Jay_Laifman@countrywide.com wrote:
>I stated in an earlier posting to the SAOC board that I was having trouble
>with my third new brake light switch.
>
Jay:
I went through several brake light switches. They all worked at first,
then malfunctioned at various times later, usually within a couple to a
few weeks. Same thing happened with aftermarket, and then two Lucas
switches. Happened exactly as you describe...it took more and more
pressure on thre pedal to get the lights to work, then they stopped
working. I was running silicone fluid, was told that the switches don't
work well with it, so I changed back to Girling. Still no luck. I
finally installed a mechanical brake switch, as suggested by Tom Hall
and a couple of others, and my brake lights now work instantly with only
slightly touching the brake pedal, as they're supposed to.
I got three or four mechanical brake light switches to try from various
cars at Pick A Part, made a braket up to hold it (this is the tricky
part since it has to be located just right to work), and then wired my
new switch to the wiring harness under the hood (I couldn't find the
wiring harness connection in the passenger compartment). I mounted the
switch and bracket above the brake pedal arm. I had to add a flat piece
of metal to the back of the pedal arm so the button on the switch is
pushed in easily. When your foot is off the pedal, the pedal arm (or I
should say the flat metal piece attached to the pedal arm) pushes the
button on the stop light switch in, opening the circuit. When you push
the pedal down, the button releases and completes the electrical
circuit, turning on your brake lights. When you take your foot off the
pedal and it returns up, the button on the switch is again pushed in,
opening the circuit, and shutting off the brake lights. If you go this
route, be sure you get a brake light switch that works in the above
manner (some of them work the opposite way). To complete the job, I just
left the original brake switch in place at the junction in the engine
compartment. You could get a bolt/plug instead if you want instead.
The other problem I've had with my "stock" brake light switches is a
couple of them ended up leaking. Plus, I had those switches in and out
so often (replacing them, or trying to tighten them down too much to try
and stop the leaks, before I knew what I was doing or looking at/for) I
think I probably partially stripped the internal threads on the brake
line junction, which added to the difficulty in keeping things dry,
which they now are.
Steve Sage
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