Brake & Reverse Lights inoperative.

[Burnerman]

In which case the earth connections seem to be fine, so as our goodly JohnD suggests, its a wire continuity issue.
The light clusters are fed from wiring on one side only (not sure which) and then the wires continue to the other cluster, so the fault is between the first light cluster and the supply.
Good luck - if you see any suspect wires, remember the plastic insulation could be intact but the conductor within could be snapped, just to add to your working pleasure......I have a test lamp with a probe sharpened to a needle....pierces the insulation but allows it to reseal again after.
John

 

[Rob87]

Once I get a chance il take a look at the wiring, I am wondering though, the tail lights work, as do the rear fog lights, would they be on a different wire then?

 

[Burnerman]

Yep, all completely different circuits, wires and usually fuses.
One confusing bit is that some tail bulbs have a much brighter filiament built in to run the stop lamps...these are called stop/tail, and the bulbs have two contacts on the end instead of one.
All of the lamps share a common earth (return) and its vital that this is perfect.
John

 

[Rob87]

To use this thing to test continuity I need to stick one side in the connector at the end of the wire (from the multi plug thing that goes into the lights) and the other side needs to go onto the wire somewhere down the line to check if its getting power?

 

[Mursal]

With good working bulbs in both circuits (Brake and Reverse) and engine running, with someone pressing the brake pedal "wiggle test" the wiring loom in the boot. Manhandle all connections at the same time looking out for a light to come on. I would thing it's a corroded connection?

If this doesn't do the trick, with the multimeter on DC Volts (20volt range) probe across the bulbs (don't take them out if you can), you should have about 12 volts?

Hope this helps

 

[Burnerman]

To use this thing to test continuity I need to stick one side in the connector at the end of the wire (from the multi plug thing that goes into the lights) and the other side needs to go onto the wire somewhere down the line to check if its getting power?

One multimeter lead should be connected to earth, i.e the car bodyshell, and the other is used to check for breakage in the wire.
Personally I prefer my sharpened probe light - the trailing wire with crocodile clip is connected to the bodyshell, and the sharpened point pierces the wire insulation......if the thing lights up, power is there, if it doesn't, it isn't if you see what I mean. Test it on a known, good connection first.
Multimeters can pick up on spurious voltages if the component being tested isn't under load.
John

 

[mysteryman]

I would check that the light clusters are properly earthed, so that the current is returning to the car bodyshell correctly.

 

[Rob87]

sorry I forgot to update this, managed to get them working, I disconnected both sides from the cabling to test with my multimeter, got a bit confused and hooked them back up, the bulbs were nackered and needed replaced but my spare bulbs started working in them after I reconnected the units.

Thanks for the advice folks