Brake Light Fault

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WelshBoa

Member
Posts
46
Finally purchased a Discovery, really happy with it too but on getting back home, even though I checked most electrics spotted a fault.

The rear lights work, but when the brake pedal is applied the rear lights go out, and only one brake light is working being drivers side. The brake light above screen doesnt work or the offside.

Not sure with the offside if that may just be a bulb, but it seems strange that the actual rear light goes off as well. Could this be a short somewhere? I notice on the last MOT it failed on the drivers side rear light not working so perhaps when it was changed there was a loose connection?? Any ideas?

Also one of the front headlight seems to have in the past had the dreaded leak into the unit as there is a spot of mould on the glass.....he reckons it has been sorted, and it was dry, but if it isnt how much is that to put right?
 
WelshBoa said:
Finally purchased a Discovery, really happy with it too but on getting back home, even though I checked most electrics spotted a fault.

The rear lights work, but when the brake pedal is applied the rear lights go out, and only one brake light is working being drivers side. The brake light above screen doesnt work or the offside.

Not sure with the offside if that may just be a bulb, but it seems strange that the actual rear light goes off as well. Could this be a short somewhere? I notice on the last MOT it failed on the drivers side rear light not working so perhaps when it was changed there was a loose connection?? Any ideas?

Also one of the front headlight seems to have in the past had the dreaded leak into the unit as there is a spot of mould on the glass.....he reckons it has been sorted, and it was dry, but if it isnt how much is that to put right?
Click to expand...

HI and welcome. 1st the rear light problem sounds like a short or a dodgy earth.

check out the online landrover spares sites like Paddocks or Craddocks Their not expensive to replace, or try a breakers. Just a case of googling for one.
 
WelshBoa said:
The rear lights work, but when the brake pedal is applied the rear lights go out, and only one brake light is working being drivers side. The brake light above screen doesnt work or the offside.
Click to expand...

This is classic symptoms of a poor earth, check behind the lights and trace the earth wire back to the body, undo and clean up the connection with some wet and dry.
 
Are all the light casings simple enough to remove and put back etc? I presume the earth will be a small bolt on to inside panel will it?
 
Lookskyward1 is right - classic symptoms of a bad earth at the lights unit.

If you draw out the wiring diagram of a back lights unit, you will see that if the earth fails to connect, when the brakes go on power goes to the brakelight bulb, and then out through the bulb to what should be - but isn't - earth, and then it goes into the OTHER bulbs UP their earth connections, though the other bulbs (you may just see them glowing) and away to earth across at some other lamp cluster though the live wire.

It is like a miracle to sort these apparently ghastly problems, exactly as described - but put a little grease or Vaseline around the clean earth point before bolting it down, to keep it clean and dry.

CharlesY
 
Gonna sound a right numpty now but taken off both rear light clusters and cant see any earth wire?? It wouldnt be fed into the wiring box thing would it? (technical term there) Pulled up the slack that is going down into gap and all the wires seem joined up.....no stray earth wire.

Will it be in the back somewhere?
 
Never feel like a numpty. I have said this before - lack of knowledge / experience is not the same as stupidity.

Checks the bulbs are clean around their bodies, grease them lightly, make sure their base contacts are springy, and refit the bulbs. Try again.

The earth wire could be in the loom, and fastened to the shell who knows where. It will be black.

With the lamp cluster hanging out, take a wire bared at both ends, attach one end to the earth metal of the lamp cluster and the other to earth on the cars shell somewhere. try the lights again.

Once it works, feel free to add an earth wire.

CharlesY
 
Cheers - do you think I will have to earth both sides or just try it and see? And I have some household earth wire , that will be ok wont it?

**Bizarelly enough could not earth it to anything as its all plastic with rubber seals but after removing all bulbs and blowing out points both sets of lights and brake lights are working now....apart from the hi level one. But that may just be the bulb and can live without that for now
 
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