Has anyone else done this?

[Stag About Town]

My stop lights stopped working when out the other day. luckily close to home. The tail lights were ok so I thought I would bypass the brake light switch to check that was the culprit. True enough, the brake lights came on with the ignition but being able to stand behind the car and check the lights at leisure without someone pressing the brake pedal showed something else. One side was brighter than the other. Turned the ignition off and put the tail lights on and same again but the other way round. Obviously the connections were wrong on one side and must have been like that since I changed the bulb holders about five years ago with the brake light and tail light connections back to front on one side. Furthermore, it has passed several MOTs like that. Just wondered if I am the only one who has done this? Also obviously something to check on if unsure. John

[barkerwilliams]

Bad earths on the lamp clusters, or on individual bulb holders will do that. On a twin filament bulb the earth is common to both so if the earth is bad (disconnected or high resistance) the current comes though the side light filament and off through the brake light filament possibly to the other brake light filament.

Probably not incorrectly wired so do not start there.

Alan

[sujitroy]

similar problem on stag no2. with ignition on. one red on on bright other dim. brake light switch was not making contact with pedal and was on. first fix earth. easy. solder a blob of solder on the bulb fixtures. the earth part is not well connected in the thing to the earth prongs. test with multimeter. then when working tackle brake switch. I can send photo later. I'm on my phone

[flying farmer]

I have done the same thing swapping the wires, but noticed straight away. Pretty sure my MOT tester would have noticed if I had not!
I have also had bad earth problems giving similar trouble and that was mainly knackered bulb holders

[dasadrew]

Not quite the same, but another motorist came over to me in the car park to let me know one brake light wasn't working. I then found out that it was possible to fit the twin filament bulb 180° wrong! Strange - can't do that on the Escort. Anyway, it was a quick fix!

Drew

[Phil S]

easily done and easily fixed, the spade terminals on my buld holders are the same , one day on my list is to solder the correct colour wire direct to the terminal with a connector on, but low on the to do list

[Stag About Town]

Re The original problem I'm pretty sure the switch is knackered as I could only get power at the end of the brake light green and purple wires when bypassing the switch. Quite cheap to replace anyway. Will check all functions again when the new one is fitted.

[Neil in Deal]

As others have said, most problems will usually be caused by poor earths.
I check my brake lights from time to time by reversing up to another vehicle, getting out and pressing the brake pedal - I can then see both reflected in the other vehicle's bodywork. (I also have BCL's nice bright led;s fitted, so easily seen.)
I used fine wet 'n dry paper (dry!) and a glass fibre "pencil" to give the "springy" terminals and spade terminals a good clean up. The contacts inside the fittings usually benefit from a clean with the glass fibre pencil. I have only had to clean all those once, when I was fitting the led's everything was given a good clean - everything was a little bit black and/or green. [This was 2 years ago.]
If you have a soldering iron you can "build up" the male spade terminals slightly with solder, making them slightly larger, so the female terminals are a tighter fit.
You can also "flood" the brake light switch with contact cleaner then operate the shaft a few times. The switch is "sort of" sealed, but hopefully some cleaner will find it's way in, and clean the contacts.
Best of luck,
Stay Safe,

Neil.

[Stag About Town]

As others have said, most problems will usually be caused by poor earths.
I check my brake lights from time to time by reversing up to another vehicle, getting out and pressing the brake pedal - I can then see both reflected in the other vehicle's bodywork. (I also have BCL's nice bright led;s fitted, so easily seen.)
I used fine wet 'n dry paper (dry!) and a glass fibre "pencil" to give the "springy" terminals and spade terminals a good clean up. The contacts inside the fittings usually benefit from a clean with the glass fibre pencil. I have only had to clean all those once, when I was fitting the led's everything was given a good clean - everything was a little bit black and/or green. [This was 2 years ago.]
If you have a soldering iron you can "build up" the male spade terminals slightly with solder, making them slightly larger, so the female terminals are a tighter fit.
You can also "flood" the brake light switch with contact cleaner then operate the shaft a few times. The switch is "sort of" sealed, but hopefully some cleaner will find it's way in, and clean the contacts.
Best of luck,
Stay Safe,

Neil.

Thanks for all that info Neil. Your location reminds me of many day sails to your pier when we had a boat berthed in Ramsgate or passed it en-route to Dover. Happy days. John

[sujitroy]

Here's a photo on my bulb holder with a blob of solder bridging the gap for the earth. Make sure the points are clean.
Sujit

[Neil in Deal]

Afternoon John,

Thanks for your comments - did you know Deal Pier is the same length as the Titanic was ?? !

Neil.

[Stag About Town]

Afternoon John,

Thanks for your comments - did you know Deal Pier is the same length as the Titanic was ?? !

Neil.

Didn't know that Neil. Don't suppose many people do but interesting. Last time we sailed past the pier we had a force 5 behind and the tide with us so went past in a blur. Back to the car. Fitted new switch and with the connections sorted all looks ok. John

[Stag About Town]

Here's a photo on my bulb holder with a blob of solder bridging the gap for the earth. Make sure the points are clean.
Sujit

Thanks for that. Will spend a bit of time making the connections more secure as you suggest. A faulty switch was definitely the cause of the original problem and now sorted. John

[jbuckl]

People buy new bulb holders, expecting them to improve the earth connection, but they don’t seem to be any better than the originals.

[DJT]

People buy new bulb holders, expecting them to improve the earth connection, but they don’t seem to be any better than the originals.

It is easy to add an earth wire to the bulb holders. Couple of minute’s work with a soldering iron, a couple of inches of black wire and a male Lucar connection. Problem solved, permanently.