[HiUnDai]

Hi guys.

Been driving my 1.6 CRDi for 6 months with no problems whatsoever, but got stopped by the police for no brake lights a couple of days ago (both seem have gone at the same time) - the L/R indicator  & central locking lights which work off the same bulbs are working fine which is confusing me - just no light when the brake pedal is pressed.  (The central brake light is fine).  Perhaps I need something called dual-filament bulb?  The current ones don't appear to be dual.

But I am really struggling to find suitable replacements.  I checked the fuses - all fine, replaced the fuses with new ones, made no difference.

They are red bulbs (the replacements will have to be red because the  car light fitting is clear - cant get away with clear bulbs unfortunately).

The current bulb is a GE 1056LF  12v 21w 380 and the pins are 'offset' (eg if one is at 12 o'clock the other is at 4 o'clock .

It might not even be the bulbs, fuses or wiring.  Any hints?

Getting a bit deseprate.  Still need the car almost everyday and I don't want to end in trouble.  Thanks

[BrendanP]

The bulb should be a 21/5W combined stop/tail light. That's what a 380 bulb is, and you can get a 380R bulb which is red. Easily identified by the two contacts on the base. Not sure why the tail cluster lens is clear, it should be red unless someone has fitted an after-market tail light cluster. There's no shortage of i30 images available to check if yours is non-standard. The only lights which normally have clear lenses are the indicators and reversing lights. You're not getting those confused with the brakes lights are you?

The stop/tail light is the only one with dual-filament bulbs, so the bulb holder should also have two contacts to match.

[HiUnDai]

The bulb should be a 21/5W combined stop/tail light. That's what a 380 bulb is, and you can get a 380R bulb which is red. Easily identified by the two contacts on the base. Not sure why the tail cluster lens is clear, it should be red unless someone has fitted an after-market tail light cluster. There's no shortage of i30 images available to check if yours is non-standard. The only lights which normally have clear lenses are the indicators and reversing lights. You're not getting those confused with the brakes lights are you?

The stop/tail light is the only one with dual-filament bulbs, so the bulb holder should also have two contacts to match.

You are absolutely correct - I did get the 2 confused.  Now resolved.  Thanks for your reply!