fix my brake lights

Well, it was about time I fixed them.

It’s just that now, I have to get my headlights/parking lights fixed at the same time. I think it’s actually a problem with the wand (the headlights won’t come on, and the parking lights won’t turn off; I had to pull the fuse to keep from draining the whole battery).

I cannot take the car in until tomorrow; I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon that I must make it to. Might have to rent a car for a few days depending on what the mechanic says…hopefully it’s a quick fix, but I figure I might as well get the brakes done and get the rest of the car checked out meanwhile…

It took my dad threatening me that I’d get a $130 ticket before I just went to Checker Auto Parts and did it. It was a snap, really, and I don’t know why I waited so long to do it. My sister was extremely helpful, and I’m not sure how I would have done it by myself anyway. One person can’t exactly press the brake lever and look at the brake lights at the same time.

I can’t find reference to a brake light control module (that’s not what it was called) ANYWHERE in the manual. RATS. Was I imagining it?

Anyhoo, I’m going to get YET MORE brake light bulbs from AutoZone today and try those before I think about asking a mechanic or maybe the Car Talk guys. The filaments of the bulbs I have in there now don’t LOOK broken, but who knows. Also, I’m going to see if maybe there’s a fuse that needs replacing, thought I think I’ve done this and the fuses are fine. Might as well double-check before I drop the cash to get them fixed.

Dang it, I really want to fix this MYSELF!

I am going to try to go and pick it up today, but I likely won’t get to that until tomorrow. The college kids are back in town and thus there are tailgaters everywhere, so this is really freaking me out. Good motivation to get this thing fixed, however.

My dad keeps telling me so.

Anyhow, here’s the deal: the two lower brakelights on my Honda Civic are not working. From what I can tell, it’s not the bulbs – the bulbs look fine (filaments not broken). It’s not the switch on the brake end, because the upper brakelight (at the top of the back window) still works.

Apparently there is a module in the tailgate that can go out and take the lower brakelights with it. I’m suspecting this is what is going on. However, there’s nothing about this module in the owner’s manual, so I’ll have to borrow the Civic manual with all the REAL info. I wonder if I can buy it – that would be a useful book to have.

I’m putting it on hold at the library this afternoon. I’m afraid to drive on the freeway without good brakelights.