Ok guys my 98 xj's headlights are working fine....but all the running lights and turn signals on the driver side wont turn on. But if I press the brake they kick on. weirdest thing Ive ever seen. any ideas?

 

anybody?

 

Pull one of the bulbs and see if you can read anything on it with a meter. If not measure using a known good ground. Measure and make sure the ground in the socket goes to ground. Then measure again with the brake depressed. I'm guessing you lost a ground somewhere and the brake is somehow creating a ground either by rubbing on a wire or something.

 

yea even with lights off when I press the brake the left turn signals and brake come on. is there a ground near the brake pedal? plus when I try the left turn signal the the indicator light just stays on

 

You may want to check/clean the grounds at G106, on the left inner fender near the PCM and air filter box.

Also, there's a fairly large connector on the left side near the electric fan for the front lights that you may want to disconnect and check for corrosion. You'll see that you have to remove the air filter box to get at it.

Here's G106:





The grounds for the rear lights are behind the spare tire mount.



Here's some data on he brake lamp switch:

 

Ok I checked all grounds and they were fine. I even replaced the turn signal switch just to make sure. They will work when parked....but in gear with the brake pressed they stop working. its so damn weird

 

Possibly a problem with your computer? I learned a trick to "reset" it, so to speak. Its good to use if the computer gets a bad code. Take off the negative battery terminal from your battery (obviously) and give it about 30 minutes. This is the equivalent to turning off one of your electrical devices (phone, computer, etc.) when its acting funny.

I pulled over to help this guy in a Silverado once, and the car wouldn't start. It was making a strange noise, similar to dubstep "wubbing" when trying to turn over. He had given a car a jump earlier, and I assumed he got a bad signal back from the other car. We unplugged the negative terminal for 30 minutes and it started right up.

 

Ok for the good part I replaced fuse number 7 and the signal lights aren't kicking on when I touch the brake anymore. except when I hit the left turn signal the brakes are flashing with the turn signal! this makes no damn sense!

 

Things like this are almost always a ground issue. Did you just look at the ground connections, or disassemble and clean them?