When I put my foot on the brake my back left brake light goes off, when I take it off the brake the brake light comes on

I have a Toyota Corsa 1992 model. Im based in NZ. My friend slammed my boot shut extremely hard which appears to have damaged the brake lights. A yellow "check lights" symbol now appears on the dash. Subsequently when I put my foot on the brake my back left brake light goes off, when I take it off the brake the brake light comes on so the opposite of what should be happening. The problem is only on the left side and applies only to the brake light. Help me please
My car has a manual transmission.
Experienced mechanics share their insights in answering this question :
I would suggest trying to disconnect and reconnect the wiring to the rear lights. I have seen these older Toyota vehicles rear lighting short out on the lights themselves due to the way the light circuit was made on the lamp housing. Look at the housing circuit on the light to see if one is touching another, and that could tell you why it is malfunctioning. There could also be a problem with the brake light switch. If you are not comfortable dealing with wires, I recommend getting in touch with a certified mechanic who can look at your brake light issue for you to see what’s going on.

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Expert Reply: It sounds like you have a bad ground connection. If all ground connections are not making good contact to bare metal, when the brake pedal is pressed and the tail lights are on, the increased amperage draw will make this problem show up.
Blown Fuse or Broken Fuse Box

If your brake light switch works perfectly fine and yet the brake light doesn`t illuminate, you should check for a blown fuse or a broken fuse box. This is important because both these components affect the brake light circuit.

A bad brake light fuse may have resulted in the lights being stuck on or off. There may be more than one fuse for your brake lights. If that is the case, you will need to check each of them.
If one or more of your brake lights aren`t working properly, it could mean one of three things: The brake light system fuse is blown, the brake light bulbs are burned out or the brake light wiring switch is broken. All these issues are easy to troubleshoot.
And because the taillights and brake lights do not share the same circuit, confirming the ground as a potential cause is not a task that needs much analysis.
Electrical Issues

If you have a malfunctioning tail light, it could be a matter of a blown fuse. The fuses work with your car`s electrical panel and if they`re blown, it can cause several lights to stop working. Replace the fuse and see if this helps. Another issue may be related to your wiring.

It is a 15amp fuse that powers the stop light switch on the brake pedal. The brake light switch sends power to rear brake lights.
If you have a modern car, you`ll have to look for two fuse boxes. Locate your brake light fuse with your car manual. Brake light problems can be caused by a blown fuse. If it`s blown, replace it with a new one.
In most cars, the brake light switch is installed right above the brake pedal. Inside, it has a one- or two-way electric switch.
The most common reasons your brake light is on: The Parking Brake is engaged. Brake Fluid is low or leaking. Worn brake pads.
Check the battery is good and holding its voltage, it may be the voltage is dropping with the extra load of the brake lights. If the battery is good there must be a fault in the wiring or brake light switch.
Bad Socket. If you have a single brake light out and the bulb is good, then the next step is to check the light socket itself. Brake light problems can include a socket whose connections are dirty or corroded or one whose wiring has become worn to the point where it`s only making an intermittent connection.
Check the battery is good and holding its voltage, it may be the voltage is dropping with the extra load of the brake lights. If the battery is good there must be a fault in the wiring or brake light switch.
Bad Socket. If you have a single brake light out and the bulb is good, then the next step is to check the light socket itself. Brake light problems can include a socket whose connections are dirty or corroded or one whose wiring has become worn to the point where it`s only making an intermittent connection.
Most of the time, this means that you have a bad instrument cluster. The instrument cluster has a circuit board attached to it, and a lot of times, the circuit goes bad on the board. In some rare cases, there is damaged wiring or bad grounds which could also cause this problem.

Relevant Questions and Answers :

the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue

When I put my foot on the brake my back left brake light goes off, when I take it off the brake the brake light comes on
ANSWER : I would suggest trying to disconnect and reconnect the wiring to the rear lights. I have seen these older Toyota vehicles rear lighting short out on the lights themselves due to the way the light circuit was made on the lamp housing. Look at the housing circuit on the light to see if one is touching another, and that could tell you why it is malfunctioning. There could also be a problem with the brake light switch. If you are not comfortable dealing with wires, I recommend getting in touch with a certified mechanic who can look at your brake light issue for you to see what’s going on.

