Brake lights in boot lid

[Rikes]

are the lights in the boot lid supposed to light up when braking?

 

[cashie]

Tail lights only I thought.

 

[Sir Les]

are the lights in the boot lid supposed to light up when braking?

Yes. Inner lights (in boot lid) are stop (upper) and reverse (lower); outer lights are stop/tail (upper) and turn signal (lower).

[Edit: This information is wrong -- see message lower down.]

 

[Rikes]

Mine don't light up when braking, never have

 

[Sir Les]

I stand (or actually sit) corrected. I double checked by getting my wife to put her foot on the brake, and sure enough, the boot lid light is just a tail light, not a stop light. I was confused because it's described as a "brake lamp" in the Owner's Handbook (P. 10-22). If I had looked further, I would have seen the bulb type is a W5WLL, which is just a 5 watt tail light. That'll teach me to go running off at the keyboard.

 

[Rikes]

I stand (or actually sit) corrected. I double checked by getting my wife to put her foot on the brake, and sure enough, the boot lid light is just a tail light, not a stop light. I was confused because it's described as a "brake lamp" in the Owner's Handbook (P. 10-22). If I had looked further, I would have seen the bulb type is a W5WLL, which is just a 5 watt tail light. That'll teach me to go running off at the keyboard.

So would a twin element bulb fix the issue? Or I should their wiring involved?
HSV guys are saying theirs light up in the boot when braking.
But I've just installed a HSV bootlid and the wiring harnesses are identical

 

[Sir Les]

Depends on how the bulb socket is wired, I suppose. The socket should be a push-fit wedge type. You could always buy a W21/5W wedge double filament bulb, fit it, and see what happens!

 

[redvxr8clubby]

If you are looking at the wiring at the lamp base is it 2 wires or 3 wires, if 3 wires then perhaps the base is wired for brake as well. If 2 wires only then it is only wired as tail light. If three wires and you try the 21/5 light that Sir Les suggested, if it works personally I'd consider actually using LED type equivalent globe purely on the basis that if you are adding 2 more 21 Watt brake lights into the same circuit - that's near an additional 4 amps. Brake lights aren't on all the time like a tail light, but manufacturers tend to make wiring that is adequate for current draw, the wiring may be a bit on the thin side to run 4 brake lights at 21 Watts each. LED's would only be a few watts for the brake lamps, so there's no risk of the current being significantly over what the manufacturer intended for the cars wiring. Just being on the safe side here.