1996 Q45 "Stop lamp inoperable" light problem

[hansQ45]

I recently purchased a 1996 Q45 with about 128,000 miles on it. It's in great shape and I like it very much. This site has been very beneficial so far learning about the car. I've already fixed a few things just by reading your threads.

Here's my question:

The "Stop lamp inoperable" light is almost always on. The rear stop lamps both work fine. The previous owner (had it 6 years) said it was always on since he owned it.

Sometimes when I apply the brake the light goes out and reverts back to the tripometer.

Any assistance would be appreciated!

Thanks,Hans

[911/Q45]

I got rid of mine by tightening the Phillips head screws attaching the wires to the sockets. Others have replaced all the bulbs with factory units or replaced the socket assembly itself. Pull out the sockets from the trunk and check it out.

[PoorManQ45]

oooo ooo. I know this one. Have someone press the brake as you walk around the outside of the car. At the rear of the car, on both sides, there are little yellow lights behind the fenders. Those are usually the problem.

I have had the same message on my information screen for the last year. I replaced the drivers side bulb and the message went away.

Hope this helps.

[DAEDALUS]

The stop lamps are not the little yellow lights behind the fenders. It might be the bulbs since they have redundant filaments...when 1 burns out you will get the message but they will still light up, just not as bright. I've had an intermittent bulb before that went on and off like yours. Start at tbe bulbs first. When 1 fails its best to replace them all as a set for about $6. Only use factory bulbs or Sylvannia LL bulbs (1157LL I think). It could also be the center lamp too so check it also. When you replace the bulbs look for signs of burning or overheating on the socket assemblies.

Oops, wrong bulb part #--fixed.

[PoorManQ45]

The stop lamps are not the little yellow lights behind the fenders.

I dont know what they're called. But, I had the same message. And, once I replaced the bulb in the side marker, the warning went away

[elwesso]

OEM bulbs from a nissan dealer fixed mine..... my sockets looked kinda burnt but it made the message go away!

I alos had a tail light go bad, and it didnt come up on the display.....

as you can imagine, I am on defense with the system, my faith is marginal and I just like it when it says OK.....

[Q451990]

I dont know what they're called. But, I had the same message. And, once I replaced the bulb in the side marker, the warning went away

I think there are three messages "TAIL LAMP INOPERATIVE" and "STOP LAMP INOPERATIVE" both of which I've seen. The FSM says there's a third one "TAIL/STOP LAMP INOPERATIVE" that I've never seen before.

That's probably where the confusion lies...

Heath

[pito11213]

I am getting that third message now. I am assuming that the sensor in the trunk is bad

[texasoil]

check the high mounted center lamps and replace all the bulbs. They are cheap, and most of the time the message is due to poor contact on the bulb base. You CAN sand the bulb bases clean and smooth again--but why?

[rodneydiller]

I have a 96 Q. Rare bird, I understand...maybe for a reason! I love my car, but same thing was going on with mine. It started happening after one bulb went out. I replaced with aftermarket and the warning never went off. Replaced with OEM and everything works great. Enjoy your Q!

[hansQ45]

Thanks everyone for your input! This site is the greatest. I've learned a great deal about my car from this site.

I tried following DAEDALUS'S advice (no Infiniti dealer in my area) and I ended up replacing the stop lamp bulbs with the Sylvania LL bulbs (1157 LL) and the two high mounted center lamps with Sylvania 921 LL.

It's fixed! The "STOP LAMP INOPERATIVE" light is out. I drove the car about 300 miles this past weekend and it's working fine.

The previous owner said the "STOP LAMP INOPERATIVE" LIGHT" has been on for about six years.

Thanks again for everyone's help and input. I appreciate it!

[Q45tech]

Kind of scarey that you bought a car from someone who let such a critical and obnoxous thing go for 6 years?

We had a 96 owner [bought it new] who was too busy to change the oil by 131k the engine was trash. He sold the car for $1,500 to one of the techs.......a 6.5 year old Q at the time.

[PoorManQ45]

We had a 96 owner [bought it new] who was too busy to change the oil by 131k the engine was trash. He sold the car for $1,500 to one of the techs.......a 6.5 year old Q at the time.

Am I reading that correctly. The owner didn't change the oil for 131k miles.

If that's correct, why would anybody ever buy that car. If they knew about the problem.

[Q45tech]

No he changed it once per year every 20,000 miles because he was running the most expensive synthetic. Problem was he didn't check for consumption so many times there was no/little oil by change time.Many times we tried to explan it to him but ignorance knows no bounds, even in wealthy people.

Still cost effective to buy a 6 year old Q for $1500 and swap the engine with a junker [ hard to find a 96] then trade it in for a Toyota Pickup if you can do the work yourself. I was worth like $10k after the translant.

[gniknave]

No he changed it once per year every 20,000 miles because he was running the most expensive synthetic. Problem was he didn't check for consumption so many times there was no/little oil by change time.Many times we tried to explan it to him but ignorance knows no bounds, even in wealthy people.

It amazes me to see how much a person is willing to spend to buy a car and then not do something as simple as a $40 oil change to keep is $40,000 investment going. Idiot.

[psychic_mechanic]

A couple years at the dodge/Jeep dealership I had a one year old fully loaded Grand Cherokee come in.

Brake dust coating all the wheels, tires not rotated, etc. After kicking the trash away so I could drive it into my bay I start to change the oil. The nearly $40k truck had the original oil filter at 14,000 miles. The oil drained out like tar, and the new stuff turned black as soon as I put it in.

I've also seen motors replaced under warranty because of sludge when the owner couldn't come up with any real receipts from changing his oil. It's better PR to replace an engine under warranty than to deal with all the bad mouthing we would get for telling him to @%$# off because he should have changed his oil.