brake lights + taillights not working

[donnaile]

Hows it going

Problem as it says above. Checked bulbs and fuses but they are all fine. Any help would be brilliant

[TW166Y]

firstly hello and welcome to the zone, some people have had trouble with brake lights before on here, if you say you have checked all bulbs and fuses try the brake switch that is behind the brake pedal, however normally when this buggers up the brake lights stay on but it might be worth checking anyway, let us know how you go on

[sabrje]

Welcome to the zone!

I'm sure that someone on here will be able to help, but while you're waiting for that I'll try....

As more than one thing is not working it sounds like an earth problem. Do the indicators and reversing lights work? It could be there's a bad contact in the connector to the light cluster - try squeezing the contacts together and spraying with contact cleaner. Failing that try and trace the earth wire back to where it connects to the body. I'm not sure where that is though...

Good luck.

[Brianmoooore]

Check the connectors to the lamp faiure monitor module, if you have the "check" system on your car. Fitted behind the left hand inner rear wing.

[donnaile]

I checked behind the brake pedal but couldnt find any switch. Its just the brake lights and tailights everything else is fine. I only got the car about a month ago so im not 2 familiar with it yet. Where is this lamp faiure monitor module in lamens terms. Thanks

[Brianmoooore]

I checked behind the brake pedal but couldnt find any switch. Its just the brake lights and tailights everything else is fine. I only got the car about a month ago so im not 2 familiar with it yet. Where is this lamp faiure monitor module in lamens terms. Thanks

It's at the top of the left hand locker box in a touring.
Fairly sure you have to remove the left hand boot liner on a saloon - pull hard they are tough and shouldn't rip.

[donnaile]

This may sound stupid but when i got the car first the battery kept dieing. Soon realised that the arial did not go down fully so i physically pushed it down myself. This made no difference, the arial wont go up anymore and the part which i think is the arial motor keeps using up all the bat as it stays on all the time untill the battary is drained

Decided to cut the red and white wire running to the "motor". This stopped the battery getting drained but then i realised the brake and tailights didnt work. I then joined them back together and the brake lights started working again(tailights didnt). Couldnt make any sense of this and thought it was coincidence. Again i took apart red and white wire because of the bat and lights didnt work again. Tried reconnecting 1 more time but brake lights didnt work at all anymore.

Think it could have anything to do with these wires

If you can make any sense of what im saying any help greatly appreciated

[Brianmoooore]

The red wire is the 12V feed to the aerial and the white is the control signal for the aerial. You are correct in your diagnoses of the battery drain problem, but these two wires have no connection with the brake and sidelights at all.
You are, however, very close to the bulb failure module when you play around with the aerial.
Its a rectangular black box with two multipin plugs into the bottom of it.

[donnaile]

ok cant find anything with two multipin plugs in the bottom of it. Theres the black ractangular box with the red, white and black wire coming out and on to the right of that is a kind of cylinder which i think houses the ariel motor. Am i slow or should there be another rectangular black box somewhere around that area

[donnaile]

ok took her for a spin der and brake lights started working again. Bit strange. Tailights still arnt working doh. Any solutions