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General 3rd brake light

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General 3rd brake light

Micromort

Micromort

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Morning all, first post on here... bought my daughter a 500 lounge last weekend, smashing car and so well equipped but the 3rd brake does not work.
Removed it to find no water evidence, all the bulbs seem ok at first glance ( but not tested) is this a common problem and am I looking in the right area,
Cheers, Dave

Ps, no idea why my avatar has taken a tumble....
 
Last edited:
John202020 said:
Welcome, what age is the car? Does the handle work to open the boot (not the remote ) there is a known issue with the wires going into the boot lid, if you have a meter test to see if you have a feed and earth.
Click to expand...


I have a meter so will test, car is a 2012, the handle to the boot works fine, the bulbs look ok and my thoughts are surely all would not fail at the same time but will use new ones to prove, will also see if number plate lights work as has also been suggested,
Cheers, Dave
 
Micromort said:
Morning all, first post on here
Click to expand...

Hello and welcome :wave:.

Most likely the extremely common hatch wiring fault.

Disconnect the battery, then open the tailgate, peel back the rubber grommet at the top of the hatch and look for broken wiring or damaged insulation - you may have to carefully peel back some of the cable wrapping tape. If you find any, I'd strongly recommend you don't reconnect the battery until it's been repaired.
 
Last edited:
jrkitching said:
Hello and welcome :wave:.

Most likely the extremely common hatch wiring fault.

Disconnect the battery, then open the tailgate, peel back the rubber grommet at the top of the hatch and look for broken wiring or damaged insulation - you may have to carefully peel back some of the cable wrapping tape. If you find any, I'd strongly recommend you don't reconnect the battery until it's been repaired.
Click to expand...

i would agree having been that route myself.
 
Broken wire found as it entered the grommet at the top of the boot lid, wire re soldered and heat shrink added, what a good forum, thanks all for your help, Dave
 
John202020 said:
I can guarantee more wires will break over time sadly, worse the greater number of times the lid is opened and how cold it is.
Click to expand...

Yes, I'd strongly recommend you repair this properly by patching all the cables between the hatch & the bodyshell with extra flexible ones. A short or a stray live feed could destroy one or more of the car's computers and that won't be cheap to fix.

The original design and choice of cable type is manifestly not fit for purpose.
 
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Going to solder in new wire for all the cables and heat shrink at the weekend, this should remedy any future issues, cheers again for the help...
 
Micromort said:
Going to solder in new wire for all the cables and heat shrink at the weekend, this should remedy any future issues, cheers again for the help...
Click to expand...

Solder on a new extra flexible silicone sheath wire and pull it through then cut out the old section and make good both ends. You'll find some wires snap as you do this, took me 3 hours to fix, 15 wires 6 of which are all black. I did nt do the heated rear screen wires due to their thickness but these were the least affected.
 
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