hey guys! If someone could help would be much appreciated.

Here is the deal. Wheneve i press the bake pedal, all the lights turn on, the front and rear. When i have the lights on via the switch, my brake lights don't show up. So what ends up happening is when im driving in the day, I can break and my rear red lights turn on, however im flashing the people in front. and at night, i have the lights on all the time, none of the brake lights work. so i can;t drive it! All the fuses are intact. I have NO idea!

If someone knows what has happened and how to fix it then please let me know!

Cheers

Its a skoda felicia estate by the way. 2000 reg

Sounds a bit like a duff earth to me, but someone more knowlegable will be along soon no doubt.

Sounds a bit like a duff earth to me, but someone more knowlegable will be along soon no doubt.

If it was a duff earth how would i fix that?

Remove the rear light cluster bulb holders, check all the bulbs are in and making good connection, and check the loom connections are in good order.

I'd be checking you have the right bulbs in the rear, make sure you dont have a single element bulb in a twin holder etc.

If you can't see your brake lights (21 Watt) with your lights (5 Watt) on, maybe you have twin filament bulbs in the wrong way round, 5 watts for the brake lights and 21 watts for your lights.

Ok I will give that a go thanks guys. however what about the whole break pedal activating main lights thing?

quick test! does it do it when you have reverse gear selected?

Sounds like a bad earth some place to me too.

I'd start by checking the bulbs are all correct, and that the earths on the rear clusters are good (no rust under them [they're somewhere near the clusters themselves]). Then try Tom's reverse test.

Heya no it doesn't do it when reverse is selected.

One more thing... what are the rear clusters?

*embarrassed*

Rear (lighting) clusters.

If they are bad should i just buy some new lights then?

No. The problem almost certainly isn't the lighting clusters themselves, but the bulbs or wiring, as described earlier.

If Tom thinks what I think he thinks, the reverse gear test provided a route to Earth that wasn't through the front lights, so they didn't light up, which pretty much confirms that the problem is the rear Earth.

The rear earth in my car then. ok cool. how do I fix that?

The rear earth in my car then. ok cool. how do I fix that?

Have a look at the plugs that go into your rear lights, check they havent got some green powdery stuff on them, and, not sure of the Felicia setup but also the circuit boards they sit on.

If its there clean it up with some circuit cleaner.

There is probably also a black wire from that area connecting to the car body via a screw, take that out and emery paper the contact area.

starter for ten

I have no idea, beyond that the earth points are almost certainly behind the rear lighting clusters (one point each side). This is one of those things that are obvious when you've worked on that area before, but I haven't.

The diagnosis is the same for more or less every car though.

next question? does the posistion of the indicator stalk affect it? also check it with reverse gear selected??

i think i know the answer, but i need you to confirm what happens

We're definitely thinking on the same lines here. I have no idea how the earth connection is achieved on these cars though.

i think it's either

1) the wiring harness connecter to the bulb holder in the rear light cluster is around the wrong way

2) its got a dual filament lamp fitted where a single one should be fitted

I can't see how either of those is even possible. Anything I've looked at the connector was handed somehow, and the pins on a dual filament bulb are offset, so it won't turn in a single filament 21W socket (or vice versa).

Doesnt happen with reverse gear. And the indicator stalk doesnt affect it!

THanks so far guys. Diagnostics from this new info?

AH YESH!! U are ALL geniuses!! Thankyou they are sorted. First person to guess what it was...?

A single filament bulb wedged in a twin holder.

You saw the light at the end of the tunnel?