Xantia 2.0 hdi estate brake lights

[xantia_v6]

Bill, can you confirm which lights you are trying to fix, the ones mounted on the tailgate, or the ones mounted at the corners of the car?

[bill hughes]

Hi xantia v6 it's the 2 brake lights on the tailgate the high level one works ok, thanks for replying.

[Hell Razor5543]

Those, if my memory is correct, are the rear fog lights.

[admiral51]

Not very high tech but i have just checked my 2000 Xantia not an estate though.
The lights in the wings are the brake lights and the centre brake light ( high level on the estate ) is in the centre of the boot.
The lights housed in the boot are tail lights and rear fog lights and reverse lights.
Somewhere deep in the grey matter tells me that brake lights are to be on the outer limits of a vehicle so it gives a perspective/outline of the vehicle you are approaching, high level/boot level have to be in the centre of the vehicle to enhance the outline but are not mandatory ?

[admiral51]

Think brake lights can be spread across the rear of a vehicle as can be seen on the rear of many HGV's and trailers but they start from the outer most edge

Bill if you have 2 brake lights working on outer edges of vehicle( not the tail gate) then with the high level one working all is well.

Caveat is that as far i recall a high level/centre brake light is not mandatory, but if fitted it must be working

[bill hughes]

On the "Tailgate " the outside pair of lights are the stop/tail lights using a double filament bulb, the fog lights are next to them and the reversing lights are over the top of the fog lights.

[admiral51]

Okay lets look at the tailgate
The outside pair of lights will be tail lights and fog lamps, one or both will be double filament as one is also the fog lamp.
The bulb above will be the reversing bulb, could also be double filament fitted but does not to be so.
The tailgate/boot will not have any brake light fitted unless it is the centre lamp on a non estate.
If you open the tailgate so you only have the lights fitted to the fixed rear wings visable then they will be indicators and tail/stop lights, nothing else.

[GiveMeABreak]

Guys we've gone through all of this posts ago!

We know what the light are and where they are. It is the 2 brake lights that are not working and these are on the body wings as we have already said - not on the tailgate - The high level brake light is working according to Bill and that is mounted at the top of the tailgate as per my diagrams. Hence the reason why I've suggested he check back from the high level brake light wiring connection to where it meets the wiring from the blue brake light wiring blocks from each wing mounted brake light as they join up at some point going back to the brake switch.

Something would appear to be amiss from where it splits off from this main wire to the left and right wires to the brake lights on the wings.

[xantia_v6]

Guys we've gone through all of this posts ago!

We know what the light are and where they are. It is the 2 brake lights that are not working and these are on the body wings as we have already said - not on the tailgate

But every time Bill has described the lights he is trying to fix, he has said they are on the tailgate:

Hi everyone the high level brake light on the tailgate of my xantia works but the 2 lower ones do not,

On the "Tailgate " the outside pair of lights are the stop/tail lights using a double filament bulb, the fog lights are next to them and the reversing lights are over the top of the fog lights.

Hi xantia v6 it's the 2 brake lights on the tailgate the high level one works ok, thanks for replying.

If you watch this video, you wull see (at 2 minutes and 19 seconds) that the Xantia break did not have brake lights on the tailgate.

[bill hughes]

It's Humble Pie time gentlemen, my sincere apologies, but thanks to xantia v6's video I now know that the stop lights are on the wings and not the tailgate ( I have given the wife a good kicking for misinforming me ) what threw me was the double filament bulbs on the tailgate rear lights, at least it's given you all something to do and the Forum has come up trumps again, the moral of the story is if you want to know anything about your xantia estate dont ask me, many many thanks for all your help.

regards
a very happy Bill

[Hell Razor5543]

Bill, the problem you have is that you have encountered the first (and second) rules of marriage;

1, The wife is ALWAYS right!
2, If the wife is wrong refer to rule 1.

[GiveMeABreak]

Mike that is exactly what I'm saying - I've never said there are any 'brake' lights on the 'tailgate' anywhere.

It's a while since I had one, but IIRC only the outer clusters have brake function - the tailgate clutsers are tail / fog only - and that is what the wiring digram above implies.

That's correct and also the reversing lamps on the tailgate too.

I only put the diagram up that shows the Braking circuit

2630 is the rear LH lamp unit on the body
2635 is the rear RH tail lamp on the body
Having said this, the live wires for the brake lights are on 2 wires (212 & 214),
So I would be looking to where the high level brake light joins the body brake lights

I shall leave it there as you have the diagrams for the brake light wiring. I'm glad I didn't put the other half dozen up for the fogs, tail lights etc., as this would of added to the confusion

[bill hughes]

Forgot to say, but you all probably guessed it was the bulbs

[GiveMeABreak]

I think I mentioned that it my second post Bill, but totally glad we can put a line under this one