New stereo effecting break lights?

Apip99

Morning all,

Brought a new golf last week and put in a new stereo at the weekend (one of the Aldi/lidl mp3 ones) Any way the wife just called and a guy on his motor bike stopped her and told her she had no break lights. They 100% were working last week.

The change over from the stereo was simple just unhooked the vw one and replaced with the new. NO need to change plugs etc.

Is it just a coincidence, or is there any way the stereo could effect the break lights?

Thanks,

Apip

Tipsy Mac

More than likely one light was out before you put in the stereo and the other went shortly after, nothing to do with the new stereo. If you checked the lights before the stereo went in and they were both working I would worry about it, otherwise no need to just standard brake lighting in VW's.

crosstownk

Brake light switches have proven faulty on previous VW models. Try new bulbs (make sure you get the right ones) - if the new bulbs don't work then get the car back to the dealer (I assume it's under warranty).

I doubt very much the stereo has anything to with the brake lights not working. Does the stereo work correctly i.e. with the ignition switch - can you power the stereo up with no key in the ignition (as per the original unit) and does it turn off once the key is withdrawn from the ignition barrell?

Kimbot

crosstownk wrote:

Brake light switches have proven faulty on previous VW models. Try new bulbs (make sure you get the right ones) - if the new bulbs don't work then get the car back to the dealer (I assume it's under warranty).

If none of the breaks are on at all it is deffo the brake switch that is gone. Should only cost about €50 to get sorted!! VW are notorious for that fault!

Eoin

Hey Phil,

The Golf (Mark IV anyhow) is renowned for blowing rear bulbs at a huge rate. Could be crappy bulbs most the time, but I went through a load of them in the year I had mine.

Eoin

Apip99

Horray, Eoin_s lives. (Good to hear from you buddy.)

It was the switch. The garage I grought it from was kind enough to order anew one, at no charge. All sorted now.

The one problem with the stereo now though, is that it doesn't save the settings (base treble ect) when the engin gets switched off. Any thoughts.

And one last thing before I go (save starting a new thread) I looked under the hood today and its says on the engine cover 1.6SR. Any one know what the SR stands for, never herd of it before. And I was thinking it was a little pokey for a 1.6. Or maybe its just the old mazda was near to being scrapped.

cold_filter

I have a similar problem, i put in a new USB/CD player and my lights wont go off!! only when i take the key out!!

Eoin

Apip99 wrote:

The one problem with the stereo now though, is that it doesn't save the settings (base treble ect) when the engin gets switched off. Any thoughts.

Could it be something like a connection / wire mising or something like that, that doesn't allow it to get a small charge of the battery when the engine is turned off, therefore wiping its memory every time?

Green_Martian

There might also be an option on the radio..........i know there was on mine..........Under the main menu there was a security section and you had to select the correct setting...........PLus when this happened it annoyed the hell out of me.............then i re-read the instructions for the radio and realised the yellow and red wires need to be reversed to give the bare minimum of power to the radio when the ignition was off so the presets were saved......... Hope this helps

Tipsy Mac

Apip99 wrote:

Horray, Eoin_s lives. (Good to hear from you buddy.)
The one problem with the stereo now though, is that it doesn't save the settings (base treble ect) when the engin gets switched off. Any thoughts.

You need to swap the red to red wires with red to yellow from the back of the stereo for it to save settings, something to do with how VW's are setup.

ciarsd

Tipsy Mac wrote:

You need to swap the red to red wires with red to yellow from the back of the stereo for it to save settings, something to do with how VW's are setup.

That's it Tipsy - the wiring needs to be swapped over, so that the H/U gets a constant feed (trickle) from the battery when the key is out, to save the likes of radio preset stations, audio settings etc.

As it currently stands, as soon as the key is taken out, the ignition wire cuts all power to the H/U hence losing the settings.

Apip99

Tipsy Mac wrote:

You need to swap the red to red wires with red to yellow from the back of the stereo for it to save settings, something to do with how VW's are setup.

Thanks for the replies. And Tipsy Mac, did you mean swap the red for yellow and yellow for red?

Tipsy Mac

Apip99 wrote:

Thanks for the replies. And Tipsy Mac, did you mean swap the red for yellow and yellow for red?

Yes thats exactly it, there's usually connectors midway on each coloured wire that unplug and you can reconnect them red to yellow, yellow to red.

rebel.ranter

Apip99 wrote:

Thanks for the replies. And Tipsy Mac, did you mean swap the red for yellow and yellow for red?

Normally the "loom" adapter that comes with any head unit will have a connector on the red and yellow wires for such a reversing of connections to take place.

Apip99

Bear with me,

Here is the plug, with the relevant wires.



There is a red and white, and a yellow and red. so any body know if these are the red and yellow I need to swap, or will this make things go bang?:eek:

Also with the plug, how do the wires come out. I slid the yellow 'holder' out, but still the wires don't move.

Thanks for your time on this.

Pip