In order to blow the fuse, you must have a short circuit to ground somewhere between the output of the stop light switch and the stop lights in the rear of the car. You will need to isolate these lamps to determine where the short is. If a were a betting man, I'd say the best bet is that the short may well be in the tailgate where the wire come from the body into the tailgate. This is usually near a hinge (the center stop light is in the tailgate). Since these wires move every time you open and close the hatch, they are more likely to beak and short out.
SOURCE: 1998 ford escort wagon brake lights out. bulbs and fuses changed.
have you tested the brake light switch? it is located at the top of the arm the brake pedal is attached to, it is very common for the wires to that switch to break inside the plastic insulation, the switch testing goes like this, there should be 12 volts present at both sides of the switch with the brake pedal depressed and one side without the pedal depressed.
SOURCE: Brake light switch for 1998 ford escort station
Common problem with these cars are that the rubber piece that "gaps" your brakepedal from the micro-switch keeps breaking (they usually have a replacement rubber piece connected on the brake pedal beside it). If your brake lights won't go off because of this, either change-out this rubber gap piece - or, you can just change the gap with a wrench, and not even use the rubber gap piece (this is what I ended up doing on a couple of my escorts).
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