Can't seem to get my rear lights to work when braking. The little light
works in the rear window. The directionals all work properly. The
driving lights all work when the headlights and parks are on.The switch
on the pedal must work ,because the small light in the window works.
The grounds have to be OK because the lights all function.Is this a
common problem? Any ideas where to start from here? Thanks P.F.

 

I've got exactly the same problem and it was the big switch in the
steering column. The brake signal must pass in the flasher switch
before returning to the tail light. This is because you want your light
to flash when you brake (the two signal use the same lamp).



Changing the flasher-light switch will correct this. It's a common problem on GM car.

 

hmmm...he is probably right....if that does not fix it, you may have to deal with the nightmare of finding a bad ground..while working as a tech i saw alot of people who would put aftermarket tails on cars, and in the process woudl tear up the wiring and the tails wouldnt work...hopefully 81s idea wil fix it!

 

Greatly appreciate the responses from you both. The part is over 400
dollars. A used ,entire column, is 200 dollars from a salvage yard.
Just bought this car from a dealer, it was a trade in. Took a look at
the car today and found grease spots around the column. Someone knew
about this column. The dealer's salesman says that he didn't know about
it. I do believe him, but someone knew.The dealership also put a new
electronic steering rack on this car, 600 bucks and 56k miles on the
car......My question is, will it be difficult to install the part ,when
I get it? You disconnect the battery and I don't know if or how to
disable the air bag or if it is nessasary. Thank again for the info,
P.F.