Just grabbing a few ideas before biting the bullet and taking the car to a garage to have it done by a professional.

 

Yesterday (Saturday) I noticed when I was reversing up towards some windows that my brake lights were on, despite not actually being on the brake itself. Glow Plug light was flashing too. I suspected at that point it was the brake light switch.

I did a test where I would pull up the brake pedal that the brake light would switch off, but when it went back to resting it would be on. (tiny amount of movement)

 

I next plugged in the code scanner and came up with:
16955 Brake Light Switch (F): Implausible Signal.

 

On a side note at this point. I've had a code similar (May not be the exact code) to 

17977 - Cruise Control Switch (E45): Implausible Signal

and noticed the cruise control wouldn't work sometimes. Next time I used the car (After the engine was off) then the cruise would work again.

 

Off I went down EuroCarParts, and they had a brake light switch for me (I can get the part number off this if someone asks for it)

On that trip I had the brake lights on constantly, so everyone behind me was very suspicious and knew something was up with the brake lights (Better than having no brake lights at all)

 

I followed the guide of http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/211083-diy-fabia-i-brake-light-switch-replacement/ and found that very useful. Thank you GrahamVRS

 

I noticed the brake light switches were slightly different from each other, however from some Googling I found out that there had been some changes in the design. Therefore some of the guide didn't apply, which was the pulling the plunger out to the depressed pedal.

 

New brake light switch in the car, and the brake lights work normally. Fantastic!

 

However... The glow plug light still flashes and the cruise control doesn't work. I also get the error code of 16955 Brake Light Switch (F): Implausible Signal still, despite clearing the codes.

 

Is there something I am missing, or any suggestions I can try.

 

The urgency is fairly low now as I do have working brake lights, however I would like to get rid of the flashing glow plug light and restore the use of the cruise control.

 

Failing that, does anyone know any reputable garages towards the north of Bristol or Thornbury?

 

Thanks in advance, sorry for the essay, just getting everything I can down.

I had a similar problem. I changed the brake light switch and it made no difference . Glow plug light still on and rear brake lights on.

Turned out to be a short in the rear drivers side brake light bulb? A new bulb was fitted and all was good.

Worth checking . You would have to swap all the bulbs one by one t find the faulty one ?

Thanks, just checked my brake light bulbs. When I was fiddling with one of them and put it back in I had a bulb go. Presuming the brake lights being on for about 5 hours constantly hasn't helped. Getting the bulbs replaced anyway.

 

I have put a spare bulb in for the time being but still has the same as before.

Had a similar problem on my Octavia 1 pd 130 , and it turned out to be 2 of the High Level brake light LED had gone , replaced them  (used a 12 volt battery to check which ones were working ok )and all was fine after ( not certain if the Fabia has a HLBL

Had same problem. Changed both rear brake light bulbs and problem sorted.

Chip

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately the 2 brake light bulbs have now been replaced, and still getting the same issue.

 

The High Level brake light just looks horrible to do, so I've left that for the time being.

 

Any more ideas?

Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately the 2 brake light bulbs have now been replaced, and still getting the same issue.

 

The High Level brake light just looks horrible to do, so I've left that for the time being.

 

Any more ideas?

 

High level brake light is a doddle to do. Just pull the trim off and it's just two screws and the connector plug.

 

Sounds obvious but have you put the right bulbs in? They are 382 single filament bulbs for the brake lights.

With the fading light I got the trim off, and unscrewed the high level brake light off. The connector doesn't want to budge though. None of the LEDs are actually out, if that is any indication. I will try again when I have some light in the morning.

 

The brake lights are Osram P21W-382 bulbs. I changed both anyway.

 

I still think there is some kind of user error in how I fitted the brake light switch, but the fact the lights work normally suggests otherwise.