Most people are curious about the difference between tail light vs brake light. If you are visiting this page, probably you have this question on your mind. So you can find a very detailed explanation here about the brake lights and tail lights that your car has. What are the duties of these lights on your car, and what are the general problems that you can face while you are using brake lights and tail lights?
What Is Tail Light?
As you understand from its name, the tail light on your car is placed at the rear side of your car. The main duty of your tail light is to show your car’s presence to other drivers in traffic. So it has a very important duty, and it is very important to be sure about if this light is working or not on your car.
In general, the color of tail lights is red. But some different car models have different kinds of colors of tail lights that make people confused with the different lights at the rear side of your car. But it is very important to know the difference between tail light vs brake light and to understand the difference between them and what are the technical differences between them.
What Is a Brake Light?
As you understand from its name again, the brake light is the informative light while you are pressing the brake pedal of your car. Once you press on your brake, the brake lights turn on at the tail side of your car. In general, also the color of the brake light is red. And also, it has a much brighter light if we compare it with the tail light of your car.
If we think about the safety of driving in traffic, it is very important to know that the brake light is working well. Because once you press on the brakes of your car or your vehicle, the car decelerates at a very high acceleration. So this means there is a very big speed change on your record. And in terms of traffic safety, the other drivers must know about this speed change in your car. If they don’t know the speed change, they can crash into your car, and it can be a very serious safety issue for the traffic.
Also, we need to state that some cars have special tail lights that can be brighter when you press your brake. They have a default brightness once you activate the headlights, but they get brighter if you press on the brake pedal of your vehicle. But in addition to the tail lights, there is a line-shaped red light that is placed at the top side of your car or back window of your car once you brake, and it gets works.
So, as you understand, there are different designs of tail lights and brake lights, but it is very important to know the differences between them.
How to Test Your Brake Lights and Tail Lights?
First of all, you need to activate the ignition switch without activating the engine. This will activate the electric system of your car so that you can control all the electrical things that go on in your car and all the systems that take electricity from the battery of your car.
It is also a very basic thing that you can do on your own or with your friend or companion. Tail lights work when you open your headlights automatically. Ask your friend to stay at the backside of your car and open the headlights of your car, and they can inform you about whether the tail lights work or not.
Also, you can make the same test for Brake Lights for your car. Just ask your friend to stay on the backside of your car, press on the brake pedal, and your friend must tell you if the Brake Lights are working properly or not.
What are the General Problems with Brake Lights and Tail Lights?
There are different possible problems that you can face with Brake Lights and Tail Lights. There can be different reasons for these problems, and there can be different solutions to these problems. We will try to explain them.
Burnt-out Light Bulbs
This is the most possible and the most common problem that you can face. In this case, you need to change the burnt-out light bulb with a new one. But you need to take care of that you took or buy OEM parts from the service or the spare parts sellers. So it will be much more effective for you.
If you cannot remove the burnt-out light bulbs, you just need to bring your car to a service or car electric technician. Because it is very important to remove the cap of the light bulbs effectively. And if you have any experience or if you have any tools to remove these parts, you just need to bring your car to an electrician.
Problems with Cable Connections
As you know, all the electrical systems in cars are connected to a battery to take electricity from it. And if there are some kinds of problems with the cables or the connections of these cables to the battery or Tail Lights or Brake Lights, your Tail Lights and Brake Lights will not work properly. In this case, you need to check the electrical connections and cable structures to be sure the problem is not on this system.
To check these cable connections, you need to know which connections belong to the Tail Light and Brake Light systems. There are different electrical structures for different car models, but you can take a look at the internet or your user’s manual of your car to get to know about the electrical connections. It will be much easier for you to maintain the electrical cables and connections.
Also, electrical connections are located under the external structures of cars, such as the Bodywork or interior work of your car. So, you need to know your car and have a good amount of experience to check the cables. Additionally, you will need some electrical tools to check if the cables are working properly.
Just bringing your car to an electrician or your service will solve your problem, and you will not have to pay a lot of money to make these lights work.
Blown-out Fuses
The fuse system of a car protects the electrical systems from excessive electricity or voltages. If there is excessive electrical voltage from your battery to the components, the fuses will blow out, and the electricity will be cut off. This is another reason why your Tail Lights and Brake Lights may not be working. You just need to replace the blown-out fuses with new ones.
Your car has a fuse box that contains different types of fuses for different electrical components. You need to locate your fuse box, which is generally placed below the side of your steering wheel or inside the hood of your car. After locating the blown-out fuse(s), replace them with new fuses. If this does not solve your problem, there may be other issues with different electrical components.
Problematic Switches
The working principle of switches in electrical systems is very simple. Once you activate the switch, it completes the electrical circuit and allows the electrical component to work. If there’s a problem with the electrical switches, the circuit will not be completed, and the electrical components such as Tail Lights and Brake Lights will not work.
For example, the headlight switch controls the Tail Light. Once you activate your headlight switch, the Tail Light will work. Similarly, when you press on your brake pedal, a special switch activates the Brake Lights. If there’s a problem with that switch, the Brake Light will not work.
Replacing these problematic switches will solve the problem.
Conclusion on Tail Light vs Brake Light
As you can see, the difference between Brake Lights and Tail Lights is very simple. They are basic electrical systems on your car, and you can solve these problems without much difficulty. It is crucial to ensure that the Brake Light and Tail Light are working well on your car for the safety of traffic.
If you have additional comments and questions about tail light vs brake light, please leave them below, and we will be happy to assist you.
Check the related topics and content about car electrics;
Ignition Switch Wiring Color Code Identification – How to Do?
Ignition Lock Cylinder Diagram and Electronic Parts
How Long Does It Take to Replace an Alternator? Quick Answer
Electric Fireplace for Apartment – Find the Best with This Guide
