Hi guys, I recently bought an Octavia mk2 sedan and today as I was cleaning out the trunk I first smelled some burnt stuff and then saw smoke coming out of the right side boot lining (got a heart attack, and ran for the fire extuingisher quickly) by the time I came back the smoke was gone but the light was still on and none of the fuses were blown. We removed both bulbs and the wire that connects to the house of the bulb and taped off the end to prevent any surprise until we figure out what is going on. First I thought that the lining caught fire but there were no signs of burns there only a little black stuff looked like melted which is next to the bulb. Did anyone encounter this problem? Why none of the fuses got blown? Is my car a fire hazard?

Sounds like an aftermarket LED bulb has gone to the bulb graveyard in the sky.

 

Or maybe a higher wattage bulb fitted that has made contact with the plastic.

Edited 15 June, 20197 yr by J.R.

Just to clear up: OEM bulb with OEM housing, the bulb did not burn out, but black diode in the plastic cover next to the bulb did.

In which case it was connected with reversed polarity, I did the same testing one on the bench, sorry that I had forgotten about that!

 

They are there to remove any inductive reverse polarity spikes on switch off and in theory should be rated for 12v, if connected backwards should not work at all and not overheat or burn but mine blew instantly.

 

Thinking about it the connector is polarised so it should be impossible to reverse bias the diode.

 

Maybe a muppet like me had already damaged it on a bench test.

Edited 15 June, 20197 yr by J.R.

Well I opened the trunk many times before this, I dont know why it happened right now, I dont think the hot weather could be to blame?(40C grades this week) I bought the car like 2 weeks ago, and already drove 250 km's without a problem.

How to fix this safely? Replace the housings? Bulbs? Or should I just leave it taped and forget trunk lights?

Edited 15 June, 20197 yr by GhostHUN

Just buy a new light housing, it's an electrical fault, nothing to worry about. Replace it and forget about it...

 

 

Anyone got a part number?