citroen xsara 2.0 hdi brake lights.

[richie]

hi to you all and hope someone out there can guide me in the right direction. i have the above car (2002) which since purchase has had multiple electrical issues and after a couple of trips to the garage is still playing up. the original complaint was almost total loss of power and a gear box (auto) that kept wanting to change down) when coasting. the power thing was finally diagnosed after hours as the egr valve which was just blanked off to save the cost of a new one on top of the labour charges that were building up. that cured the power issue but created another which is an annoying pulsing noise from what sounds behind the dash which could easily be the bulkhead where the egr is mounted. could that be the cause? also the gearbox still wants to downshift even though the brake switch was replaced when the egr was blanked off? what i find now though which has took me off the road for safety issues is that the brake lights are one minute working and the next not? i have been getting complaints from other drivers behind me which is how i found out about the lights? is there anything i could check as i am about to give up on this car and cant afford to keep throwing it in the garage. these cars seem to be plagued with electrical issues. thanks in advance rich.

[wheeler]

You should be able to get a new brake light switch for less than a tenner, fit a new brake switch & make sure it's adjusted correctly, if the brake lights are not working correctly this could also be causing your gearbox issue, the ECU's also uses the brake switch signal so it can make various running & gearchange adjustments.

[richie]

hi and thanks for the reply. i had a new brake switch fitted at the last visit? should i need another? could it be they didn't quite adjust it correctly? oh and where is it thanks richard.

[wheeler]

Sorry never noticed that it had already been replaced. The switch is located on a bracket next to the pedal,

[richie]

ive sorted it. the garage had not set the switch so was only activated when pressed really hard! why do we pay all the money fro the so called pro's to do this for us? it was pretty simple after taking it off and having a look how it works.