I would like to buy Stilo 1.9 JTD, and I found once that really likes me, but I found some problem. When I switch on the light (board comp. show message "bulb failure"), on left rear side, lights break light , but on the right side everything is OK. When I press the brake, everything is ok with the rear lights.

Thanks

Swap the bulbs over (left to right etc) and also make sure someone hasn't fitted LED bulbs.

The bulb failure warning is triggering because the resistance is a different value than it should be. Read it as a "failure in the bulb circuit" rather than a "bulb failure" so you can still have the bulb working but it's telling you something is up and the something is usually a poor contact at the connector to the rear light cluster circuit board.

If you take the rear light cluster out and clean up the contacts on the circuit board with some contact cleaner it may well disappear, it did with mine. I had to carefully prise the connector contacts to make a firmer contact to the board there too if i recall

Dragging this thread back from the dead a bit here, but my passenger side stop light is acting up, when I put the lights on the rear lights light up as normal, then when I put the breaks on they get brighter as normal however when I take my foot off the break the passenger side stop light stay's bright as if I was breaking! Now ive replaced the bulb but that hasnt cured it. To you guys does it sound like I need to clean the contacts and adjust the connector contacts like Deckchair5 said?

Also contact cleaner, silly question, can you get it from Halfords/Focus etc....?

That's an odd fault
But yes, do some cleaning of the contacts and be VERY CAREFUL with the circuit board connector contacts
Might also be a bad earth there, often is when something works when it shouldn't

I used to get the PING bulb failure on the 5dr ..which turned out to be a bad earth ..never got around to actually sorting it out and that's a job for the new owner now anyway ..so Don't forget to check the earth connections also ..

Thanks Deckchari5 and PNL, sorry for being thick but the circuit board connector contacts is that the plastic thingy which plugs into the back of the light cluster? The bit which you have to un-plug to remove the cluster?

....and again sorry for being thick, how would I check if there is a bad earth?

"the circuit board connector contacts is that the plastic thingy which plugs into the back of the light The bit which you have to un-plug to remove the cluster?"
yes

how would I check if there is a bad earth?
Engine running, put you sidelights on, jam something on the brake pedal to get your brake lights on and then put on that side indicator. Look at the lights, do the others dim significantly in time with the indicator flashing? If so then it's a bad earth

Deckchair5 said:

"the circuit board connector contacts is that the plastic thingy which plugs into the back of the light The bit which you have to un-plug to remove the cluster?"
yes

how would I check if there is a bad earth?
Engine running, put you sidelights on, jam something on the brake pedal to get your brake lights on and then put on that side indicator. Look at the lights, do the others dim significantly in time with the indicator flashing? If so then it's a bad earth

Click to expand...

Thanks Deckchair5 ill try that this weekend!

Had a similar problem to this in halfords once with a Saxo - whenever the customer braked, her sidelights would come on! Obviously was a short in the bulb contacts. They can bend easily and cause problems. Take the bulb out and ensure that it is fitted correctly, and that the contacts are ok, as Decks says .

Yeah thats my plan this weekend take the cluster off and give all the contacts a good clean and a bit of a fiddle! If all else fails shop4parts has a whole new light cluster for only £40!

So had a fiddle over the weekend with some contact cleaner (oooerrr mrs's!) turns out it was the bulb. Ordered some new bulbs from shop4parts and replaced the faulty one and hey presto were good as new! Phew saves £40!

I too have a problem with the rear light cluster on the left side. Here's how it manifests:

When I brake, for a few seconds I get the "Bulb failure: Left rear side indicator" and "Bulb failure: Rear fog, left side indicator" errors. I take my foot off the brake and they go away. It appears more frequently if I have my sidelights on.

I have already bought new bulbs and I am thinking about checking the rear earth connection. I have saw in eLearn that it is somewhere around the rear left wheel, but where exactly and how can I get there?

Alex

The left rear earth connection is above the rear fuse box. It's the black box with the black and green wires in the picture below.


.

Today I have fixed my problems with the left rear light cluster. As I suspected, all the problems came from a bad contact in the connector behind the cluster. The earth pin was quite dirty so a bit of contact cleaner did the job.

Thanks for the help!

alexx88 said:

I too have a problem with the rear light cluster on the left side. Here's how it manifests:

When I brake, for a few seconds I get the "Bulb failure: Left rear side indicator" and "Bulb failure: Rear fog, left side indicator" errors. I take my foot off the brake and they go away. It appears more frequently if I have my sidelights on.

I have already bought new bulbs and I am thinking about checking the rear earth connection. I have saw in eLearn that it is somewhere around the rear left wheel, but where exactly and how can I get there?

Alex

Click to expand...

Hiya

I've got a 2006 Stilo 1.4 Active and am suffering with the exact same problem. When I disconnected the rear nearside light cluster I noticed that the metal where the black cable connects looks "burnt" and slightly black in colour and the connector to the cluster housing where the black cable meets it is also black.

I tried using some electric circuit/connector cleaner this afternoon and sanded off some of the black from the actual cluster metal to no avail. If I connect the nearside cluster to the offside cluster connecter it works fine.

My question is, can I buy just the connecter from Fiat or would they want to sell me the loom with it? If I could buy it, would this fix it do you think? The bit I'm talking about (along with image of the burnt part) is..




I read the above posts about the dodgy earth connector and it appears to be fine.. When I say appears I just mean its securely connected to the body but thats all I can say as its a really tight gap to get my hand into... One thing I noticed though, is that, the nearside ground has one less cable visible compared to the offside (please see pics below)

Nearside -
Offside - (Note extra wire at the bottom which is red with white block on its end)


Thanks in advance

I'm sorry to bring this one to life, again.... Thanks for all of the help, I have managed to stop the constant bleeping (both me and the car) whenever I put my foot on the brake, with the car telling me that my rear indicator/stop lamp have failed when they haven't. However, when I start the car it is still telling me that I have a brake light failure. I have tried to locate the rear fuse box in my 2004 MW, to try to check the earth cable, but am unable to do so, as it appears to have disappeared, along with my sense of humour. :bang:

Can the fusebox (pictured in this thread) be located anywhere else?

Hi guys
sorry to bring this thread from the dead (badoom tss)
Having a serious problem with the earth pin of the rear left lights. 2011 Panda..
is there anywhere i can find a new connector to buy? i search all over the web and couldn't find any...

I had similar problem on my fiat stilo 1.6 active. My indicator light was not working however with the headlights on then all the lights in the cluster would flash.

By mistake while plugging the plug in and out I saw that it starts working perfectly at a certain point on the plug. Ie the right angle lol. So now its still there and tapped up lol. Still working but now I must replace my brake light switch. That never worked before the indicators even.

The best bet for doing it yourself is to look for a connector from a second-hand/breaker. You don't need the whole wiring loom... just ask them to chop off the connector with as much wiring as they can (you wants at least 6"/15cm).

Then cut off your old connector (as close to the plug as possible) and connect your wires to the extra wiring on the new connector.

If you're no good at connecting wiring.. get a pro' electrician or auto-electrician to solder/join them. It won't cost much but you'll never have any more problems with it ever again.


Ralf S.