"stop lamp" light

Headlights to tailights and everything in between.

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subaru girl
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"stop lamp" light

Post by subaru girl »

when i turn on the lights it comes on until i tap the brake pedal then it goes out until the next time the lights are turned on. their are no lights out?
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Me and My Husband Have :
90 Subaru Legacy L FWD
90 Subaru Legacy L 4WD
78 Jeep Cherokee,Quadra Trac
Manarius
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Post by Manarius »

You might have a short in the system. I definitely think one of your lights is out.
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1995 Polo Green Subaru SVX (189k miles - 08/2007-Present)
subaru girl
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Post by subaru girl »

i will recheck them but i think they all work
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Me and My Husband Have :
90 Subaru Legacy L FWD
90 Subaru Legacy L 4WD
78 Jeep Cherokee,Quadra Trac
jake15
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Post by jake15 »

mine does the same thing..... all my lights work, i just haven't figured it out yet
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rallysam
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Post by rallysam »

Well, before you do anything - make sure your E-brake is down and also check your brake fluid.
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subaru girl
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Post by subaru girl »

e-brake is good and i will check the fluid
Subaru's Are ForEver.

Me and My Husband Have :
90 Subaru Legacy L FWD
90 Subaru Legacy L 4WD
78 Jeep Cherokee,Quadra Trac
vrg3
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Post by vrg3 »

The "STOP LAMP" light is different from the "BRAKE" light, so it probably doesn't have anything to do with the handbrake or brake fluid.

This may be a dumb question, but have you each (subaru girl and Jake) checked every brake light bulb? Make sure every single bulb is lighting up, including the individual ones in the center light? Maybe try reseating them? Make sure the bases are clean, and use dielectric grease when reinstalling them?

I don't know exactly how the "STOP LAMP" indicator works. It seems odd that it would go away after the first time you actually operate the brake lights. Are all your brake light bulbs the same? Maybe it acts upon differences between the left and right lights.
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subawhatsubawho
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Post by subawhatsubawho »

Do either of you have a trialer wiring harness installed by any chance? I only ask because I had that problem when u-haul installed one on my old legacy.
1991 Legacy BJ L 5MT AWD 189K Paid $100 STOLEN 2/13/06
rallysam
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Post by rallysam »

vrg3 wrote:The "STOP LAMP" light is different from the "BRAKE" light, so it probably doesn't have anything to do with the handbrake or brake fluid.
Oops! My bad. I need to work on my reading skills!
'00 Impr RS - sold
'91 Legacy Turbo 5MT - mothballed
13psi, TurboXS TBE, WRX IC, Hallman MBC, TurboXS FCD, KYB AGX, Phil's STI seat, SPT short shifter, David Carter hood, Zeitronix widebandO2, Kuhmo rally tires, STI IC spray, thanks:gearboxtech.com
professor
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Post by professor »

In my experience this is either caused by a faulty connection, so clean as vrg says, or sometimes even by having differing bulbs in one side versus the other

the system looks at the resistance so if it varies a lot due to corrosion or dissimilar bulbs, the idiot light comes on. I usually clean the bulb housings and clip and unclip the wiring a few times, and if that fails, throw both bulbs in the trash and replace with new, matching ones

BMW owners know all about this one, those cars will trip the idiot light sometimes when you use anything but "BMW" bulbs, which are admittedly good and not expensive.
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