Brake operated side lights

[Igol]

A new one on me and an interesting safety feature that my 97 ES is trying out.

However being a traditionalist I don't feel the need to let the car in front know that I'm braking so can anyone suggest where I should start looking for the short?

Obviously it'll be totally inaccessible behind the console somewhere so suggestions where to start my quest would be handy.

[Team Idris]

Sounds more 'earthy' ? Try a temporary earth lead to the bulb?

[JimDay]

Have you tried changing the stop/tail light bulbs could be one of them shorting out to the side light side of the bulb

[western]

if you have recently replaced a sop/tail bulb was it the correct item & fitted correctly, they have offset pins,

[Simon Smith]

I had the same once, and it was a broken earth on the rear sidelight. Most strange lighting effects are earth related, though a blown bulb can do the same if the filament breaks and shorts to the other one. For example I had a blown headlamp bulb, which appeared to work fine, but on main beam the driving lights came on (as they should) but then stayed on when you dipped the headlights unless you quickly switched the headlights completely off and on again. the shorted filament was enough to energise the relay for the extra lights!

[Igol]

Rear stop lights are all working fine and I did change one a while ago but I've stopped behind other bars since then so pretty sure I'd have noticed the headlights flashing.

I'll have a poke round the earths and see what that turns up ta

[Clint]

I had this on my 96 disco. The problem was crud in the towing socket, a quick clean out and a spray of contact cleaner and all sorted.

Hope this helps

[Igol]

Thanks, BIL suggested the same at the weekend so when I finish work tomorrow I'm planning on having a look and fit the new bulbs that shattered when I pulled em :s

[Igol]

Well towing socket is out, decided the simple way to test that theory was to simply unplug it in the boot and other than discovering that the bottom brake light bulb had blown no joy.

Hopefully the weather will be kinder in the morning and I can dodge whatever missions the wife has planned and start checking the rear bulbs and the temporary earth idea.

[Igol]

Typically once I started poking around I ended up getting out the grinder and the welder to stick a plate to the front wing.

Main earth was spotless and with the help of the wife I discovered that the rear lights are also coming on with the front headlights, not the side lights as I originally thought and when the lights are on the brake lights are as well. I'm thinking that rather than an earth fault its a couple of worn wires shorting somewhere in the loom.

[Snagger]

Sounds like the main (short) light switch is wired up incorrectly - the rear lights should come on with the side lights, and the side lights should be on with the head lights too. There is a switch terminal that is only live when the side light position is selected, and I have seen Defenders with the sidelights connected to that terminal so they sidelights go out when the head lights are on - that's a fault. It might be that a repair to the wiring or a switch replacement was made with several wrong connections made on reassembly.

[Igol]

I'm thinking that rather than spend time hunting for the fault in the loom it'd be easier to run new wires to the rear brakes, the wiring diag in the Haynes manual seems to correspond with the vehicle so if I just need to order the right colour wire.

[JimDay]

Hi 'lgol' you got this sorted out yet

[Igol]

Kinda is the best response I can give, work, carp weather and the demands of Major Sunray have diverted me from a concerted effort, not to mention the r/r packing up on the Triumph (why do we buy British??).

Definitely an earth fault, I've currently got a jury rigged series of wires running to the NS upper light cluster and a temporary earth on the boot floor but at least I have lights.

So does anyone know if the numbered earths in the Haynes manual wiring diagram actually correspond to anything?

According to that I should be looking at earth 11 or possibly 16 (from memory) but theres no key saying earth number 6 is on the front inner wing for example.

[Igol]

So as I said, its definitely not the earth.

After trying to add additional temporary wires to extend the terminal block and add in the temp earth wire as soon as the tail light was included headlights started flashing again.

So there's a short somewhere in that bit of the loom that I need to locate/bypass, at least the bumper tail light is unaffected so I've got power to everything bar the high level tail.

[JimAttrill]

You have checked that you have the correct bulbs in the stop/tail light sockets? Forcing in a single-filament bulb can cause all sorts of lighting problems. The most amazing I have come across was a TD5 where the engine wouldn't stop with the brakes on