Hi everyone,
2006 Caravan, I've been the owner for two months. The brake lights stay on all the time even with the car turned off. Disconnecting the brake switch or removing fuses won't do anything. The only thing I can do to turn them off is disconnecting the battery.
I've tested the switch with a multimeter, there is continuity between two pins, the contact breaks when I push the switch. I have a feeling the switch is good.
When I turn on the hazards, the lights blink normally.
I've also tried removing the trailer connector.
Anything else I can troubleshoot??
Thanks in advance for any help and have a great day,
Martin

 

Well, I followed the advice from another post and replaced the bulb for the stop light at the top of the hatch, which I found out was dead. Lo and behold, the stop lights now work normally and turn off when I turn off the van.
If this was wired this way by design, (ie: a reminder that your hatch bulb is bad) as it appears to be, I would find this incredibly stupid, as it could easily leave you with a dead battery if you don't happen to notice that your brake lights are on when you get out of your car.
Anyways, I hope this will be helpful to someone.
God bless,
Martin

 

Another update: turns out the problem wasn't so simple. After getting a drained battery twice, I took the van to my mechanic who kept it for a while until the lights would turn on so he could troubleshoot. His diagnostic is that there is a problem with the fuse box (TIPM). The only one he found from a junkyard was in such a bad shape that he prefered not to install it. The dealer wants $750 for the new part.
From what I understand, there is a circuit board in there that gets corroded, which creates all kinds of electrical problems. I took a look at the connectors I could unplug and they seem ok. Now, I might go look for a used fuse box or order one from ebay (around $80).
The van works, but I really have to disconnect the battery when not in use. I also started getting randomly blinking dash lights while driving.
If anyone would like to offer any advice or comment, I would really appreciate.
Thanks and have a good day!

 

Quick update:
I found a used TIPM for $CAN 25 at the junkyard, installed it and everything seems ok. If you have similar electrical problems, suspect the the TIPM (fuse box). The circuit board in there and the connectors get pretty corroded.

 

Well, the headlights have started flickering randomly, out of nowhere, while the van is parked. It's like there's a ghost in there. If anyone has any suggestion at all for where to look, it would be really appreciated.