In a 1998 neon (first generation) the tail light, brake, and blinker (turn signal) use one bulb with two filaments.
it may have nothing to do with your brake pads on my car the blinkers stoped working they still came on but they stoped blinking and i just had to repace the bulbs
Check the bulbs. These bulbs are a combination tail light & brake light. Even though the blinkers work, the brake light part might be burnt out. If these are okay, check the brake light switch. It's mounted on the brake pedal. Are the brake lights on all the time or they don't light up at all? if all the bulbs are fine, its more than likely the stop-light switch underneath the brake pedal.
Bulbs? Sockets? Steering column switch?
You need the same number of bulbs, and they cannot be led's.
Check for a loose ground or loose bulbs.
Start with the fuses, then check the bulbs, then start tracing wires.
AnswerThe bulbs for the brake lights are usually separate from the normal tail light bulbs. Check and replace the brake bulbs first, and if they are still not working examine the fuses, switch and wiring.
has anyone checked the fuses and bulbs?
You need new bulbs
separate
I would guess that both of your brake light bulbs are burned out, and only the high mount bulbs are still working.
The brake lights and tail lights are separate wiring systems. Even some of the bulbs may have two separate bulbs in the same glass housing. If the bulbs are in fact working, then the next step would be to test the brake switch under the dash. When you depress the brake pedal the switch is pushed creating a connection to turn on the brake lights.