Reverse lights/ABS light fault MK2 1.9tdi

[RileyRomius]

Hi all! Looking for some advice on a strange issue,

So my reverse lights weren’t working at all, checked the fuse, the reverse light switch and the bulbs.. all fine but they weren’t coming on at all so we figured there must be a wiring issue somewhere between the switch and the lights.

We spliced into the rear plug and put power directly to it from the battery and they both lit up no problem so this confirmed our wiring theory. We ended up running a cable directly from the reverse light switch to the rear lights essentially bypassing the cars wiring loom but using the existing supply to the switch so the lights operate as normal just via a different route. Problem is now the ABS and traction control lights are permanently on.

I was hoping someone could help explain how these systems are linked or give me some insight into what is happening.

Cheers!

 

[RileyRomius]

Just a quick update: when there is power to the reverse lights via a separate cable (not using the car loom) from the reverse switch the reverse lights work but the ABS fault light is on, when there isn’t power to the lights the ABS light goes out but the reverse lights don’t work