I Killed My Brakes! **fixed**

[Basti]

hey guys

i've been recently trying to hook up some a light up boot garnish to my hotplates. anyhoo. i got to the back of the taillights and there are 3 wires - black, green/yellow stripe and green/white stripe.

black is obviously earth, but i was confused as to which green was the brakes and which the norm hotplates. to figure this out i turned the ignition on and the lights, then shorted the two green wires to the earth one @ a time. my thinking was that which ever short didnt affect the normal hotplates should be the one for the brakes. when i touched the green/white one nothing happened. when i touched the green/yellow, i blew the 10a fuse thats in the box next to the battery.. replaced the fuse and the taillights work fine. BUT the brakes dont light up anymore. the bulbs are all fine and i checked all visible (from the boot) connections seem ok. i also tried swapping the aircon fuse thingy from the fusebox under the hood with the one that is attached to the back of the boot (they look exactly the same) but i dunno what effect it has. there is no current flowing in the brake power line though

i am now feeling extremely idiotic and frustrated and im regretting this DIY attempt. however before i give up, can anyone suggest what if anything have i blown and how do i fix this? as you can probably tell i have no experience so try to keep any descriptions to a simple level

apologies for the long read but more info = better answers i hope

ps i dunno if this belongs here. mods feel free to move

[S04R3R]

checked the globes or the brake light fuse? they are normally the first things to blow

[Basti]

have checked the brake lights themselves. where is the brakelight fuse? are you talking about thte one in the boot cos that doesnt do much when replaced

edit: ok i checked the boot and under the hood but i forgot to check in the dash fuse box. from what i found through searching on here there doesnt seem to be any relavant fuses in there but doesnt hurt to look

[mid life crisis]

a cheap multi meter is your friend

[Basti]

fuses. two of them under the dash. shoulda prolly figured out that one by myself . thanks anyway guys

for those wondering, there is a red 10a in the boot relay that affects the normal tail lights. 3rd one from the back of the car counting frowards.

i also had to replace the 15a fuse under the dash (its blue and its the one on the right when facing forwards (there's two side by side)). this i think affects the brakelights.

and another 10a that i believe was unrelated and fixed my broken ciggie lighter. cant remember which one it was but i think its the 4th on the left counting downwards.