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Hi, I’m new to the site and I’m looking for help. I recently bought a TD replica and I have two issues I can’t resolve.
1. I cannot get the brake lights to work. I have replaced the brake light switch on the top of the pedal; I have made sure bulbs are good; I have checked the fuse and it is good. I think I have a good ground but just can’t get the lights to work. Any help would be appreciated.
2. Does anyone know how to open up the yellow fog lights on the front? I haven’t been able to get the fog lights to work either. Not sure if it is a switch or some other problem. Thanks for the help.Are the brake lights and the fog lights on the same circuit? If they are, that could help narrow down the fault.
As I trace wire it appears they are not on the same circuit but some of the wire are not able to be followed due to where they are routed. One person believes it is a ground problem. I must say electrical is not my forte. Worked with a friend who manually grounded the socket, and with the brake light switch in my hand I actuated the plunger, and the lights worked. As soon as I installed the switch on the top of the pedal and there was no one physically grounding the socket, there were no brake lights. there is a ground wire protruding from the harness but the sockets themselves are not three wire, they are two wire with an added wire to a mount screw to act as ground i believe.
Multiple lights out suggest a problem on the hot side, but the scenario you’ve given me still leads me to believe you might have a bad ground. If you’re sure the pedal switch is correctly installed, have somebody step on the pedal while you manipulate the bulb in the socket and any wires between the socket and the ground. If that doesn’t do the trick, you’ll probably have to check for voltage with your meter. Start at the fuse (check both sides) and continue out through the switch to the light. Crimp connectors can be unreliable, depending on how they’re installed; you might hit a bad one with your meter probe.
One more thought, and then I’m turning in for the night. If you have a good ground on the negative meter probe (I recommend using alligator clips) and there’s voltage at the positive connector on the bulb socket when somebody steps on the pedal, and you know the bulb is good, you have either a grounding problem or a poor connection between the bulb and the socket. Checking that could save you tracing the wire all the way from the fuse box.
As I trace wire it appears they are not on the same circuit but some of the wire are not able to be followed due to where they are routed. One person believes it is a ground problem. I must say electrical is not my forte. Worked with a friend who manually grounded the socket, and with the brake light switch in my hand I actuated the plunger, and the lights worked. As soon as I installed the switch on the top of the pedal and there was no one physically grounding the socket, there were no brake lights. there is a ground wire protruding from the harness but the sockets themselves are not three wire, they are two wire with an added wire to a mount screw to act as ground i believe.
Thanks, I appreciate the directions. Disregard the other post, still learning how to use the site.
Years ago I found in one case, the brake switch needed to be very carefully adjusted so that the plunger would work the lights when I hit the pedal.
That said, I’d bet money you’re looking at a ground fault.Fiberglass cars have all kinds of trouble maintaining good grounds. Check the battery-to-chassis ground and then find the ground from your transmission to chassis. That one will be dirty and loose.Then make sure all your screw wires to the lights are right. Clean each one with emory cloth or sandpaper. Reassemble with a little dielectric grease if you got it.Grounds go bad on old cars regularly. If the thing is half fiberglass it just compounds the problem. Easily fixed though.I was having similar problems with my lights and such. I was tired of trying to find the bad ground so I installed ground bars in the front, under dash and in the rear engine compartment. Each electrical fixture that needs a ground has it’s own ground wire that leads to the ground bar. I have a comon ground that goes from the battery/frame connection to the first ground bar and then to the second and onto the third. Now if I have a light that won’t work, I just go to my ground bars and look for the loose connection. saves a lot of time and frustration. I got all of the parts from Lowe’s electrical dept.
I did something similar by attaching a #10 ground wire to the same point on the chassis that the ground battery cable attaches to.
I ran that ground wire up to a ground buss (Lowe’s electrical dept) under the hood, one at the top cowl/firewall, and one under the dash. Did not run one to the engine compartment —These buss bars made wiring up the car a lot easier — and made adding/changing things a snap. (I just added low beam/high beam relays to Emma).I highly recommend that anyone with intermiittant ground problems or anyone contemplating updating their wiring add buss bars as ground attaching points. The only possible down side is that these buss bars are intended to be used in an electrical distribution box attached to a house that does not go bouncing down the highway — not sure what daily vibrations will do to the connections….but since the buss bars are easily accessible, it will be easy to check that the attaching screws are tight on the various wires. Time will tell…
buss bar on firewall/cowl under the hood
under the dash on the passenger side
under hood near the batteryPrior to adding the ground bars, the PO had just twisted various grounds together into a bundle wrapped with electrical tape and then ran one wire to a ground lug connected to the ground post of the battery. I had lots of intermittent grounding problems with that setup. Now things just work…!!!Thats the same set up Ive used. Ive havent had a problem with the screws comng loose yet. I do check them frequently since they are so easy to access.
I put a buss bar in the rear to ground all of the lights back there. With VWs grounding is the most common problem.
I was never skilled in electrical either but its like Ive always said…
“It only hurts until you stop breathing. After that, youre pain free!
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