Help with weird electrical fault which affects starting and brake lights?

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KPA

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Hi

I am really hoping someone may be able to provide some advice. I have a 2013 auto Freelander 2. Recently we had an issue with starting the car. We realised the brake lights had also stopped working. We had a brake switch replaced and this worked for a while before the issues started again. If we change the fuse associated with the brake lights then it works for a while then happens again. I have now been to 3 auto electricians (one is a LR specialist) who either dont know what is wrong or the latest one the LR 'specialist' said the brake switch needed replacing (the one we already replaced) we explained we had done that before but they told us if it wasn't a 'genuine' part this could be causing the issue? so they replaced this and it has been fine for 2 weeks and then yesterday wouldn't start straight away, checked brake lights and yup not working, replaced the fuse and working again. Something is clearly blowing the fuse but no -one seems to be able to offer any guidance or advice. I did contact the main LR dealer who wanted to charge we £250 per hour to diagnose and this could take days - we just don't have thousands of pounds available to just diagnose this issue. We even tried replacing the reverse sensors which we were told can sometimes be linked the the brake lights (they weren't when they checked them when they were replaced) but this hasn't solved anything. We have also replaced all the light bulbs but again no joy. Anyone had anything similar? or can offer any advice? Thank you
 
Have you looked at the wiring diagram in the Rave workshop manual and checked all the wiring associated with the brake lights/switch?


Also, if it has a tow bar, have you checked the tow bar electrics, this is quite exposed and I'd have thought prone to failure.

Not sure why a brake light fuse would stop the car starting.
 
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Have you looked at the wiring diagram in the Rave workshop manual and checked all the wiring associated with the brake lights/switch?


Also, if it has a tow bar, have you checked the tow bar electrics, this is quite exposed and I'd have thought prone to failure.

Not sure why a brake light fuse would stop the car starting.
Did you spot it's a 2013 FL2?
 
Intermittent faults are hard to trace. Could be cable damage. Finding it isn't easy. Visual inspection or having a slightly lower rated fuse in the cable run can indicate which length of cable is at fault. So if the middle fuse blows the fault is after that. Either way it's a pain to find.
 
Have you looked at the wiring diagram in the Rave workshop manual and checked all the wiring associated with the brake lights/switch?


Also, if it has a tow bar, have you checked the tow bar electrics, this is quite exposed and I'd have thought prone to failure.

Not sure why a brake light fuse would stop the car starting.
The FL2 auto won't start if the ECM doesn't see that the brakes are on and the transmission is in N or P. The manual FL2 needs the clutch down, or it won't start.

I'm suspecting that it could well be tow bar wiring if fitted, as the trailer brake lights are powered from the same FET as the car brake lights.
 
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