Help Required with 406 Brake Light Switch

Hi
I have just brought a 406 and have had a bit of an issue with the brake
lights. they were fine for a few days, i then found that they were staying on
all the time. i checked fuses etc and all were fine, this left me one option..
.. The Switch!! ... well after bending myself in ways i didn't realise i
could i found this little plastic switch halfway up the break pedal EUREKA i
thought.. well i got it out of the hole it was in and depressed it with
someone watching my lights. They stayed on so it has to be the switch right???
???
Also can someone please explain to me how i getting this vital piece of
plastic back into the small area that it fell out of as i cannot get it back
in????


Please Help !!!!

Jim

 

You might find it easy by removeing the pedals and do more movements
than before.its a pain in the bum like all of the bits that have to be
done under there..
chris addlestone surrey

 

The PEUGEOT approved method is to remove the steering column to get access
to the switch.

What type of a person designs a part to be replaced in this way.
Mike

 

A French car designer ;o)

 

Ok so the switch is now out

yet the lights are still on all the time with no switch attached is this
normal????

jim

 

Probably not. The Haynes manual is in my car and it's wet and windy out
there now so I'll have a look later and see what the circuit looks like.
However, taking a stab in the dark, you will either have a permanent live to
the lamps and the pedal switch shorts the return to ground or you switch the
live to the lamps. Or the switch feeds a relay or shorts the return from the
relay to ground. From the description of the problem I would say that you
have a short somewhere and you have a permanent feed to the lights with the
switch in the return. Places to check would be the tailgate amd around the
pedals. I note you don't say which version of the 406 this is. It is only a
little thing but it may give a further clue.

A stupid question but you haven't left the fog lights on have you?

 

hi no its not the fog lights

it a V reg 406 GL saloon

 

I can't remember whether that model has separate stop and tail light bulbs
or twin filament ones. If they are twin filament it is very possible that
a filament has blown in one bulb and wrapped itself around the other
filament thus providing a path to earth. This is a surprisingly common
occurrence and well worth checking before you go any further.

 

Jim
You have the brake light switch removed from its mounting and depressing the
operating pin does not switch the brake lights off. That's the first test.
Now remove the two wires that go to the switch the brake lights should now
go off if not you have a contact fault elsewhere in the wiring and the brake
switch is infect OK
Mike.

 

I haven't replaced any of mine yet but Haynes says it is a combined
stop/tail. I've just looked at the circuit diagram and the stop switch
supplies 12V to the stop light. So there must be a short in the two wires
that go to the stop switch as Michael said. Or there is your solution of
course. Jim hasn't explicitly stated whether the brake lights are on just
when the rear lights are on or whether it is all the time even with the
lights off.

 

Michael,
i have removed the switch from the mounting and have pressed and depressed it
which makes no difference the lights stay on.

I have then taken the switch off of the its plug and they are still on!!!

also this is occurring when i remove the keys from the ignition the lights
stay on hence the flat battery i have been suffering !!!!

I would also like to thank everyone for all the quick responses in trying to
assist me.

i am at a total loss I know nothing about car electrics but i can see this
possibly being a trip to the nearest peugeot garage : (

 

just to add........... there are no other lights on when i do this no tail
lights just the brake lights

 

just to add........... there are no other lights on when i do this no tail
lights just the brake lights

 

You say "no tail lights are on", but if the problem is a short to earth in a
twin filament bulb (I have had a number of instances of this on different
cars) other lights may well not come on. For the cost of one twin filament
bulb to test by replacement I would do it before going to the money
chargers.
--
Keith Willcocks
(If you can't laugh at life, it ain't worth living!)

 

Jim
If removing the plug from the switch means the lights are still on your
switch is OK. You can prove this with an AVO type meter set to ohms and used
to measure the contact resistance when either operated or not..
Now with your AVO set to volts and one lead connected to earth and the
other first to one lead on the plug and then the other. You should see volts
12V on one lead only this is the supply lead. I suspect you will see 12V on
both leads this indicated a contact either in the wiring or in one of the
light clusters.
At this stage with the help of an assistant check that all lights are
working correctly. The likely answer is that one is not working. This is
likely to be where your fault is.
Mike

 

Hello Jim,i am having a big problem with the brake lights on my T reg
1800 406.they are on all the time even with the key out.I first
noticed this after i found the battery totally flat. I tried the
fuses as i read you did then picked up on your post while trudging
through various forums looking for a similar problem. Did you resolve
the problem you had which looks exactly like mine ? If so could you
help me with mine? I would be very gratefull for any help you could
give me
best regards
brillo

 

how to refit your brake switch

HI i have had the nightmare of removal and refitting my brake switch today.. just thought i would share my findings.. I did not bother with removal of steering column as pug suggests!!! I did the contortion thing by lying on my back face up right by the pedals.. My brake lights suddenly stopped working on my w reg 2000 406 hdi so checked the switch and found it had nearly popped out so i jiggled it out with the wires still attached its the black and white one you need to remove which is nearest the drivers door, the other one is red for cruise control, which is useless as i do not have cruise fitted to my car.. So after removing the switch i sprayed a little WD40 on it and depressed the plunger a few times the brake lights decided to work thank god!! To re fit is an even bigger nightmare than removal.. I found its easiest to connect the wires before attempting to refit as its damn near impossible to do after, once you have put the switch back in place.. I tried for ages to screw the switch in place but like an idiot realised its not threaded and is just a push fit design!! I made a little tool out of a copper welding rod about 8 inches long with a U shape bent into the top which i made wide enough to clip the switch in and hold firmly so i could put the switch in the correct alignment in less than one minute, i then pushed the switch into the holder with my finger to start and then gently eased it in further with a flat blade screwdriver.. it worked fine...... sorry its a long winded post but i think it will really help some baffled folks and save you lots of money at your main stealer..