rear brake lights

i would check you fuses first. the shift interlock is controlled by the
brake lights, and they are fused. if you blow a fuse neither will work
"lugnut" wrote in message

> On Wed, 06 Feb 2008 12:43:22 -0600, "windstarmom"
> wrote:
>
>>After I start my windstar in park it will not let me shift it into drive.
>>I also just found out that none of the rear light are working. I
>>understand that there is a sensor,relay? for this problem. Where is it?
>
>
> It is most likely the brake light switch. It is located on
> the brake pedal inside the car up where the pushrod to the
> master cylinder attaches. It is rather simple to install.
> It is held in place with a clothspin type clip. You will
> need something like a long nosed pliers to remove/install
> it. Once the clip is removed, remove the pivot pin for the
> brake pushrod and the switch can be pulled out. It has a
> wire harness attached with regular locks. A new switch
> sells for about $30 at the dealer. An experienced tech can
> replace it in under 10 minutes. This is a pretty common
> problem on most late model Ford products. There are several
> revisions to the replacement to improve it's reliability and
> durability.
>
> BTW, you can get your car out of park by turning the
> ignition to the first unlocked position. Move the
> transmission to nuetral where you can start the engine -
> while holding the brake, of course. Next time you put it in
> park, you will have to do this again to get it out of park
> until you replace the brake light switch.
>
> Lugnut
 >> Stay informed about: rear brake lights 

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 >> Stay informed about: rear brake lights 

windstarmom wrote:
> After I start my windstar in park it will not let me shift it into drive.
> I also just found out that none of the rear light are working. I
> understand that there is a sensor,relay? for this problem. Where is it?

There is a switch that is closed when you press on the brake pedal. This
is to prevent one from accidentally putting the truck in gear and the
truck moving, for example, if you would accidentally bump the gear shift
or a kid is playing in the truck.

The switch also allows the transmission to come out of drive. Most
likely, you have a bad switch or the wires to the switch are loose.

Jeff

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 >> Stay informed about: rear brake lights 

do you happen to know where this swithch might be?

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 >> Stay informed about: rear brake lights 

Just a word... current practice is that the BOO switch is actually two
switches in one... with two separate fusesd supplies. The brake lights can
still work.. but the shift interlock might not.
 >> Stay informed about: rear brake lights 

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 >> Stay informed about: rear brake lights 

I would start with checking the bulbs.


"windstarmom" wrote in message

> After I start my windstar in park it will not let me shift it into drive.
> I also just found out that none of the rear light are working. I
> understand that there is a sensor,relay? for this problem. Where is it?
>
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> Message posted using http://www.talkaboutautos.com/group/alt.autos.ford/
> More information at http://www.talkaboutautos.com/faq.html
>
 >> Stay informed about: rear brake lights 

I can see a very real need for many (if not all) of the current crop of
safety devices.... Common sense isn't on holiday - it quit and ran away with
the circus....

From another venue (and this is a paraphrase).... "The low tire warning
light came on on my 08 truck... Do they think we are such idiots that we
can't check our tires occasionally?"... Seeing that this non-idiot had the
light come on, I gather that he didn't check his tire pressures....

And that is only the tip of the iceberg.... every time they make something
idjit proof, they make better idjits...

Can the shift interlock be a PITA when something malfunctions when we least
need it to? You bet... FWIW, most new vehicles are offering some method of
manual overide... but not all of them are convenient.
 >> Stay informed about: rear brake lights 

Thanks for everyone that replied to my delema. Bought a brake light switch
for $13 and had my dealership put it in($47) and that was not the problem.
It did fix the shifting problem but come to find out it was the wire harnes
that was the problem for the brake lights. Total cost was $97. Not too bad
considering they wanted almost $100 just to trouble shoot my electrical.
Thanks again for everyones input.

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 >> Stay informed about: rear brake lights 

"windstarmom" wrote:

Thanks tor everyone who replied. I bought a brake light
switch ($13) and had my dealership put it in($47). It
fixed the shifting problem but the wire harness was the
problem for the brake lights. Total cost was $97. Not
too bad considering they wanted $100 just to trouble
shoot my electrical. Thanks again for everyones input.
______________________________________________

And thanks to you for reporting back on your results.
It encourages the posters here to know the time they
took and the advice they gave has helped someone.

Rodan.
 >> Stay informed about: rear brake lights