Tail/marker lights always on

[osaltyone]

Pulled the truck out to take it for a short spin yesterday and noticed the tail lights and marker lights are staying on all the time when the car is off or on. If I pull the stop/hazard fuse obviously they go out, but just wondering where I can start troubleshooting.

[ray_mcavoy]

Since pulling the STOP HAZ fuse makes them go out, it sounds like it might actually be the brake lights (not the tail lights) that are staying on. The tail lights are powered through the T/L CTSY fuse instead. That doesn't explain the marker lights staying on though since those are wired into the tail light circuit.

If it's the brake lights that are staying on, start by checking the brake light switch. It's located on a bracket near the upper part of the brake pedal. When the pedal swings back, it should push the plunger in which opens the contacts inside the switch, turning the lights off. If you can pull up on the pedal (or push the plunger farther in by hand) and make the lights go out, the switch probably just needs to be re-adjusted (moving it closer to the pedal).

If re-adjusting the brake light switch doesn't do the trick, try unplugging it to see if the problem is in the switch or elsewhere in the wiring. Some years might have multiple connectors on the brake light switch. The connector to unplug for the brake lights is the one with the white and orange wires.

Now, if the problem is the tail lights those are switched through the headlight switch. Unplugging the connector from the headlight switch would be a simple way to see if the switch contacts are stuck or if there is a problem somewhere else in the wiring.