Hey guys, Ive had this problem for a month or two now. My reverse lamps stopped working so I came on here and searched around. Found out for most people it was the relay that sits on top of the transmission.



Basic principle if you dont know, is that the circuit is normally open, (no voltage to rear lights) and then when you put it into reverse, the relay completes the circuit and sends power to the reverse lights.



Now, I installed the new relay, and now my reverse lights are always on. No matter what gear I am in, and whether my lights are on or off. (As long as my car is running)



Went to the dealership, got a new relay. Same thing happened. So in my eyes, that negates the possiblilty of a bad relay. So now I am completely stuck on what to do. Any ideas?



I have DD LED reverse lamps if that would for some reason make any difference...





Thanks guys!

 

lamps are simple so the problem has to be simple.



Is it a relay on the transmission or a switch? On my car it's a switch, possibly with a relay somewhere else (happily it's been a while since I was in there).



Either way, there is a switch/relay and wires. Something is not doing its job right. Changing a part changed the behavior, so double-check the part is doing the right thing. Find the pinouts and break out a voltmeter.

 

Check that the switch isn't sticky, then check for a possible short in the circuit. I had trouble isolating the reverse light wires on my car, as I think all the tail lights must share an earth or something.

 

This exact thing happened to me. Never did figure it out. Problem solved when I replaced my engine and transmission. So, just replace that and you'll be good to go!

 

Haha Ill get right on that thanks!

 

If it truely is a relay and they are on all the time the relay coil is grounded all the time. There is a shorted ground wire somewhere.

 

Have you tried them without the LED's?

 

I don't see a relay in the wire diagram. Just a switch on the trans for the manual and the neutral safety switch for the auto. They both send a hot signal to the lamps and they lamps ground at the rear. So one of the switches is bad of they are on all the time.