1998 vw beetle brake light system to rear tail lightsd

First make sure that the bulbs are ok. Do the emergency lights work? If so , then the wiring for the brake lights are ok. That means that the brake light problem could be the brake light switch. If they do not work, then a wiring connector could be the problem.

the brake lights don't light up or the taillights don't light up? the brake lights are brighter than the tailights so the tailights won't show up whenbrakes are applied. if no lights work when brakes are applied then check for a bad ground at the light assembly.

There is a recall on the brake light switch. VW should replace it for free.

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Defective brake lights on Golf, GTI, Jetta, New Beetle and R32 are a potential safety hazard and should be replaced. February 26, 2007 - NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Around 800,000 Volkswagen vehicles have been recalled Monday because of faulty brake lights, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
The 790,000 vehicles include Jettas, New Beetles, Golfs, GTIs and R32s...all in the United States.
The specific years and models affected are:

• 1999-2005 Jetta sedans
• 2001-2005 Jetta wagons
• 1998-2007 New Beetle
• 2003-2007 New Beetle Convertibles
• 1999-2006 Golfs and GTIs
• 2004 R32

The malfunctioning brake lights and brake light switches could fail to come on or remain stuck on.
This recall expands on one announced by Europe's No. 1 carmaker last year, when 362,000 Jettas and New Beetles were recalled due to the same defective part.
Volkswagen said that dealers will immediately be prepared to accept service appointments to perform the repair at no charge, but the notification process isn't scheduled to begin until April.
NHTSA did not say if any injuries had been reported linked to the defective brake lights.

hi,
you will need to remove the tail lamp.
standing behind the vehicle, with the trunk open , inside on the affected side you will see a small plastic cover, remove this and under neath is a nut. remove the nut. now you have to gently prise the tail lamp out(taking care with paint work). start at the outside of the lamp. once removed, changing the bulb is straight foward. you will see the lugs for refitting the lamp.

Inside the vehicle, mounted at the top of your brake pedel. Tough to get to and not an easy replacement for a novice. There has been a recall on the original brake light switches on most all of the early VW Beetles. You can get more information regarding the recall from your VW Dealer. The switch on my 1998 VW Beetele was replaced twice early on.

These cars were very well known to have bad grounds at the tail lamps. I would check the grounds to be sure they are still viable and check the wires to the tail lamps to be sure they haven't corroded.

check blubs if the center light works should be working side brake lights

in the trunk there is a covering if you flip it open you will see the lights.

Brake light switch, located on upper brake pedal should be checked, that is most likely your brake light issue, but U say tail lights aren't working, but running lights do, tail lights and running lights I would consider to be the same, so can u clarify that for me? Let me know how the u do w/ brake light switch, and if u have issue w/ tail lights?

replace the bulb it is a double bulb so it will still work on tail lights but not brake lights replacing the bulb should correct this