Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (2003) Hatchback - Third brake light (center) not working

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Thu 6 May 2010 13:51
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (2003) Hatchback - Third brake light (center) not working - AndrewC

I recently noticed that my third brake light at the top center of the rear screen is not working, although the left and right brake lights work perfectly. What could the problem be? Firstly is the center brake light powered by globe(s) that can be replaced or LEDs? The manual provides instruction for replacing all globes except the center brake light, so I suspect that it may be LEDs that are supposed to last the life of the car. Secondly, could there be two separate brake switches, one for the normal left and right brake lights and another for the center brake light? Where can I locate this to confirm? Thanks and appreciate your replies.

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Thu 6 May 2010 18:27
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (2003) Hatchback - Third brake light (center) not working - Peter D

Check for a broken wire in the boot hinge bellows. Regards Peter

Edited by Peter D on 06/05/2010 at 18:28

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Thu 6 May 2010 19:37
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (2003) Hatchback - Third brake light (center) not working - topbloke

possibly two brake switches, but as far as you are concerned if two out of the three (lights) work then the switch is okay, its either a wire issue (they break in the rubber belows near hinge) or the bulbs are duff some are 501's (capless side light bulbs) and some led's but my moneys on broken wire's, Regards TB

Edited by topbloke on 06/05/2010 at 19:39

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Sun 9 May 2010 12:24
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (2003) Hatchback - Third brake light (center) not working - AndrewC

I've ordered a new switch and it should arrive by end of the week. In the mean time, I inspected the rubber and it looks OK, ie. no cracks or signs of stress. But I couldn't see the inside. Hence I spent some time earlier to remove the brake light assembly, only to find that both the +ve and -ve wires had come off. Appears to have been physically cut (?!?!). [Not Happy] Anyway, I'm going to connect them tomorrow and see if that fixes the problem.

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Sun 9 May 2010 22:52
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (2003) Hatchback - Third brake light (center) not working - topbloke

you will "not" need a new switch if the 2 outer ones are working then the centre 1 will work (subject to the wireing being intact)as far as the rubber boot is concerned you need to pull it out of the tailgate and inspect the wire's as the go stiff and brittle with age and snap, they can even short out blowing a fuse,regards TB

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Sun 9 May 2010 23:42
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (2003) Hatchback - Third brake light (center) not working - bathtub tom

These LEDs do fail on Astras (so I'm informed).

Not required for the MOT.

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Mon 10 May 2010 01:41
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (2003) Hatchback - Third brake light (center) not working - Dynamic Dave

These LEDs do fail on Astras (so I'm informed).

Not required for the MOT.

Oh yes they are.

http://www.motuk.co.uk/manual_130.htm

High level stop lamps

These are lamps usually fitted in the rear window or boot spoiler of a vehicle and may consist of a number of light sources .
At least 50% of the light sources must illuminate

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Mon 10 May 2010 05:32
Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (2003) Hatchback - Third brake light (center) not working - AndrewC

Finally, after connecting both wires together, the brake light now works. Thanks to all who replied. Just to share my observations, the wires broke off about 2cm from the LED circuit board. I suspect that it happened when I got my windows tinted and the guy who applied the tint film to the rear probably broke the wires when removing the assembly. Not happy at all that he reassembled it back without fixing it or at least informing me about it.

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