ok, the brake lights arent working, neither are the reserve lights, which is kinda illegal and scary to drive without. . . there are new bulbs in, and have looked to see if there are any lose connections - none. any suggesstions??
Technical brake and reserve lights not working
- Thread starter marie90
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Technical brake and reserve lights not working
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- Apr 26, 2007
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Car model and age would be useful. Sounds like power loss to the rear clusters or earth problems to me, do the indicators work ok?
Firstly, check the fuses. Start with the simple things 
If the fuse(s) are fine, then check the bulb holders. These are notorious for dodgy connections causing non functioning rear lights. Sometimes it's the little prong that touches the centre electrode of the bulb that's at fault. They don't spring up enough and cause a poor connection. You can prise them up a bit with a screwdriver so they give a firmer connection.
If you have a multimeter check to see if you are getting a current to the rear lights. You can do this by directly putting the probes on the bulb holder connections or by disconnecting the multi pin plug and connecting to the appropriate pins.
Do the same for the reverse lights, though a faulty switch might also be an issue. Disconnect the switch plug from the gearbox and bridge the two connections with a piece of wire (with the ignition on). If the reverse lights come on then you have a faulty switch. If they still don't come on check for a current with a multi-meter. If there is one then you have a wiring fault between the switch and the rear light clusters. If there's no current then you have a power supply problem.
Corrosion/ oxidisation is also often an issue. Make sure all the bulb holders are clean - if not just scrape the connecting surfaces with a small screwdriver until you see bright metal.
Ironically I was doing a lot of this only last night while helping Jai sort out his white turbo. The rear lights weren't functioning properly but after doing a combination of the above we got them all working
If the fuse(s) are fine, then check the bulb holders. These are notorious for dodgy connections causing non functioning rear lights. Sometimes it's the little prong that touches the centre electrode of the bulb that's at fault. They don't spring up enough and cause a poor connection. You can prise them up a bit with a screwdriver so they give a firmer connection.
If you have a multimeter check to see if you are getting a current to the rear lights. You can do this by directly putting the probes on the bulb holder connections or by disconnecting the multi pin plug and connecting to the appropriate pins.
Do the same for the reverse lights, though a faulty switch might also be an issue. Disconnect the switch plug from the gearbox and bridge the two connections with a piece of wire (with the ignition on). If the reverse lights come on then you have a faulty switch. If they still don't come on check for a current with a multi-meter. If there is one then you have a wiring fault between the switch and the rear light clusters. If there's no current then you have a power supply problem.
Corrosion/ oxidisation is also often an issue. Make sure all the bulb holders are clean - if not just scrape the connecting surfaces with a small screwdriver until you see bright metal.
Ironically I was doing a lot of this only last night while helping Jai sort out his white turbo. The rear lights weren't functioning properly but after doing a combination of the above we got them all working
