Land Rover Repair: ABS on/Brake lights off/stuck in Park, check fuse, brake light switch

Question
John,
I truly hope you can help. I have a 97 Disco and my ABS light is on, My brake light are not coming on and my car will not come out of Park. I have check my brake light bulbs (fine)and looked at my fuses and I didnt see an issue. I dont know where to go from here... HHHHEEEEELLLP!!!

Answer
Hi Stephanie,

sounds like your brake pedal switch may be faulty.  There is a temporary way to by-pass this to get you out of park BUT your brake lights will be on full-time.  

First, check fuse f1, most common failed fuse.  Also, rear window defrost terminals can short out and cause same problem.

Take a close look at the brake light switch on the brake pedal.  This switch has four wires on it while the cruise control switch has two wires and a vacuum line.

By-pass:
If the brake switch is intact, jump the green/purple wire and the green/orange wire.  The brake lights should come on and you should be able to shift out of park.  If so, you can at least drive off and have the switch replaced somewhere.

I remember having a short in the brake light wiring and this can cause the same problem.  Turned out the bulbholder was corroded (terminals were rot!), found a new bulbholder to fix the problem.  Check the brake light bulbholders (look inside for corrosion).

Best of luck,

JohnMc