95 Metro: back-up lights out

Hello all.

I searched the forum but could not find much that is relevant to my problem.

The back-up lights on my 95 Metro, 5sp, 1.0L crapped out last night. Over the past several months, I noticed increased static on my radio every time I put the car in reverse. Once in gear or neutral, the static stopped.

Anyway, today I checked the fuse and it's fine. Both back-up lamps look fine and the filaments are definitely intact. When I put it in reverse today, there was no static on the radio.

Does this sound like a short in the wiring? Could it be a bad switch? Anybody here have a similar experience?

Thanks, in advance, for any and all advice.

Mick

The switch went bad on mine a few years back. It's screwed into the transmission near the clutch cable and speedometer cable right below the distributor. It's the only thing with wires going into the transmission. If you unplug the connector and jump across the wires with a paper clip, your lights should turn on. If they do, then the problem is the switch. New one was around $25 if I recall correctly.