Help Required with 406 Brake Light Switch

You might find it easy by removeing the pedals and do more movements than before.its a pain in the bum like all of the bits that have to be done under there.. chris addlestone surrey

A French car designer ;o)

Ok so the switch is now out

yet the lights are still on all the time with no switch attached is this normal????

jim

Keith Willcocks wrote:

Probably not. The Haynes manual is in my car and it's wet and windy out there now so I'll have a look later and see what the circuit looks like. However, taking a stab in the dark, you will either have a permanent live to the lamps and the pedal switch shorts the return to ground or you switch the live to the lamps. Or the switch feeds a relay or shorts the return from the relay to ground. From the description of the problem I would say that you have a short somewhere and you have a permanent feed to the lights with the switch in the return. Places to check would be the tailgate amd around the pedals. I note you don't say which version of the 406 this is. It is only a little thing but it may give a further clue.

A stupid question but you haven't left the fog lights on have you?

I can't remember whether that model has separate stop and tail light bulbs or twin filament ones. If they are twin filament it is very possible that a filament has blown in one bulb and wrapped itself around the other filament thus providing a path to earth. This is a surprisingly common occurrence and well worth checking before you go any further.

I haven't replaced any of mine yet but Haynes says it is a combined stop/tail. I've just looked at the circuit diagram and the stop switch supplies 12V to the stop light. So there must be a short in the two wires that go to the stop switch as Michael said. Or there is your solution of course. Jim hasn't explicitly stated whether the brake lights are on just when the rear lights are on or whether it is all the time even with the lights off.

Michael, i have removed the switch from the mounting and have pressed and depressed it which makes no difference the lights stay on.

I have then taken the switch off of the its plug and they are still on!!!

also this is occurring when i remove the keys from the ignition the lights stay on hence the flat battery i have been suffering !!!!

I would also like to thank everyone for all the quick responses in trying to assist me.

i am at a total loss I know noth>Jim

You say "no tail lights are on", but if the problem is a short to earth in a twin filament bulb (I have had a number of instances of this on different cars) other lights may well not come on. For the cost of one twin filament bulb to test by replacement I would do it before going to the money chargers.

Jim If removing the plug from the switch means the lights are still on your switch is OK. You can prove this with an AVO type meter set to ohms and used to measure the contact resistance when either operated or not.. Now with your AVO set to volts and one lead connected to earth and the other first to one lead on the plug and then the other. You should see volts

Hello Jim,i am having a big problem with the brake lights on my T reg

1800 406.they are on all the time even with the key out.I first noticed this after i found the battery totally flat. I tried the fuses as i read you did then picked up on your post while trudging through various forums looking for a similar problem. Did you resolve the problem you had which looks exactly like mine ? If so could you help me with mine? I would be very gratefull for any help you could give me best regards brillo