Hei,

So I have a Fiat Stilo 2002 sedan and few days ago lights at the back of the car started to go crazy:
1. When I turn on the right hand side indicator then both rear indicator start to blink and on the right side brake light also blinks.
2. And when I push brakes then the brake lights turn on along with the rear drive (white) lights.

What the hell is wrong with my car?
Can anyone help or just point a direction where to look at.

Check the grounds at the tail lights mate

:yeahthat:
Whilst each bulb has its own supply, they all share a common earth return. If the earth connection is weak, the electricity will try to find a path, usually through other lights.
Check the bulbs are tight in their holders, check the connector to the lamp, and follow the black earth wire from there to its earth point on the body and clean it there.

Thanks for the tips! I'll check them as soon as I get to garage.
Will update later on my progress.

This is how the connector on righ side looks like. See the one part that looks a bit darker? That’s the black wire.
Should this be the problem?

Very likely.
Try to clean it up and ensure it is tight.
For Punto a repair kit is available on Ebay, quite likely available for Stilo too. Search the Punto Mk2/2b section for more info and links.

On mine I had to cut the connector down and make a new single connector for the black wire ( crimp on spade thing )

Ok, so the issue was with the connector of the black wire which looked burnt. I sprayed it with a contact cleaner and I made sure that it's tight in its place. And now everything works as it should.

Since this issue occurred once, could it happen again? Something should have caused the connector to burn in the first place and maybe the problem isn't solved with this, but just stitched for now.

Anyhow, thanks everyone for the help. Cheers!

All the bulbs earth through the one connector. Burning could be a combination of load and tightness.
Initially I'd expect all connectors in the block to be equally tight, so that would suggest that the electrical load is the main factor. All the connectors and cables are similar sized, so either the supply cables are overspecified, or perhaps the earth is 'adequate'.

Normally all lights are off. Then we add tail lights, not a big current consumer.
We then add indicators. Due to their intermittent nature, the increase in current should not be a concern.
The big consumers will be the brake lights, and the rear fog, if part of the same lamp. These are both 21w bulbs and will add significantly to the current flowing. Rear lamps and the rear fog together, will put the earth wire nearer to its capacity. Adding brakes and indicators is likely to cause some extra heating.
The most likely cause of the connector burning is rear lamps, plus rear fog, plus brake lights held on for prolonged periods. If once stopped, the handbrake is applied and the brakes released, the bulbs cool, as does the earth connector. Many drivers prefer to hold the car on the brakes, which shortens the bulb life, and is probably the main factor in these connector failures. The connector has probably suffered in the hands of all of its owners, finally giving up.

Holding the car on the brakes puts three bright lights into the eyes of following traffic, reducing their ability to see past, which apart form being annoying for them, might increase their risk to you. Owners of automatics have less choice of course.

maduus said:

Since this issue occurred once, could it happen again?

Click to expand...

As the female terminal in the connector has overheated, it will have lost some of it's tension that makes a tight connection with the male terminal in the lamp.

As the connection is now looser than it was designed to be, it's very likely to overheat again, causing the same problem you've already had.
.