Reverse light issue

[fede940]

Dear Owners
My reverse lights are not working.
I changed the reverse light switch last winter and lights have been ok for some months but they then stopped to work again.
My mechanic told me this is now a issue of the mechanism ‘that switches on the switch”.
This mechanism is very dirty and he tried to clean and lubrificate it with scarce results. Apparently the only way to clean it properly is to remove the gearbox 😱.
I would prefer to avoid such a work for the reverse lights..!

Any experiences or suggestions?

Many thanks, kind regards from Italy
Federico

[Laird Scooby]

Originally Posted by fede940

Dear Owners
My reverse lights are not working.
I changed the reverse light switch last winter and lights have been ok for some months but they then stopped to work again.
My mechanic told me this is now a issue of the mechanism ‘that switches on the switch”.
This mechanism is very dirty and he tried to clean and lubrificate it with scarce results. Apparently the only way to clean it properly is to remove the gearbox 😱.
I would prefer to avoid such a work for the reverse lights..!

Any experiences or suggestions?

Many thanks, kind regards from Italy
Federico

Is it manual or auto Federico?

[john.wigley]

Originally Posted by fede940

Dear Owners
My reverse lights are not working.
I changed the reverse light switch last winter and lights have been ok for some months but they then stopped to work again.
My mechanic told me this is now a issue of the mechanism ‘that switches on the switch”.
This mechanism is very dirty and he tried to clean and lubrificate it with scarce results. Apparently the only way to clean it properly is to remove the gearbox 😱.
I would prefer to avoid such a work for the reverse lights..!

Any experiences or suggestions?

Many thanks, kind regards from Italy
Federico

No experience, Federico, but if what you say turns out to be the case, as a suggestion, perhaps you could by-pass the faulty switch and fit a manual one?

You would no longer have automatic reversing lights, but it would only take a moment to operate them manually. I think that you may also need to fit a warning light that indicates when the lights are on for legal reasons. That should be much cheaper and easier than the alternative of removing and refitting your gearbox, assuming that you are not worried about keeping your car original.

It is how reversing lights were often operated in the past when added as optional extra equipment.

Regards, John.

[Ian21401]

That is how I fitted reversing lights to my Triumph Heralds back in the 60s. Didn’t even have white lights at the rear of the car. Fitted two British Leyland round indicator lights with clear lenses and 21watt bulbs into the boot lid. The switch was mounted under the dash in such a position that it could be reached with a finger of the left hand which had just pushed the gear lever into the reverse gear position whilst the hand was still on the gear lever. On the rally Herald I also fitted a rectangular fog light on the rear with a 55watt bulb for much better illumination. Technically illegal but useful when some idiot was trying to drive into the boot or had main beams on.

[fede940]

Originally Posted by Laird Scooby

Is it manual or auto Federico?

M90 manual gearbox.

[fede940]

Originally Posted by john.wigley

No experience, Federico, but if what you say turns out to be the case, as a suggestion, perhaps you could by-pass the faulty switch and fit a manual one?

You would no longer have automatic reversing lights, but it would only take a moment to operate them manually. I think that you may also need to fit a warning light that indicates when the lights are on for legal reasons. That should be much cheaper and easier than the alternative of removing and refitting your gearbox, assuming that you are not worried about keeping your car original.

It is how reversing lights were often operated in the past when added as optional extra equipment.

Regards, John.

I need lights to work automatically to pass the equivalent of British MOT. No way to change them

[loki_the_glt]

First check: swap the actual 21w bulbs with the indicator ones to see if the bulbs are the problem.

Second check: are the holders making proper contact with the powerbus strips on the lamp assemblies? Give the strips and the lampholders a clean with iso-propyl alcohol and gently bend the contact strips out. You may have to aply a thin film of solder to the lampholders to improve their conductivity.

Again, you can swap the holders with the indicators to check their functionality.

Thereafter, it starts to get complicated. Check there is a 12volt feed to the reversing switch and it goes through the switch correctly. If it does you can then run a test for continuity between the switch and the rear lamp cluster; a broken wire might be the cause, in which case run a new feed from the output side of the switch to the rear light cluster.