Questions and Answers

Nissan Altima Brake And Tail Lights Q. I have a 1995 Nissan Altima. Recently I had some work done on the vehicle and the fuel pump was replaced. Since then, my brake lights come on when I turn on the headlights. Also, the cruise control will not work if the lights are on. Is it possible that they crossed a wire when they were working on the fuel pump? THANKS!! Kenneth Watkinsville, GA

A. If all they did was replace the fuel pump, I don't see how they could have crossed any wires. You don't need to remove the fuel tank to replace the fuel pump and there is only one connector to the fuel pump and it will not fit into anything else.

Every time I see a problem such as you describe, it is almost always due a bad or incorrect tail light bulb. The tail lights take a dual filament bulb. As you can see in the wiring diagram, if you put a single filament bulb in the tail light socket, it will bridge the two contacts and turn on the brake lights.

The reverse is also true. If you step on the brakes it will turn on the parking light bulbs. Something you would not easily notice. The reason the cruise control doesn't work with the brake lights on is power is on both sides of the brake light switch and the cruise control thinks you are stepping on the brake and will deactivate the cruise control.

So the first thing to do is to check and replace any bad or incorrect light bulbs and check the wiring for any short or crossed circuits..