brake lights out since octopus

maxgreenwood · Post by **maxgreenwood** » Mon May 30, 2011 2:59 pm

Since getting my car back from the garage the Brake lights have been out, I wondered if they might have dislodged something around the brake pedal area whilst changing the octopus. The fuses are all ok. Unlikely two bulbs would go together. Does anybody know is there a weak point in the feed to the brake lights?

I'd rather it was a quick fix by myself i'm sick of having this car in the garage! I have apparently also got a porous exhaust

My wallet also seems to have become porous and exhausted.

Post by **Tim Leech** » Mon May 30, 2011 3:43 pm

Check the bulbs first, then look under at the brake switch, you could also check the the connections on the rear lamp bulb holders are pushed on properly.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » Mon May 30, 2011 7:14 pm

if the garage only did the octapussy, theyt had no reason to go under the dash and around the pedels, and there is nout under/behind the engine that it relavent to the brake lights,

regards malcolm

rmattila · Post by **rmattila** » Mon May 30, 2011 7:35 pm

Measure the input of the switch, output of the switch and input of the bulbs, and then you have the fault pretty much cornered.

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Mon May 30, 2011 8:08 pm

It's worth just trying replacing one of the bulbs first before delving deeper. Do it on the nearside cluster as the feed to the offside is via this and you will be able to ascertain whether any plugs are loose at the same time.

Porous exhaust? Is that another expression for badly rusted? When is your MOT due?

maxgreenwood · Post by **maxgreenwood** » Mon May 30, 2011 10:16 pm

Success! After checking bulbs i took the brake light pedal switch apart, de-gunked and cleaned it and all sorted. Very satisfying doing these little jobs.

Parts on the BX are very simply made and easy to take apart. The Saab is similar although the build quality is much more solid with lots of novel design solutions. The steel used is about 10 times thicker than the BX! It's like a tank in comparison, more safety, less economy, although the excellent BX brakes make it feel safer than many cars in my opinion.

citronut · Post by **citronut** » Tue May 31, 2011 8:14 am

sitting at junctions with your foot on the brake can cause the brake light switch to get too hot, which can melt the plastic components,

regards malcolm

maxgreenwood · Post by **maxgreenwood** » Tue May 31, 2011 10:14 am

that's good to know.

Way2go · Post by **Way2go** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 3:22 am

citronut wrote:sitting at junctions with your foot on the brake can cause the brake light switch to get too hot, which can melt the plastic components,

regards malcolm

Is there an uprated design on automatics then?

citronut · Post by **citronut** » Wed Jun 01, 2011 7:57 am

i very much doubt it, the brake light switch is not realy heavy enough to take 24w trough it for a prlonged period,

they might melt once they get old and tarnished, which will cause a bad conection,

regards malcolm