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  •  » Brake Light Switch

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    6/17/2018 12:00 PM  #1

    Vicfonz
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    From: Southern California
    Registered: 3/21/2018
    Posts: 239

    Brake Light Switch

    ok my next project is the brake light switch...the brakes worked fine but when I looked under turns out that a universal switch was added to the pedal arm to operate the brakes..i really didn't care for it and some times I would notice the brakes would stay on if it wasn't fully pushed down...anyway I got a brake light switch for power brakes which is what was installed which makes me thing previous owner ran into same problem...sooo the new switch didn't work either...ive tried bending the tabs but nothing..the spring doesn't budge...I guess its to hard?...any suggestions on how to get this to work?..

    "If Someone Did it on Youtube...So Can I...Well.....Unless its Heart Surgery,Thats Kinda Hard"
     

    6/17/2018 6:26 PM  #2

    BillyC
    I FYI 24-7

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    From: Chesapeake, Va.
    Registered: 4/02/2013
    Posts: 966

    Re: Brake Light Switch

    I put a '70 power brake switch on my 66 and it worked great. Another option is to plumb in a pressure actuated switch off of the mc, pretty simple to do and fool proof.

    "anyone that stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty"Henry Ford
     

    6/17/2018 9:15 PM  #3

    MS
    Forum Originator

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    From: Canyon Lake, Texas
    Registered: 1/24/2013
    Posts: 12,313

    Re: Brake Light Switch

    Be sure all the proper plastic bushings are on the brake pedal pin. Usually one flanged bushing and two nylon washers.
    Use a volt/ohm meter to check the wires coming to the switch. One should be hot at all times. The other should produce light wt the stoplights when it receives voltage.

    If the booster has been tightened too tight where the firewall gets bent, and the master cylinder tilts downward towards the shock tower rather than being level, that can affect the geometry at the switch.  The switch works by geometry change as the pedal is moved, not necessarily just by direct pressure on the spring.

    Money you enjoy wasting is NOT wasted money... unless your wife finds out.
     

    6/18/2018 5:01 PM  #4

    Vicfonz
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    From: Southern California
    Registered: 3/21/2018
    Posts: 239

    Re: Brake Light Switch

    I was thinking of doing the pressure one...I had one on my 64..but I forgot how it was mounted haha..I check out the 70 one as well thanx

    BillyC wrote:

    I put a '70 power brake switch on my 66 and it worked great. Another option is to plumb in a pressure actuated switch off of the mc, pretty simple to do and fool proof.

     

    "If Someone Did it on Youtube...So Can I...Well.....Unless its Heart Surgery,Thats Kinda Hard"
       •Thread Starter
     

    6/18/2018 5:07 PM  #5

    Vicfonz
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    From: Southern California
    Registered: 3/21/2018
    Posts: 239

    Re: Brake Light Switch

    master looks to be in there with no bends anywhere...the brake lights work fine off a make shift universal switch..but the correct switch that connects the rod to the pedal there I have  no such luck..all bushings are there as well..when the pedal is pushed the switch just seems to go with it towards the firewall..the rod doesn't seem to push back what so ever..i push it with my hand and the spring doesn't move  what so ever

    MS wrote:

    Be sure all the proper plastic bushings are on the brake pedal pin. Usually one flanged bushing and two nylon washers.
    Use a volt/ohm meter to check the wires coming to the switch. One should be hot at all times. The other should produce light wt the stoplights when it receives voltage.

    If the booster has been tightened too tight where the firewall gets bent, and the master cylinder tilts downward towards the shock tower rather than being level, that can affect the geometry at the switch. The switch works by geometry change as the pedal is moved, not necessarily just by direct pressure on the spring.

     

    "If Someone Did it on Youtube...So Can I...Well.....Unless its Heart Surgery,Thats Kinda Hard"
       •Thread Starter
     

    6/18/2018 5:37 PM  #6

    MS
    Forum Originator

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    From: Canyon Lake, Texas
    Registered: 1/24/2013
    Posts: 12,313

    Re: Brake Light Switch

    Did you check the wiring and voltage supply?

    Money you enjoy wasting is NOT wasted money... unless your wife finds out.
     

    6/18/2018 5:51 PM  #7

    True74yamaha
    Senior 24-7 FYI Addict

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    From: Salt Lake City
    Registered: 5/07/2013
    Posts: 2,529

    Re: Brake Light Switch

    Fox body or sn95 switches are common switch upgrades.

     

    6/19/2018 12:43 AM  #8

    Vicfonz
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    From: Southern California
    Registered: 3/21/2018
    Posts: 239

    Re: Brake Light Switch

    yes I did all is good in that department

    MS wrote:

    Did you check the wiring and voltage supply?

     

    "If Someone Did it on Youtube...So Can I...Well.....Unless its Heart Surgery,Thats Kinda Hard"
       •Thread Starter
     

    6/19/2018 12:43 AM  #9

    Vicfonz
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    From: Southern California
    Registered: 3/21/2018
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    Re: Brake Light Switch

    I deff will look into these

    True74yamaha wrote:

    Fox body or sn95 switches are common switch upgrades.

     

    "If Someone Did it on Youtube...So Can I...Well.....Unless its Heart Surgery,Thats Kinda Hard"
       •Thread Starter
     

    6/19/2018 6:04 PM  #10

    Vicfonz
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    From: Southern California
    Registered: 3/21/2018
    Posts: 239

    Re: Brake Light Switch

    ok what I finally did was...I reused the original universal GM switch the car came with..i went high under the dash and removed the bump stop..the hole turns out to be big enough for the universal switch to fit through..i set the specs to the point where when the pedel is pushed down it turns on the rear lights...when the pedal returns to its normal position the plunger gets pushed back in and lights turn off...works brilliantly with no issues..as for the push rod and pedal connecting and holding together I just reassembled them with the correct light switch just with no wires connected to that switch ofcourse as the brakes light wires are connected to the plunger one that I mounted in the bump stop...hopefully someone can use this info if the ever run into this problem as ive researched and have read ALOT of people run into this problem when they switch to power brakes

    "If Someone Did it on Youtube...So Can I...Well.....Unless its Heart Surgery,Thats Kinda Hard"
       •Thread Starter
     

    6/28/2018 6:35 PM  #11

    MS
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    From: Canyon Lake, Texas
    Registered: 1/24/2013
    Posts: 12,313

    Re: Brake Light Switch

    Fox switch is same switch but the termnals stick straight out instead of coming out the side. I do like the plunger switch. I have used those on a couple of trucks I built.   

    For some strange reason, most of the problematic brake switches I have dealt with were on 67-68 Mustangs.

    Money you enjoy wasting is NOT wasted money... unless your wife finds out.
     

    6/28/2018 10:40 PM  #12

    Vicfonz
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    From: Southern California
    Registered: 3/21/2018
    Posts: 239

    Re: Brake Light Switch

    yea the plunger switch seems to get the job done painlessly

    MS wrote:

    Fox switch is same switch but the termnals stick straight out instead of coming out the side. I do like the plunger switch. I have used those on a couple of trucks I built.

    For some strange reason, most of the problematic brake switches I have dealt with were on 67-68 Mustangs.

     

    "If Someone Did it on Youtube...So Can I...Well.....Unless its Heart Surgery,Thats Kinda Hard"
       •Thread Starter
     

     

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