bulb out on rear clam brake light

[richbk]

Evening all.

About time i got the exige on the road for this summer. Car is due to go for its MOT on wednesday.

As i managed a heady 787 miles last year, i am sure it shouldnt need too much to get it through its MOT 

apart from pumping the handbrake a thousand times !!.

however 1 of the bulbs in the rear clam brake light has given up the ghost.

I believe this is a sealed unit and can not be fixed just by changing a bulb ?, happy to be corrected if this can indeed be done.

My question is..... if 1 bulb has failed does that mean the car will fail its MOT, and if this is the case, can i disconnect the whole fitting 

and just use the normal rear brake lights  in the light cluster as the only brake lights for the purposes of the MOT ??

I could theoretically then re connect post MOT, although my OCD might give me a nervous twitch knowing 1 bulb is out !!

 

cheers

 

Richard

[kayj_prod]

I would assume the third brake light has to work if required by specs when the car was built. Total assumption though. I reckon one lamp being out (of five IIRC) is not a problem though. I’m thinking of those cars that have duplicate side lamps;  still fine if one is working per side. 

Certainly on my S1 Elise, the third brake light was not a sealed unit- regular filament lamps in that so limited life span. 

I’ve had a quick check on my Exige. The third brake light unbolts from the inside just like S1 so as long as you can get your head upside down in the back to remove the unit, it wouldn’t be a lengthy job to inspect/replace a single lamp. 501 capless type probably.

[richbk]

Thanks for the info. I will have a good look this morning.

might look at updating to led if it's an easy fix, as I am sure my 06 exige is on standard lamps ?

then off to the testers just in time for the sunshine ...... Oh or maybe the rain 😩

[kayj_prod]

I changed my S1 lamps to LED- saved having to get under there again! 

[richbk]

So, as described, a super easy job, I love MLOC 

 

Many thanks.

 

LED's ordered from amazon prime, but little old 501 popped in to get it through its MOT tomorrow.

 

Cheers

 

Richbk

[Lithopsian]

One bulb out of four not working is OK for MOT.  Even two is OK.  Three is a fail.  By bizarre MOT rules, four is a pass because there is no way for the tester to be sure that it is actually a connected brake light.  Best to have all four so you're not pushing your luck and winding up the tester.

The 06 Exige uses the same centre brake light as the Elise S1, four 5W capless in holders that twist into the lamp from the rear.  Some later models went to LED units, red LEDs with a clear lens.  In the bootbox S1, you just reach in to the boot and twist out the bulb holder you want, never tried it on an Exige.  LED replacements in the standard holder will not have the same beam pattern.  At the very least, you'll want to replace all four to avoid them looking odd.  Good ones will be OK, poor ones may not project well from the reflector.  Also, white LEDs don't work well behind red lenses, red LEDs do better.  And not legal, of course

Not sure why everyone's bulbs are blowing, they should last tens of thousands of miles unless you sit on the brakes at traffic lights.

[richbk]

Thanks for the info 👍.

blown bulbs proberbly due to lack of use, I think I may of surprised my car by starting it up the other day, it's been resting under its car cover on trickle charge since November 😳