1998 ford escort wagon will not go into gear fuses are fine my hunch is the brake light switch, need to know where switch is located or if any one else has an idea to correct my problem

This problem sounds like you dislodged the switch on the brake pedal lever. You need the signal to unlock the vehicle from Park. You will probably find that the Brake lights do not work when you press the brake pedal.

Now if the switch is good, you probably broke the fuse feeding power to the switch. You can get a wiring diagram online by running a Websearch or going to Autozone.com and registering your car. This site has a HELP section at the bottom of the page and you would need to toggle between free and pay info.

there is a switch bolted down the left side of your gear stick.in the car.

Hi there,

Most modern automatic cars require the driver to depress the brake pedal first, to allow releasing the gear out of Park.

Some automatic transmissions also provide an 'overide' switch near the gear lever, to allow manual release of the gear lever.

If neither of the above resolve this, then you will need to check the operation of your brake switch, mounted on the brake pedal.

check to see if your brake lights are working. if the brake light switch fails, you can't take it out of park.

check the brake switch above pedal and brake light relay in engine compartment relay box.

Please see my tip at http://www.fixya.com/cars/r6053280-lights_out_lights_not_out_bulbs_ok . These are generic instructions. If you get stuck or need specific instructions for your car, please get back to me with model, year and engine info.

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).

If the bulbs are good check your brake light switch. It is located near the top of the brake pedal under the dash, that is probably your problem.

renew the switch its an easy job on these cars

Sounds like your brake light switch has gone bad. It is located on your brake pedal and is easy to change and relatively inexpensive. Let me know if you have any more questions. Thanks for rating my response and for using FixYa!

yes, replace the multifunction switch.