slipspeed

where is this located? Probably above the pedal...duh...
I'll go look.

Slipspeed

I looked up the pedal and noticed a pin/push switch. pressing in the pedal brings the pin to the full up position

Nothing fishy that I noticed...then again I saw the rat's nest of alarm wires jammed up near it.

Import Convert

Time to break out the circuit tester. Do you have one?

Slipspeed

No, I don't have one. How much do they run? I'm guessing they carry them at Autozone and such.

Where do I start testing?

Wuppy

The cicuit tester is only a few bucks.
Ground it and check the brake pedal switch first. If the test light comes on on both sides of the switch when pedal is pressed down it is ok.
Move on to the rear ligth assembly and check there.
Electrical issues can be a bitch.
Good luck

Slipspeed

I contacted the previous owner about the problem and he feels bad about the situation. He says he still stands by the car and wants to know how much it will cost to fix. He thought everything was working and drove the car for 200 miles without knowing about it.

He's suggesting I have the car checked out but how much would the dealer charge to fix something like this??

Especially when having to work around an aftermarket alarm.

What's the average labor rate at the Mazda dealer and do you think they could handle something like this without causing more problems?

sszablya

The circut tester looks like a funny screwdriver with a wire/clip coming out of the top, and a lightbulb inside the handle. it has a sprung plastic hook on the end, and a pointy tip.

If familiar, you could also use a multimeter to check this.

Anyways, get one and follow Wuppy's advice.

Electrical problems are not a big deal usually, especially if you have basic circut knowledge. Keep in mind that usually switches just power a relay, and the relay powers the circut. You may just have a bad relay.

Slipspeed

I looked up under the dash again to see where I was going to tap the circuit tester. I noticed a big bundle of wires coming throught the firewall that powers the amp. This crosses by the brake switch and is joined by a freakin rats nest of crap known as the Clifford wiring harness and associated wires. It's all jammed up in there almost on top of the switch so it's most likely causing the problem.

Where is the relay located for the brake? Does anyone know where I can pull a part number?

I'll just pick up a relay and swap it in to see if the wiring snafu caused the relay to burnout or go bad.

Slipspeed

I went to the dealer yesterday to order a relay for the brakes. When the techs looked in the computer they told me that they don't show a relay specifically for the brakes. The did show a relay that was for more than just the brake lights.

I was told that it's most likely the brake switch itself. If a relay went out then I should be having problems with more lights than just the brakes.

Since it's only the brakes they are blaming the switch itself.

Does anyone know the specific relay associated with the brake lamps?

I ordered the switch anyway, since it was only about $20.