Hi all,

Last Thursday I took my 2014 fiesta in for its MOT.  They rang and said I needed 2 the front wipers replaced and 2 shock absorbers on the front :( wasn't happy but thought it is, what it is and said ok.  They had the car all day and did the work and passed the cars MOT.  Not 2 hours later I was driving to work and a guy on a motorbike pulls up alongside and informed me my driver side rear light was going off when I applied the brakes.  I thought it was extremely unlikely the bulb had gone in between leaving the garage and the time I was told about the issue.

Anyway, I just went to change the bulb and it was stuck in their real good, finally got it free and the bulb holder is black and melted where the metal part of the bulb was obviously stuck to it! All the contacts look green and manky but I thought I'd try a new bulb just to be sure, and it didn't work.  I can only thing 2 things, both of which are a bit upsetting,

1.  The garage didn't properly check the brake lights during the MOT and just passed it.  That does not fill me with confidence with the work they did replacing the shock absorbers

or

2. They did check the brake lights, they were working, but then they've done something to cause some kind of overload in the electrical system and melted the bulb 

of course the 3rd option is that the brake light was fine when they checked it, then at some point in the 2 hours after I left the garage it happened, but, that just feels really unlikely given that its not just a blown bulb.

Not sure if I should even bother ringing the garage, or just buy myself a whole new light cluster and never go back their ever again!

If anyone has any insight as to why the bulb might have over heated and melted, or if I can replace just that holder? Looks like its hardwired in there though so I fear I may be looking at replacing the whole cluster

 

Thanks all, sorry for such a long rant!

Testing the car for an MOT is purely visual, it does not involve taking things apart, or carrying out thorough inspections of the electrical system.

The fault you have/had would not have shown up during a regular MOT inspection.

The test calls for the rear tail light to be checked - which I'm sure it would have been and it would have been working.

The test calls for the rear brake light to be checked - and again I'm sure this would have been done and it would have been found to be working.

What the problem is with your lights is that due to corrosion of the brake light fitting the lamp had a poor earth. This causes the rear tail light to go out when the brake light tries to come on. It's a fairly common fault seen on many vehicles of all makes and models, and of all ages.

You just need a replacement lamp holder wiring loom which is a quick and simple job. The harness for both the left and right lights is the same, no matter what some advertisements may say.

See this for example:

https://www.usedcarpartsuk.co.uk/ford-parts/fiesta/mk7-rear-tail-brake-light-bulb-holder-left-2012-2017

 

Hey mate thanks for the reply, I know they SHOULD have checked the light, I just cant help but think they did the check, all was fine, then maybe they had to remove the battery from the engine bay to gain access to replace the shocks, put it back and cause a surge or something? (not an expert on electrics by any stretch)  The contacts on the bulb holder are pretty green/oxidised, which makes me think it had been like it a while.

Found a whole cluster on ebay for £30 so not the end of the world I suppose,

 

Thanks again mate

Technically this is an MOT fail.

(c) A lamp adversely affected by the operation of any other lamp

Major

 

 

However, I suspect it will have been missed due to poor testing.  I assume they will have tested brake lights first, without any other lights on.  (As they come to a stop on the testing ramp).  Then separately tested the other lights without ever pressing the brake at the same time.

There should be no reason to touch anything electrical when changing wiper blades and suspension shocks.

That's the point, the brake light didn't work at all, lights on or off,

I've ordered a used cluster to install, just won't be going back to that garage I suppose

9 minutes ago, Cryptic420 said:

That's the point, the brake light didn't work at all, lights on or off,

Not sure that was made clear anywhere in the first post.  It read as if the brake lights were affecting the tail light.

In that case, yes obviously it should have failed.  It's probably just a coincidence that the bulb blew after the MOT.

Blown bulbs are a great upsell for garages so they won't miss the opportunity to fail cars on those!

Update: The garage owner was extremely apologetic and spoke to his mechanics who are certain the brake light was working.  He did however offer to supply a new bulb holder at cost price (£46) and fit it for free, however I'd just ordered a used light cluster for £25 and when I told him that he offered to fit that free of charge!

Obviously, I did it myself in about 5 minutes, but I'm quite impressed with their level of customer service

On 11/4/2023 at 4:25 PM, Cryptic420 said:

Not sure if I should even bother ringing the garage, or just buy myself a whole new light cluster and never go back their ever again!

30 minutes ago, Cryptic420 said:

but I'm quite impressed with their level of customer service

How things change in only a few days 🤣