Weird problem with my Acura Vigor

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Nightdude - 26 Oct 2005 23:27 GMT

This is what's happening with my car today.

Press the BRAKE pedal, the parking lights come on! I noticed in helms that
the combination switch is related to these events, could it be faulty? Or do
I have a grounding issue? or a bad relay? hmmm...

It's rather funny, but odd when all lights dim (stereo, dashboard) and the
parking lights start flashing at the same time I brake :)

Any ideas?

Adrian

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'Curly Q. Links' - 26 Oct 2005 23:52 GMT

> This is what's happening with my car today.
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Adrian

---------------------------------

Grounding sounds like a good guess, or somebody has jammed the wrong
bulb into a socket? Is the car new-to-you, or have you had some work
done on it lately?

'Curly'

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Nightdude - 27 Oct 2005 00:35 GMT

I had the car for over 6 years now. Nothing was disturbed in that area.

>> This is what's happening with my car today.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
>
> 'Curly'

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Michael Pardee - 27 Oct 2005 02:36 GMT

>I had the car for over 6 years now. Nothing was disturbed in that area.

The prime suspect (other than possibly the combination switch) is the ground
on the brake/tail light assemblies. If the ground is bad on one side,
voltage will feed from the brake wire through the brake filament, find no
ground, then proceed backward through the tail light filament to the parking
light bus... causing the very symptoms you described. Removing the dual
filament tail/brake light bulbs is the quickest diagnostic - if the problem
continues, look elsewhere. If that cures it, replace one at a time until the
symptom returns, then fix the ground on that socket. If the symptom doesn't
return, one of the sockets is corroded enough to be intermittent.

Putting a single filament bulb in one of the dual sockets will always cause
this symptom, but if they haven't been touched look to the grounds.

Mike

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Nightdude - 27 Oct 2005 04:24 GMT

Bingo, it was a bulb. Even though it was stil working, the filament holder
was corroded.

also, noticed that my positive battery cable was way corroded with sulphuric
acid. I cleaned it and put it back. Wonder why. The battery is only a year
old and I cleaned all contacts before installing it.

>>I had the car for over 6 years now. Nothing was disturbed in that area.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
> Mike

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Michael Pardee - 27 Oct 2005 02:47 GMT

I forgot to mention - if there is a bad ground on one of the taillights,
turning on the parking lights and pressing the brake will cause the problem
light to go out since there will be battery on both sides of it and no
ground in the middle.

Mike

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