hubcap

this is my first post after many months of stopping thru and reading over the pages of info here.
great site, and alot of friendly people so i decided to register and drop my questions on you all to see what you think.......


first off my problem....

my tail lights and my 3rd brake light work fine.
its when i depress the brake pedal the tail lights dont get brighter, for lack of better terminology.
my 3rd brake light works fine, and lights and unlights when brake pedal is depressed. but the tail-lights wont get brighter. just work normally as when the lights are turned on. (if that makes sense)

so i replaced all the bulbs.
-no luck.

so i replaced the brake light switch behind the pedal.
-no luck.

now, this is where i start to get nervous. im assuming theres a ground problem or a short somewhere. now im not the most electronically advanced cat in the house so this is where i reach out to you folks.

any ideas? am i going to be tracing wires and going blind over diagrams trying to find this problem or is there another part im overlooking?
i, also, want to add, that i checked the connections at the top hinge of the back hatch, as well. all tight and actually pretty clean for their age. not sure if these connections play a role here but they were checked nonetheless.

any ideas????



thanks, in advance, for any ideas and help.

jeep on jeep'n on.

hubcap

nothing?

i remember reading a thread on here about another part i might check, but, cant seem to locate the thread....

any one throw a dog a bone here?

Jeep85

can be ground in the back were the tail lights are lose wiring start looking at the back lights

hubcap

thanks for the reply 85

i appreciate it.

everything seems tight and tidy from first glance.
no wires were frayed, loose, housing tight...etc.
although i didnt bust out the multimeter yet. was kinda hoping it wouldnt come to it.
is there anything i should be looking for specifically. (again, as basic as possible would be great. i play a good guitar and im a pretty groovy camper but a good mechanic I AM NOT.)
and every time i take this thing somewhere to get fixed i always end up feeling ripped off, or, thinking for $20/hr labor i could have turned the wrench and busted the knuckles myself...you know?


lemme ask this.....
now i forget the name of the part (read it here somewhere but cant find it now)
it was a 3 letter acronym GCC...ACC...NCG....something along those lines...
anyways...
its supposed to control grounds...or is a place to ground....?
not really sure. i came back to find the thread but cant seem to do so.

my foggy memory wants to say its a "unit" in the rear cargo portion of the cab......cant remember of it was driver of passenger...?

i know im not giving you all alot to work with but does this mystery part sound familiar to anyone?

if not....

is there anyway to "engineer" these things good enough to pass NJ inspection? its a daily driver, but, my daily driver i mean a total of about 20 miles a day.

i appreciate any and all help you pros out there can throw my way.


its a stocker 94 XJ country. almost exact as in the avatar thing and if theres any info i could provide that could help please lemme know.



again...

THANKS!
i know im not giving alot to work with...
but i appreciate anything you can throw my way. i know this thing has gotta be a simple fix.....or at least i hope....
i'd prefer to do it at home if possible. i dont make alot of money and cant really afford expensive maintainance.


thanks for taking the time to read and ponder the thread.
(thanks, too 85, for leaving a reply.)

-hubcap

ET JEEP

I believe you may be thinking of NSS. The NSS has to do with engine starting and also the reverse lights not brake lights.

The tail/brake light usually have a common ground so a ground may not be the problem. I am afraid you may have to use the meter to find the problem. Since the 3 brake light works it is not the switch nor the feed.

Somewhere after the switch the brake light feed is dropping off. You are going to have to find it. You can start at the switch and work back or at the lights and work forward. At the light you can find the wire color for the brake lights and work forward. Could be some plug loose or disconnected since both sides do not work.

SeriousOffroad

I know this is going to sound goofy, but make sure you actually have dual filament bulbs installed. My son's heep had a wrong buld installed by the P.O.

hubcap

excellent answer, ET. much appreciated.
i shall start the trace.
ugh.
lol

thanks again.
what a great site.

hubcap

..

Copytech

You need to pull the bulb and check for voltage to frame ground and continuity of the socket ground to frame ground.
Are both brake lights not working but the center light does? I would look at the wires going to the hatch for breaks or shorts.

hubcap

thanks for allthe input folks, and as soon as i get this lil problem licked, ill be back to letcha all know what it turned out to be....

so this doesnt turn into another "did he fix the problem?" thread.
and also in case anyone else runs across similar crap.

anyways....
just wanted ta say thanks to all that took the time to respond and offer an opinion. i truly appreciate it.


-hubcap