Hey all,

My son has a 1986 Camry 5-speed sedan and recently tried to get safety and emissions passed on it. The rear brake lights have stopped working and we are trying to figure out why.
Per the owner's manual, it appears the tail light and brake light function from the same dual bulb. Checked filaments on all four lights and they looked fine. Checked the fuse panel located on the driver's side and found the 20 amp fuse to be good.
Last thing I checked was the brake sensor under the dash. Got under there with a flashlight and could see that when the brake is depressed, the button pushes in, when the brake is released the button pops back out.
All other lights are working fine. No indicator light appeared on the dash to let us know the brake lights weren't working.
Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

The AutoZone website may have a wiring diagram in the sites self help repair section.

If you have a voltmeter check for voltage and ground continuity at the bulbs. Check for voltage before and after the brake switch (operate the switch). If you don't have a voltmeter connect something up with a 12V bulb.

If you have voltage after the switch (when operated) but none at the bulb might check the brake/tail light sensor. This is the actual sensor box located in the trunk, drivers side. The sensor can fail resulting no brake lights.

There have been various posts at this forum on the sensor, suggest you do a site search to find these and review them.

But first start checking for voltage.