brake lights

[lord summerisle]

anyone got any ideas for me.
brake lights have stopped working, they come on when the headlights are on, so one of the filaments is working.
have pulled each fuse and can't see any that have blown, have checked the brake switch and that seems to be working (there was a change in voltage when the pedal was pressed)
tapped the dash buttons to ensure non were out of position.

anyone know what else i should look for?

[Risky]

Assume you mean side lights are working when headlights are on. If brake lights are not working, it is normally (99%) the brake light switch as these are very prone to contacts getting dirty.
Do the lights come on when you connect together the two wires from the switch? If so it is the switch at fault. You can carefully dismantle and clean contacts, but be careful things don't pop out when you open it up.

[Incorrigible]

Have you tried new bulbs ?

If it's not the switch and not the fuse, it's either the bulbs or the wiring, it's certainly not unknown for both bulbs to go at the same time. If it's a wiring issue check under the arches in the first instance.

[Risky]

Assume you mean side lights are working when headlights are on. If brake lights are not working, it is normally (99%) the brake light switch as these are very prone to contacts getting dirty.
Do the lights come on when you connect together the two wires from the switch? If so it is the switch at fault. You can carefully dismantle and clean contacts, but be careful things don't pop out when you open it up.

[michaeljclark]

On mine it's been the switch, I've cleaned it both times, but do carry a spare with me at all times

[lord summerisle]

it seemed to be the switch, tho it seemed to show it changing the voltage when the pedal was pressed, when i connected the wires to a 15amp fuse the brake lights came on.

Since I had hired the car i let them know so they can fix it quickly.

tried to sort it myself, while the local motorfactors had the right bit, the person on the pay desk seemed more interested in her fag, and we needed to be somewhere, so left it.

[Steve-B]

This is the EASIEST of all Caterham repairs!

Turn car OFF
Remove pedal box screws, cover
Carefully remove 2 wires to brake light switch
Unscrew brake light switch
Take to workbench, kitchen table, lounge table ;-)
Gently pry bottom cover loose via the tabs through holes
Remove parts carefully (as there is a big-4rse spring in there)
Get some fine sandpaper and cut a 20p sized piece
Push up into switch body, using the rubber end of a pencil spin it around on the copper colured contacts
Reassemble.

Cost = 10p for sandpaper

[7SS]

lord summerisle said:

it seemed to be the switch, tho it seemed to show it changing the voltage when the pedal was pressed, when i connected the wires to a 15amp fuse the brake lights came on.

Yep had the same problem. Someone who understands electrical black magic better than me advised that you need to be checking resistance rather than voltage. A dirty switch will still show a voltage change but won't give consistent changes in resistance. As above, clean with some emery paper & it'll be fine.

[Smollet]

I had the same problem and replaced the brake light switch with a much sturdier version from Car Builder Solutions. They call it the Mechanical Stop Light Switch (STSM)