2011 - Nissan Pathfinder - Stop Lamp Relay

[ColinT2020sk]

Hey,

I am new to these forums!

First off, I apologize if I am in the wrong forum:

I love my Pathy, but I am having some technical issues. My Brakes lights went, and I checked the stop switch and fuse. Both were good. I can't find where the Stop Lamp relay is located. When I opened the relay box and checked the diagram, a few relays were not included, included the spot where the Stop Lamp Relay is. Its just empty, no housing or wiring.

Any ideas?

Thanks guys!

Colin

[mdmellott]

Did you check the brake light bulbs to see if they are burned out? If the stop lamp switch is checked to be electrically good, the brake lights will receive power when the brake pedal is pressed, releasing the button on the switch. There is no relay involved with that function as far as I know. There is a relay involved with the ABS system which is also linked to the stop lamp switch button being released but these are two separate circuits as far as I know. Don't be concerned about the empty spots in the relay box. These boxes are somewhat generic in that the same box is used in multiple vehicle models. Not all boxes get stuffed with the same relays and fuses and some spots don't get stuffed at all, depending on the model.

[ColinT2020sk]

Thanks Mdmellot,

I couldn't believe it was that simple. However now my brakes are now seizing up and smoking. Ugh.. and my NO VDC light/Slip light is on. Any ideas?

[mdmellott]

You may have a malfunction in your braking system after all. I am not familiar with this traction control feature so you may have to get an experienced mechanic to sort it out or hope someone else on this forum can respond with something more helpful. Coincidences do happen but I don't like the fact that your brake light bulbs were burned out and now there's a traction control indication. All I do know is that low fluid in the brake system will cause the slip light to come on with the VCD light. Check the brake fluid reservoir to be sure it is full. If it is below the minimum required level, that's a good indication that your brake pads have worn to the point that the brake fluid reserve was not enough to compensate for the necessary expansion of the brake cylinders to keep the pads close to the brake disks as the pads wear down over time. Either that or you have a leak somewhere in the braking system. Something is making your traction control system to kick in. If the reservoir is low, top it off with brake fluid to see if the problem goes away. However, if the problem then does seem to go away, do not stop there. If the reservoir was very low, you may have gotten air pumped into the brake lines Your brake pads may be badly worn down. Check for leaks. Get your brakes serviced. Be sure to have the entire system flushed with fresh brake fluid to clean out all the old fluid. Good luck. Hopefully, this is just a simple thing to resolve.

[ColinT2020sk]

Hey,

I figured it out. When I put the Stop Light Switch back in, I had it to close and it didn't allow the pedal to fully retract. It caused the brakes to activate as the engine got hotter. Once I re-adjusted, all is good. (Aside for needing new pads, which i was going to do anyways.)

Cheers!