73 Super.
The brake lights have just stopped working. (After a trip to the mechanic) Anyway I checked the bulbs and fuses under the dash. All were ok. The master cylinder only has one switch on it but the car had the wiring for two. I have tried plugging in each in turn and still nothing. The mechanic said it was the switch, which he happened to have in stock. Maybe I am being paranoid but I have been ripped before and just don't trust people like I used to. Any ideas on what else to check before getting the master cylinder switch replaced?
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And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
Well if you pull the wiring off the switch, and get a jumper wire to plug in place of the switch the lights will light up if everything else is ok.
If they dont come on then something else is wrong
65 Meyers Manx
68 Country Buggy (KO 367)
68 Country Buggy (KO 669)
68 Country Buggy (KO 789)
68 Country Buggy (KO 815)
68 Baja Bug
76 Baja Kombi Twincab
Thanks, sometimes I miss the simple solutions. I will give it a try tonight as I ran out of time and SWMBO wanted some help with the sprout. Besides I did not feel like laying on cold concrete at 2100 when I had to get up at 0415 for work 🙂
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
SO I should have 12 volts on one of the leads to the switch? I tried all the wires with a multimeter both with ignition on and off and had no readings at all. If I should have 12 volts could I connect up a temporary lead with power to it?
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
Nah just re-create what the switch does.
Im not familiar with Kraut wiring but to test it, switch on the ignition, disconnect the wires from the switch and just jump across the 2 wires that connect to the switch with a short lead.
If there happens to be only one wire then its a negative side switch setup and you just connect the lead off the switch to ground.
This will at least possibly rule out the switch as the culprit.
l8tr
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Im not a complete idiot, quite a few parts are missing....
Yep found the switch to be okay and that there was no power going down the wires. I think that someone may have done a crap job on this before as I have no power to the horn button either. Oh and while I am here, where the hell is the reverse switch? Is it on the trans? and the wiring diagrams that show the American model as having the wire go through the coil, is this correct?
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
The reverse lights get their power from the positive side of the coil. Check your fuses, I think the fuse that powers the brake lights also does the horn.
65 Meyers Manx
68 Country Buggy (KO 367)
68 Country Buggy (KO 669)
68 Country Buggy (KO 789)
68 Country Buggy (KO 815)
68 Baja Bug
76 Baja Kombi Twincab
LOL, I checked the fuses first. (With testlight) I dont have any extra wires on the coil. I do have a few cut off wire ends and a white wire with a green trace that goes nowhere. Oh boy is this going to be fun 🙂
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
get underneath teh car remove the wires from the brake switch and join them together. turn the ignition on and the brake lights should be working if not then the problem is in the wiring or fuse or bulbs.
If it does work then it the switch so you need a new one
LOL I have the brake lights working. Just had to supply a new lead for power. The side going to the brake lights seems ok.
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
I have to ask this tho, What actually happend to the "old" power lead that was working before the mechanic played with the car??
Im not a complete idiot, quite a few parts are missing....
Yes, I would like to know that too. It MAY be coincidence that these problems just happend on that day. But I am not sure. At least I have fixed the horn and brake lights, and confident thet the reverse lights and a couple of other niggly bits should be fixed by next week
And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, for if you hit a man with a ploughshare, he'll know he's been hit
its possible that you have a broken wire or bad connection where the "original" supply wire comes from to the brake switch. I would try and find where the supply wire comes from and remove it - if you have run a new supply... as this may cause you problems later if for some reason the supply comes back onto the original wire... you may short it etc... will also save you wondering what the hell that wire was for in 12 months if you need to check something in the wiring again.
see.... air and water do mix 😉
1974 1300
1997 MK3 Golf GL
2003 NB Cabrio
2012 Golf VI GTI
2014 Audi A4 Quattro
