How To: Repair High-Level Brake Light wiring

[Al115]

Symptom - high-level brake light not working. DTCs REM 8D11 and REM 8D12.

Cause - broken wire in the tailgate hinge.

Repair options - new loom from Volvo (£90 and a pain to fit) or some soldering:

1. Gently unclip plastic cover on nearside tailgate hinge:



2. Gently extract wiring loom and look for sharpest bend - hope your broken wire is here!



3. Use a sharp knife to carefully cut through the nylon sheathing and the inner rubbery cover (cut away from the wires to avoid slicing into them) - with any luck, locate the broken wire:



(3b. Drive the car somewhere you can reach a power socket... should have done that earlier!)

4. Resolder, swathe in insulating tape, hope you've found the only break in the wiring, test brake light.



Don't be tempted to close the tailgate after Step 4, or the chances are that the frayed sheathing will get stuck inside the car and you'll have to remove the interior trim to feed it back through.

5. Reinforce the nylon sheathing with gaffer tape, replace plastic cover.



Job done.

[M-R-P]

Nice writeup. Very handy.
Thanks.