if i pull the fuse for running lights the brake lighyts work with truck off. soon as its on the driver brake light no longer works and everything else does.

it might help to know that the connector as in the piece the bulb goes into is newer and takes a different bulb than the passenger.

is it the turn signal switch? or a short? it looks like the trailer connector under the tailgate was messed with and there are a couple splitters etc.

 

The vehicle is?

 

1994 ford ranger it could also be helpful the left socket seems aftermarket as it doesnt take the same bulb as the passenger side. as well as it lights up a different filament.

any quick fixes till i can afford a mechanics?

 

You're saying that if you pull the fuse for the running lights, the brake lights only work with the truck OFF? With the truck ON and the fuse removed, the brake lights don't work? What lead you to start pulling fuses in the first place? It sounds like there is more to the story.

I don't quite follow your troubleshooting steps, but anytime you see one filament in a dual-filament bulb depending on the other filament, it's a ground problem. 99% of the time, that ground problem is in the socket itself. Since it sounds like your driver-side socket is wrong anyway, you should replace it with the correct socket first.

 

Here's a diagram for your truck


Your truck has separate amber turnsignals in the back. So the turn switch is not in the equation for you. It makes your truck a lot simpler. If you look in the upper right corner of the diagram above, you will see the brake switch, the headlight switch where the taillights come from, and the wire colors for each. Lightgreen for the brakes on both sides, and brown for the running lights on both sides.