Rear brake lights issue

[halister]

I'm having some issues with my rear brake lights on my mk4. Started out with the ECU and engine lights turning on, i looked it up here and after checking it again i learned that it had something to do with the brake lights. I switched one of the bulbs which was broken. The issue im having now is that the spoilerbrakelight responds to the brakepedal and lights up when its down as it should. The other taillights however are constantly on and do not get brighter when brakeing, i was thinking it could be the brakeswitch thing but if that is the case wouldnt is also affect the spoiler brake light? Also the third light from the left on the driver side is constantly dead (the one that is in the coresponding position of the reverse light on the passenger side). When is this light supposed to come on?

Thanks!

 

[Nath.]

The bulbs are twin filament I think, so you could have the bulbs in rotated 180 degrees. This would mean that when you put on your normal lights the bright filament comes on and when you brake the dim one comes on but you can't see it due to the bright one blinding it.

I hope that makes sense

Remove the bulbs and rotate them 180 degrees (half a turn)

 

[halister]

Thanks Nath, it was actually that easy =) As it turned out the bulb i changed i put in the wrong way like you said, and on the other bulb that i hadnt changed only the dim light was working and the stronger one was burned off. Switched that one aswell and now everything is back to normal!
Saved me night of nightmares about costly garagebills, thanks again!

 

[Nath.]

No probs, that's what we're here for.

 

[FoZz]

any ideas on how to change a brake light on a mk4 ibiza? i cant remove the cluster after removing the 2 screws as indicated in the manual!!!

 

[Tricky Red]

Yes, it's a bit of a tw*t though. I'll assume it's the LHS

1. Undo the two screws.

2. Face side of car.

3. With heel of your hand push firmly towards the right (back) of the car. You might need to hit it.

This will release the sprung clip that holds the light in place and it will be obvious how it fits.

DO NOT USE A SCREWDRIVER TO LEVER IT, YOU WILL BREAK THE LIGHT. I DID THIS FIRST!

 

[FoZz]

cheers mate. it was definately not budging, so i resorted to slipping a credit card in between the light fixture and the paintwork. this protected the paint very well against a wide chisel. the wide chisel spread the pressure out well on the paint and light fixture so there was no damage to either the light or the paint work. What a stupid awkward system they have made!!! Although, even worse is trying to replace bulbs on the front of my mk4 tdi, loads of room, thanks SEAT! ahhhh!