Electrical Mayhem - how did I munt this?!?

[ra23celica]

The last few weeks driving around I have nearly been hit up the rear twice by 4WD's at traffic lights, so I reckon my RA23, being lowered, is now 'too' low for the soccer mum's to see down to my lights.
Never fear thinks I, time for a high mounted stop light to sit on my parcel shelf between the speakers. So I buys me a Lumen's unit and follows the instructions to a 'T'.
Used a multimeter and found the brake light line, its green with a white trace, so I put a scotch lock type electrical connector on it, joined to the power feed for the HMSL and wired in the earth.

Didn't work. Now the problem....touch the brakes and I get every light on at the rear, brakes, parkers and indicators...what the..????

So, I took off everything I have added to get back to standard, and I still have all the lights going on when I hit the brakes...

What the hell have I done please???

All help appreciated.
Cheers.

[slide86]

you may have blown a fuse.

then the current back feeds through a different circuit and activates the lights on that circuit also. i have had this problem happen a few times at work and its been a blown fuse.

check em all and make sure they are alright.

also ensure that the wire isnt earthing out anywhere that it shouldnt....

[18rc turbo]

you didn't accidently short the brake and indicator positives together when you tapped into the brake light wire did you? dunno if that could give the result you've got but its just a suggestion...

[river]

Hi,

I think the brake switch has two Green/White-stripe wires coming out of it. One of these wires goes to your rear lights, for your brake globe. The other GW wire goes to the wiring harness where it connects to a Red/White-stripe wire. The RW wire goes to the Horn fuse. A Green/Red-stripe wire also comes from the harness and goes to your hazard light switch. So, if you re-wired it wrong you can have your hazrd lights going. Not sure why your parker lights come on though.

You said you wanted to be noticed when you brake, so now all your lights come on like a Xmas tree to let everyone know!

Trace your wires and make sure you haven't accidently connected up the wrong GW wire from your brake switch - and check your fuses.

seeyuzz
river

[BradW]

Where's Cool1 when you need him .
You have a bad earth to your rear lights. Check, clean and tighten all the earth connections associated with your rear lights.

[bansheebuzz]

1st thing, dont use scotch locks, they are evil little pricks, that will give you troble.

2nd thing is i think you may have lost the earth to the tail lights which is possible from when your using scotch locks, as they can cut through the wire.

A blown fuse will not cause this

[PlacentaJuan]

lol thats what i hate about touching the 'lectrics in a car, it's like a random super suprise as to what will go wrong next...

i would give the scoth locks a miss, and if all the lights are turning on then how can that be an earth problem?

if there was no earth then would'nt nothing happen?

[ra23celica]

Thanks to everyone who chimed in with answers, the fuses were all fine, it was the common earth which is attached inside the boot that was the problem, it was loose. I tightened up the bolt and hey presto, normal transmission was resumed.
All my scotch locks have been doused in petrol and melted into a lump and throw away!

[BradW]

if all the lights are turning on then how can that be an earth problem?

if there was no earth then would'nt nothing happen?

What happens is the power for the stop lights goes through the filament of the stop light globe and tries to go to earth. Due to there being a bad earth connection on one tail light the power goes back through the filaments of the other light globes and goes to earth through the other tail light.
Hope this makes sense.

[PlacentaJuan]

kind of but not really, thanks for trying.

thinking about electronics does my head in, it does, now I need a hot cup of horlicks and a good lie down...