Can you smell something?

OK, so I noticed the the near side rear side light was out, the weather was dreadful so it was a day or so before I got to take a look.

New LED lights had been fitted prior to my ownership, so I must admit I was not expecting problems, also the usual “lets change the bulb” was not going to be an option.

I had already removed the rear mudflap at the rear as it was torn, but there is a metal plate that runs from the mud flap fixing points to the rear cross member, the idea being that it provides some weather protection to the wiring for the rear lights. In this context “some” means absolutely none, a complete waste of metal in my opinion. However, the plate needed to be removed to gain full access to the wiring.

After a good dose of WD40 and 20 minutes of my time, the plate was removed. It could have been worse, at least I did not have to cut any of the bolts off.

Well frankly, I am surprised that any of the lights worked………

There had obviously been a small fire as I was seeing a mass of bare wire wires with no insulation. As I moved the wires so that I could see more clearly, there was a spark, some smoke and a small fire! So a quick battery disconnect was in order.

Once everything was safe I managed to identify each cable, untangle the mess, cut out the damaged section and rejoin the wires with a temporary repair.

There were a couple of cables with bear ends that I isolated for safety.

I checked the off-side wiring for safety, it looked reasonable, so no immediate action needed.

With the battery re-connected all lights were back working perfectly!

Once I have figured out where the loose wires belong, I will remake the rear part of the loom and use waterproof connectors to the lights.