After a very long time and a number of posts - thank you for the helpful advice - I have finally diagnosed the reversing light problem and offer the following to any fellow sufferers. This solution has taken 2 years of diagnosis - it turned out to be very simple!
Symptoms - as always - intermittent reversing lights on reverse selection and no mirror roll - bulb failure warning on dashboard. Cleaning terminals etc helps but doesn't cure the problem - new bulb fittings/bulbs the same.
Checked reversing light switch - dismantled and cleaned - nothing wrong with it - do not try unless you are very confident - very easy to check if its working - see below.
THE PROBLEM IS CAUSED BY A FAILURE OF POWER TO THE REVERSING LIGHT SWITCH AND NOT AFTER THE SWITCH!
To diagnose - remove centre console and switch panels - very straightforward - unplug all connectors to console switches and move aside. At base of rear of gear shift are a pair of wires with no plug - they disappear under the shift - these are the wires to the reversing light switch - one is power in and the other power out - very simple. The power in is on the drivers side righthand drive) and the output is the other.
To check the reversing light switch integrity simply use a multimeter across the two wires or the plug terminals to check the resistance as you operate the gear lever into reverse - it will indicate 0 when if the switch is good when you select reverse.
If reversing light is OK then check input voltage on righthand of the 2 wires - should be 12 volts - mine was zero! when bulb failure warnings appeared and 12v when they didn't.
To resolve problem simply connect a live feed (I took mine from the back of the cigarette lighter/accessory socket in the dashboard) to the reversing light switch input wire - I soldered a short length between the two wires. Once the ignition is on, the new feed powers the reversing light switch, no more warnings, mirror rolls every time and perfect reversing lights.
Hope it helps someone - I am delighted to be free of the problem - hopefully forever!
Peter
Symptoms - as always - intermittent reversing lights on reverse selection and no mirror roll - bulb failure warning on dashboard. Cleaning terminals etc helps but doesn't cure the problem - new bulb fittings/bulbs the same.
Checked reversing light switch - dismantled and cleaned - nothing wrong with it - do not try unless you are very confident - very easy to check if its working - see below.
THE PROBLEM IS CAUSED BY A FAILURE OF POWER TO THE REVERSING LIGHT SWITCH AND NOT AFTER THE SWITCH!
To diagnose - remove centre console and switch panels - very straightforward - unplug all connectors to console switches and move aside. At base of rear of gear shift are a pair of wires with no plug - they disappear under the shift - these are the wires to the reversing light switch - one is power in and the other power out - very simple. The power in is on the drivers side righthand drive) and the output is the other.
To check the reversing light switch integrity simply use a multimeter across the two wires or the plug terminals to check the resistance as you operate the gear lever into reverse - it will indicate 0 when if the switch is good when you select reverse.
If reversing light is OK then check input voltage on righthand of the 2 wires - should be 12 volts - mine was zero! when bulb failure warnings appeared and 12v when they didn't.
To resolve problem simply connect a live feed (I took mine from the back of the cigarette lighter/accessory socket in the dashboard) to the reversing light switch input wire - I soldered a short length between the two wires. Once the ignition is on, the new feed powers the reversing light switch, no more warnings, mirror rolls every time and perfect reversing lights.
Hope it helps someone - I am delighted to be free of the problem - hopefully forever!
Peter
