2005 town and country 3.8l US Model. Heres the deal just came back from a trip and now i have no brake lights they worked all the way there and on the way back they went out.

I have found that whenever the brake pedal is pushed it blows the 20a fuse for the brake lights. I have checked bulbs they are all good. I disconnected the tailights and 3rd brake light from the system and pushed the brake pedal and the fuse still blows. I thought maybe the brake light switch was bad so I checked with local parts stores and none had it so I went to the local pull a part and took one out of a van there and stuck it in. There was no change. Fuse blew instantly. I looked at some of the wiring diagrams it looks like it comes out of the integrated control module but I am not quite sure if that would be bad or there is a bad connection it or whats causing the fuse to blow once is makes that circuit complete. Hopefully there are some chrysler techs out there or someone has seen this kind of issue that can lead me down the right road

Thanks

 

First things first.....


Tow hitch or any other "Wired In " accessories"?....Is the vehicle equipped with Cruise Control?


If it only blows the fuse with the pedal pressed, It must be AFTER the brake lamp switch....

The connection To IPM is for FCM input, and we have had Loads of issues with green and FUZZY wiring under the Fuse Block.....

 

no trailer hitch. there is cruise control and it does work still with all this going on

 

Ok.....

Look carefully at the Left Rear Interior Panel......Did any of the luggage Bang around???

Look under the fusebox as I mentioned, And also , look at the routing of the wires FROM the switch itself. Ive also seen them rub thru on the Pedal.

Stay tuned, I'll get you some Pics, and Diagrams.... You are going to unplug the brake lamp switch, and with a fuse between two pieces of wire...you are going to "Jump" selective Pins to Battery (+) and we'll narrow this down a Bit.
Just remember, I'm only as good as Your Info...I cant see it......

 

No luggage was on the left rear. i had that seat up. Also the harness for the brake light switch is no where near the brake pedal so that is ok. As far as the fcm is that a relay? Its looking like one from the wiring diagram because it shows it on top of the ipm

 

FCM is the silver "PANCAKE" bolted to the front edge of the fuse block. That is essentially your Body Computer. He is responsible for Lighting, turn signals , hazards, And If you had it..Trailer Tow "SPLITTING".

I looked thru the diagrams, and You do have a Splice for the Rear Lighting Harness....But it is Up under the dash behind the door Hinge Jamb.....

Sincerely....What I would do with this....Starting at the back.....Remove the L/R quarter trim......And locate the brake lamp wire in the harness....

Cut it.....And retest for the short......Move forward 2 feet, cut it, and retest.....And continue until your short dissapears. You will have some soldering and Taping to do when you are done, but it will be painfully obvious what went wrong when you find it.

Alternatively......Cut the wire near the rear, and cut the other end near the front. Provided the short is eliminated...You may now replace the lenghth of wire with new, and secure it to the existing harness. The original wire can Just STAY in the harness , never to be heard from again..

 

checked all the connectors underneather and found that at least 3 or 4 had corrosion. Next question do I have to replace all those connectors and the panel?

 

How I narrowed it down to the fuse panel under the hood was I put a new fuse in and put a brake pedal depresser in and the fuse stayed good. Then I moved the wiring underneath the fuse panel and the fuse popped

 

ok....

Move the battery hold down....Push the battery toward the motor. There are two release tabs on the fuse block....release them and pivot the block upwards.......Find the green Fuzzy stuff ... And replace the damaged sections of wiring.....

 

im going to try to run it through my extended warranty it says it covers wiring and main and engine harnesses so it should be covered since that is a part of of one of them. I also had some other issues I have been waiting to run through it like where is my a/c leak coming from? I have heard that the lines going into the rear evaporator leak. I also have a bad sway bar link. My deduct is $100 per visit so I am going to have it all fixed at once at chrysler.