Hi all,

Hoping someone can help me.
I purchased a 97 model Vitara soft top yesterday (2 litre, 5spd manual), and the brake lights on it werent working. I figured it was probably just a blown fuse so didn't think much of it at the time and purchased it anyway.

Today I have been trying to trouble shoot it. As it turns out, there was no fuse plugged in to the brake/horn fuse slot at all. As soon as I plug a fuse in, the brake lights come on and stay on (at least the horn then works!  ).

I then figured it must be a faulty brake light switch (the one on the brake pedal), so I have just unplugged that now. Yet the brake lights *still* remain on which is really doing my head in. Just in case that switch is an open circuit, Ive shorted the 2 pins out on the plug to check but there was no difference, the lights remain on.

There are no warning lights on the dash etc at all, its just the brake lights on the rear of the car remain on. Does the handbrake engage the brakelights also? I was 99.9% sure they don't, so haven't bothered checking that yet.

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to try next?
From searching the forums it sounds like I need to check a RWAL connector next possibly? Does that cause the brake lights to stay on only, or if it was that would there be dash warning lights etc also?

Thanks in advance,
Moses

PS: Bonus pic of the new toy on its maiden voyage offroad yesterday. Now if I could only fix this damn brake light I could go out driving again!   :cool:

I'd check for a short circuit in the brake wiring. There is a bunch of connectors behind one of the rear light lenses that sometimes give problems.
A 2ltr SWB Vit isn't very common, where abouts are you located?

Thanks for the reply mate. Have done further troubleshooting this morning, and even with EVERYTHING unplugged at the rear of the car (and the brake pedal switch unplugged also), the brake line wire coming out of the main harness is still getting power, so it appears the short circuit lies somewhere along the main harness. Will just have to take it to a auto electrician me thinks. 

Im in Perth, Australia. As far as I know it was an engine option from mid 1997 - 1999 so yeah there isn't that many of them around, most of them are the 1.6 models.