[Healeys] Brake Lights, BN6, Failure

[john close]

Well Guys, hoisted by my own petard again. Tired of tailgating pickups and suv's who don't see quickly enough that I'm braking, I finally decided to put in a brake switch activated by the pedal instead of by hydraulic pressure. Checking the wiring diagram, I saw that the stop lamp switch illuminated the taillights by connecting wires 17 and 22, with 17 going to the A4 connection on the fuse box, 22 to the #5 terminal on the relay box. I. experimented with connecting the 2 terminals, and that lit the brake lights. I ran 2 wires from those locations into the cockpit for my switch. I was all set to finish the job, but then I got greedy. I decided to also wire my 3rd brakelight, which hadn't been working, into the circuit. Couldn't get it to light, but when I connected it to another hot wire, it would work. By way, I also have the small reflectors converted to brake/;turn signal lights.
   
  Locking onto the 3rd light problem, I dithered around with other ways to connect it, none of them working. Then the taillights quit altogether. Thinking I had been trying to draw too much current, I checked all fuses, including the extra one to protect the taillight wiring. All were fine. I disconnected the 3rd tailight. No joy.
   
  All other lights fine. I'm out of ideas and would appreciate suggestions  Thanks in Advance - John Close