Member Since: 14 Nov 2009
Location: Probably still in work!
Posts: 303
Suspension Failure - Brake Light Switch !!
It has been covered several (many?) times on here about the link between the brake light switch and apparent suspension failure, but probably worth covering again as it may well continue to affect others....
The history is that we had towed the Tintent down to the CC Crystal Palace site for the Whit half term..... Crawling through central London I got the dreaded multiple "bongs" and orange warning lights on the dash with messages such as "Special Programs off", " HDC not available" "Suspension Lowering" (and it did, right to the bump stops!!). Switching the engine off, restarting, raising to off road height and then lowering to normal height provided a temporary cure. (Not easy to find somewhere in Central London to do this with the van on the back!!). Over the week, the car did this several times, but I got home eventually.
After reading several excellent posts on here (in particular from bbyer and his posts on an American Forum) I began to suspect the brake light circuit (bulbs or switch). As I was planning a what turned out to be 1250 mile trip to Scotland I ordered replacement genuine LR brake light bulbs & switch from Land Rover Parts Shop.com (or something similar), however these took around a fortnight to arrive, arriving about 3 days before my trip, so I changed the bulbs as a precaution but didnt get round to the brake light switch, but I did pack it in the boot as a spare. I hadnt had the suspension lowering problem since I got back from London (but do a low mileage as I cycle to work).
We arrived in Scotland OK (other than a tailgate issue reported elsewhere!) but once there the suspension fault recurred. It became obvious that it was happening everytime I pressed the brake. Not wanting to tackle the job on holiday I drove one day from Grantown on Spey to Drumnadrochit (hunting the monster!) and back, trying to time my arrival at every junction & roundabout so I didnt need to brake! (impossible, so there were several stops to "reboot" the suspension). It was obvious that without emergency repairs it was not practical to use the car further, or to travel home.
The next day, armed with a M&S tool roll and some instructions printed off here, I changed the brake light switch, which in the end took less than 20 minutes!
This has cured the problem, well I have since done over 500 miles, braking normally, and all Ok, touch wood.
On Saturday I went to my local LR main dealer and bought yet another spare switch to keep in the car (part number XKB500110, cost £8.32).
Here is a photo of the inside of my old one, showing the carbon deposits I think cause the problems.....
Click image to enlarge
If you type the part number into Google you can see LRForums (US?) site which discusses the associated problems further..........
Incidentally, whilst at my local dealer, he told me they sell one a fortnight, which he didnt think was a lot? It seems a lot to me if this is replicated across the country?
Anyway, well worth changing for 8 quid in my opinion...............
7th Aug 2011 6:34 pm
hugeviking
Member Since: 08 Jun 2010
Location: cotswolds
Posts: 1482
Cheers Phil1644
worth remembering this one.
I assume the switch is inside the car (on brake pedal) and fairly easy to get to.
Andi.
7th Aug 2011 8:56 pm
Phil1644
Member Since: 14 Nov 2009
Location: Probably still in work!
Posts: 303
Andi,
Yes, I followed bbyers excellent instructions here..............
Member Since: 08 Jun 2010
Location: cotswolds
Posts: 1482
Phil
cheers
Andi
8th Aug 2011 7:50 pm
johnhenrycurran
Member Since: 04 Feb 2011
Location: Nottinghamshire
Posts: 2
Thanks for this - had the same problem and replacing the switch, which is very easy, fixed it. Now just need to source the little spring clip that I broke in getting the trim off.
15th Jul 2014 6:26 pm
sean 471
Member Since: 26 Apr 2011
Location: Sheffield
Posts: 2990
Mine had the same problem couple of weeks ago. Had codes read and it said hpfp out of range. Glad I did not change that. It's ran perfect since changing the brakes switch . I could see the crap on the contact points. It kept breaking down on the m25 and in france. Only took 5 mins to change. Usual thing though going into limp mode after pressing the pedal
It's driving me crazy. Change the brake light switch and now the trio is permanent. However, if I press the brake and turn on the key they don't come on. It functions ok until I leave off the pedal, literally. I even ran the 3 for a while with the brake pressed a little and light or warning did not come on. As soon I let go the brake pedal the three faults come up.
My brake lights and third light bulbs are ok. Last time I bought one was more than a year ago. Definitely not OEM, but they are working fine.
Can anyone send any pictures of the grounds connection I should check?
I also, bought a new battery and hard reset with a T4.
I am starting to believe that the new switch came bad. As soon as I let go my foot from the brake pedal all lights come on. In my post I stated that my brake lights and third light are fine. Is it the brake light switch or is it something else?Gallery: http://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/index.php?cat=13399
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26th Sep 2014 12:57 am
Robbie
Member Since: 05 Feb 2006
Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Posts: 17932
Any chance that the switch was installed incorrectly, say by depressing the pedal, or perhaps the bulbs themselves are bad?
Quote:
CAUTION : The brake pedal MUST NOT be depressed during this operation. Failure to comply will result in damage to the stoplamp switch.
It is also worth checking the voltage on the live wire going to the switch (I think it is red) just in case you have high resistance on that circuit.
Land Rover - Turning Drivers into Mechanics Since 1948
HDC Foult Trans Fault Suspension Fault Brake Light
I have the combo in the dash with amber brake and suspension lights and hDC and trans fault messages. However, we haven't been able to find the problem source.
So far we have replace all rear light bulbs, steering angle sensor, brake pedal switch, abs sensors and connectors, abs module. Also, follow and checked wiring for the brake pedal switch.
At last. After 7 weeks of hell. A split cable under rear passenger door rail. Apparently the factory punch cables instead of soldering them when they extend the cables. Thhis cable was completly separated from one another.
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17th Dec 2014 2:44 am
sean 471
Member Since: 26 Apr 2011
Location: Sheffield
Posts: 2990
Just to add to this I had the same lights on the dash and hpfp out of range for a few months. Got so fed up with changing the brake switch and bulbs decided to swap the rear light clusters for some d4 ones. It's been fine since
17th Dec 2014 10:10 am
nujjer
Member Since: 29 Aug 2012
Location: DT11 9BW
Posts: 30
I love you guys. I got three very scary amber lights today on my 2005 HSE. I got home OK, praying that it was nothing serious. And, thanks to this awesome forum (again), I have found that it probably is nothing serious. Part ordered, ten quid - something to do on Christmas day. Yay! I'll let you know.
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