I feel like a total fool for asking about this, but has anyone had a problem with a replacement brake light bulb working in the reverse order that it's supposed to work? I've worked on cars for 50 years and I can't believe that I can't sort out why the wrong filament is lighting when all the lights are on, and why the wrong filament lights up when the brake is depressed.
I check the specs at the MINI dealer, and it's a 21w/ 5 watt dual filament bulb with a bayonet stud type bottom, made by
Slyvania.
Any Ideas?
Thank you

 

 

90% of electrical problems tend to be either a short or a lost ground. Bust out your multimeter and test the related ground wires to see that that first they actually ground, and then to make sure they haven't shorted to another wire, IIRC brake lights were one of 5 different ways water intrudes into the rear hatch area on R53's. Just a little corrosion in the right place will do this.

 

It does seem that it was a 180 degree problem. I had no idea such a thing could happen to a brake light. Thank you.

 

 

I learned something new. Thank you. I can't believe that I had never knew that there's a high lug and a low lug on those bulbs!