Need help bad Kouki brake lights electrical problem

[fwuffy squirrel]

Just to prepare you, Ive spent over $600 trying to fix this problem and its eluded 2 different shops and 3 really good mechanics as well as myself.
Well I guess I will start from the beggining.
When I first got my car everything was good but the motor had troubles, I fixed that and everything was fine.
I think the problem started after I got the alarm, a week went by and my brakelights were fine untill one day they just went out. We checked it and it ended up being the brake light switch. So we replaced it and it went out the next day, thinking it was the brakelight switch again I got a new one put it in and didnt fix the problem. We finally found out that it was a blown fuse, so we stuck another one in there. Untill the next day it blew again.
So we knew there was a short somewhere and we taped up all the wires and changed it again, only to blow one more time. At that time my "dads friend" tried to fix it who is a really good electricion, and after hours of work taking out the bulbs testing everything for electricity putting the bulbs in 1 by 1 we realized there was a short from the brake light switch to the alarm.
Well dont ask how but while reconnecting the battery someone reversed it blowing out alot of stuff as well as making the car not start. So I spent $500 to have someone give it a shot and after rewireing everything under the wheel a week later we found out that it was the ignition chip (it has lots of names) that blew out, they got a new one took it to their shop and prepared.

Since the brake wireing was really bad, I had them rewire all of them and fix everything that couldve blown. So they fixed pretty much everything and the short ended up being on the alarm. It was a bad sensor they said and they replaced it and fixed everything. A day later they went out again and I went back to them and we found out that something was causing 1 of the bulbs to stay on (like your holding the brake) when the regular parking lights were on. I thought something was wrong because when the parking lights were on that light was always brighter. So we fixed that took out the fuse to find it melted because of the brakes. (Btw the fuse was a 30) The fuse was suppost to be a 15 but they said since more lights I needed a bigger fuse. And from there I shouldve been fine. They replaced it with a 25 so it wouldnt melt and the next day they went out again. I put a 30 myself and they actually worked for 3 days untill today when they went out again. Today was the only day I drove at night so I had my lights on for about an hour if that helps.

I took out the fuse to find it not melted just not working and Im really about to give up on this. Ive tried so much and keep failing.
Anyway to make matters worse, When I press the brakes when they are working it starts dim and gets brighter untill it reaches peak brightness which takes about 2 seconds, they dont just get really bright. Also every since I put the 30 in there, when I hit the brake my guages dim and the idle drops about 400rpm to a near-stall. And just tonight when I was pulling it in the back, I pressed the button on the right just below the hazard, and it turned on my brake lights. Really really bright, I hit it again they turn off, again they turn on.
Im so mad I just turn off the car and when the car was off it doesnt turn the lights off and on.

I would GREATLY apreciate any help I can get on this, Im going to school now and im compleatly out of money to pay some shop to fix it. Which they cant do anyway. Thanks guys go Zilvia forums ^_^

[projectRDM]

First off, installing a larger rated fuse in place of one smaller is the stupidest thing you could have done. Period. It's rated at a specific amperage for a reason, upgrading it will only damage other larger circuits in the car.

Second, why would the alarm have any bearing on the brake lights? Most alarm systems flash the parking lights, not the brake lights, two completely different circuits. There's no reason for the two to be connected, and more over there is no 'sensor' on any alarm that I've seen that interferes with the brake lights. Sounds like both people who have worked on the car don't know shit.

I would start out by unplugging both brake lights completely. Not just the bulbs, but the lights themselves. I'm assuming that since they're Kouki lights someone rewired the plugs (they're different) so with the lights unplugged you'll know immediately if it's the light themselves or somewhere in the harness. You should also go ahead and unplug the rear hatch harness (behind the Pside quarter panel) so that the 3rd brakelight is out of the loop as well. If it's in the harness, trace it from the switch to the lights, the wire is red/green and travels down the driverside rocker panel, up the quarter, to the tail. Somewhere it's been chafed or crimped and is contacting the chassis or another wire. It's really an easy fix if you know what you're doing. If the fuse is fine with the lights unplugged and will not blow, plug each light back in one at a time and continue depressing the switch, whichever one is the problem will blow the fuse.