Electrical: brake light weirdness

[DougHolverson]

I go out and open the door on the Champ this morning and the brake lights come on. They go out when I close it. It doesn't do it later. I'm scratching my head over this.

[StudeRich]

Hmmm ... Champs do not come with Dome Light door switches even with a Deluxe Cab, unless someone added them.
The dome light power would come from the Stop Light Fuse, so current draw COULD effect them.

Has your Champ been converted to a Pedal stoplight switch instead of the original Hydraulic switch?
If there is a weak Pedal Return spring, opening or closing the door could trigger the switch.
Looks like we have to look OUTSIDE the box on this one.

[DougHolverson]

The Champ has had door switches added and a big power brake booster that some say is from a Ford. I'm going to search down the brake light switch when the light is better.

[Lamar]

This and the other post lead me to believe it will be a wiring harness problem. I suggest a a very good visual inspection of the harness to begin.

[DougHolverson]

Minor update. I checked and there's an add-on brake light switch under the dash. I'll adjust it in for more certain engagement. The battery is down to 8 volts again. I'm wondering about a dead cell in it or a leaky diode in the alternator.

[nvonada]

With known electrical issues something might be on on the time. I had a switch fail such that it sort of made contact all the time. The battery kept going dead. I put an ammeter on and it was drawing current all the time. I put it on my "punch list" and just disconnected the battery. Then one day was working on the tail lights and realized they were faintly glowing all the time. Could not even see it through the lens.

Nathan

[DougHolverson]

Minor update: the battery is at the same 8volts one day later. It's now being trickle charged to be tested at Mr. Tire tomorrow. With the battery out, I used a DMM to measure near infinite ohms across the battery terminals. Although this is far from answering a lot of things like the run on.

[DougHolverson]

Another minor update: the warranty date on the battery is May 2010.

[DougHolverson]

Yet another update. The battery has been tested ad it doesn't hold a charge.