Peugeot 306 XSI - brake pedal/rear lights earthing problem

[Spingo]

Hi folks,

My 306 is playing up - common problem it seems - I hit the foot brake and the rear fog light warning light on the dash illuminates. I think the rear fogs might also come on too. Anyway, I've heard it's a common earthing problem, but the thing is I cannot find the earth points in the boot/C pillar - can anyone give me any pointers please?

I've noticed one of the front fog lights has also blown - could this be contributing to the problem?

Thanks all!

[Old Merc]

Remove and clean the multi plug contacts of BOTH rear lamp bulb holders first.Also just make sure all the bulbs are correct and have clean contacts.
Normally it's just the wrong bulbs working,side lights flashing with indicators,brake light goes out,that sort of stuff.Your symptoms could be a different problem? may be a broken wire in the loom from the tail gate to the roof.

[Spingo]

Thanks Old Merc.

I've had the car for 4 years now and it's only just started happening - not changed any bulbs etc.
Already removed & cleaned both multi-connectors - both looked factory fresh with no corrosion etc.

Will have a proper look tomorrow.

Any other advice most welcome...

[Spingo]

An update for anyone reading this in the future with the same problem...

Problem now cured, but it would seem I have a case of 'alien rust'... the earth point is on the C pillar and can be accessed quite easily by removing a bit of internal trim. However the original earth attachment point had become so rusted that when I touched it, it just fell away! Anyway, with a bit of a clean up and drilling a new attachment hole on a 'clean' bit of metal bodywork, all is working again.

Such a shame that Peugeot never fitted a wheel arch liner to the nearside rear wing, as I'm such this would have prevented this happening. All the other wings have liners and I'm certain all 306s are the same. C'est la vie! ;-)

[StoatInACoat]

This problem can get much more severe if ignored leading to corrosion around the rear seatbelt mounting. Had it on ours and I could have pulled the seatbelt reel away from the bodywork with my hands it was so rusty. It's quite common for it to look like this:

[gretsch-drummer]

Yep, my old 1.6 suffered the same fate:



£30 to a mate later:



All a bunch of coke cans and fridges by now.