EPC light on 2004 Jetta. Code said brake switch faulty, but brakes lights worked. Replaced brake switch, now no brake lights.
ANSWER : Hi there. The first thing that pops in my mind beyond of what you have listed is perhaps the electrical harness attached to the brake switch. Perhaps the harness itself is damaged or you have an exposed wire, loose ground wire somewhere. You might want to have a professional mobile mechanic come to your location and complete a brake lights not working inspection to help you diagnose this issue.

Battery light goes on when I start car then turns off, if I rev engine light comes back until rpms go down. Abs goes comes on/off
ANSWER : Batteries can die due to faults in the charging system so ideally a suspected "faulty" battery should be load tested before a decision is made to condemn it. The only exception to this rule is if the battery is already clearly "old" (greater than 5 years) but even then once you put a new battery in, as a replacement for a "dead" battery, you have to comprehensively check out the charging system. Diagnostic Trouble Code P0460 will result in disruption of the dashboard fuel gauge’s ability to accurately report your tank’s fuel levels. The fuel gauge readings may be erratic, or read somewhere off scale. Vehicles equipped with a low fuel warning light feature may also suffer from erratic low fuel warnings in the event of a code P0460. Unless the P0460 code has been reported alongside other trouble code, all of the vehicle’s essential systems should otherwise function normally. I would recommend that you request a check engine light diagnostic to first resolve the fault causing the P0460 code to set. The check gas cap light warning light could be due a faulty gas cap and/or small leaks in the EVAP system.

No dash lights, back right tail light is out, no parking lights. Brake lights work though as does head lights.
ANSWER : Hi there. In many cases, when you have electrical problems like you’re describing, it’s caused by multiple electrical component failure. It’s likely that a few electrical relays are not working; especially if you have systems that utilize the same components (such as your brake light and tail lights). I would recommend having a professional mobile mechanic come to your location to complete an electrical problems inspection first, so they can pinpoint what is damaged and recommend the right repairs.

Brake lights are not working. replaced brake light swtch still no brake lights. the third brake light the connection was melted at
ANSWER : The first thing to do is to repair third brake light and replace the brake light fuse and then see if the third brake lights work and the lower lights start working? If only the 3rd brake light starts working then you may need a further checks on the turn signal flasher or switch could be bad.

I have a 06 jeep liberty and my left tail light goes in and out when i brake. Sometimes it will work sometime it wont.
ANSWER : Hi There,
I believe you are correct in that you have a faulty brake light switch. As you know, when you step on the brake pedal the switch closes, causing the brake light to become brighter. When the switch is bad, this may result in the brake light not working properly in response to pressing on the pedal or in some cases causing problems shifting out of park. I would suggest having a professional from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and replace your brake light switch.

My brake lights and dash brake light come on while driving.
ANSWER : These types of warning lights will generally store a fault code in one or more of the vehicles control modules. The warning lights you are getting may be the result of a faulted brake pedal position sensor or wheel speed sensors. Further diagnosis will be necessary to determine the exact cause. Consider hiring an experienced technician like one from YourMechanic who can come out for a closer look and offer a more personal diagnosis of your warning lights.

Rear brake light, and some interior lights don’t come on unless I’m braking
ANSWER : Hello. Replacing the stop light socket with a new one should have solved the intermittent problem of the stop light not working all of the time. It is possible that when you tweaked the socket, it caused a short to ground. This could explain why the dash lights only come on when you press the brakes.

The first thing that I would suggest is that the stop light socket be replaced. After replacing the stop light socket, if the dash lights still only come on when you press the brake pedal, the wiring for the dashboard will need to be inspected for any shorts to ground or bare wires touching metal that it shouldn’t touch. Since this issue started as a rear light problem, I would start with having your rear lights inspected by a certified technician, such as one from YourMechanic.