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I agree that you could check the rear fog lights- every Volvo has these though most people rarely use them. This would be a bright light in the upper half of the lamp housing. Your brake lights are combined with the lower, outer parking light on each side.
If you pull the lamp covers in the trunk you should see a large white socket on one side (ought to be the right) and a black one in the opposite spot on the left. Check these bulbs and clean the contacts on the socket with a nail file or sandpaper.
If the copper contact areas on the blue taillight circuit board are black/green/crusty/white then clean them GENTLY with a pencil eraser.
IF the taillight housing seems full of water, dry it out. A small cordless drill (1/8 or smaller bit) can be used to make a hole in the outer bottom corner of the lamp housing to drain out the lights- sedan lights frequently get water in them, causing all sorts of problems.
If you need new bulbs, the bulb is an 1157 and should be commonly available anywhere. Clear or amber will work- clear is a little brighter.
If it seems that the bulbs are good, sockets not full of water, but still no lower brake lights, you have a bad "bulb failure" sensor. It's a big red cylindrical relay that lives in the dashboard, in front of your fuses. You can pull it out if you remove the cig lighter, snap the square trim off the lighter opening, remove 2 screws on the left and pull out the coin tray over the ashtray. The red bulb failure relay just unplugs. Get a new one from a junkyard, or if you can do soldering, pry it open and repair the burnt connection inside (it's kind of fine work!). A junkyard unit is probably $10 or less- the dealer price is 1 arm and 1 leg.
Good luck!!
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Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: '87 244DL/M47- 225K, 88 744GLE- 209K, 91 244 183K. Also responsible for the care and feeding of: 88 745GLE, 229K, 88 244GL, 146K, 87 244DL, 235K, 88 245DL, 236K
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