I had recently had to rebuilt my pedal assembly and somehow managed to disconnect the brake switch wire (on the master cylinder) from whereever it goes.

What I have now is a connector with wire attached to the MC that is about 6 inches long. There is a grommet on the body up about 3 inches that looks like it could be where the wire goes into the inside of the car, but I cannot find this entry point when looking around the pedal assembly.

FYI the two connectors on the brake switch, on the back of the pedal assembly, are connected to the main harness.

Physically when I turn on the key the brake lights are always on. Doesn't matter whether or not you put on the brakes

Anyone out there had experience with this part of the wiring?

Thanks,

Randal

randal, i think you have the arm on the switch either on the wrong side of the round plate or it (the switch) needs to be adjusted. the arm goes on "your" side of the round plate not the back. consult p.129/ discription 30 of your haynes. fig 9.24 & 9.25.

kevin

check the wiring diagrams on pelican parts for the color code of what you pulled loose. item 35 you might have nicked a wire if they are on all the time. ( disconnect your battery just in case ) get it working before you drive and someone hits you in the tail.

the arm follows the round plate. the round plate does not push on the arm. arm on the wrong side and the switch is constantly closed= brake lights all the time.

kevin

you could take the switch off and check it manualy.

by the way randal, welcome to the club! this picture shows the way it should be a bit clearer. since you rebushed, chances are that the p.o.
adjusted the switch as the pedal assem started going away. in regards to your postings, you may have to scroll down to find yours as it gets bumped. i think you need 10 posts before you can show any pictures. do a few more and lets see your car.

kevin

yepp, you probably just got the lever of the switch behind the plate instead of in front ...

Andy

The new switch is in and everything is working perfectly.

Thanks to all those posting, expecially Kevin, for all the help.

for DIA3. about 4 years and i figured out how to work the search function. SUCCESSFULLY!

k

QUOTE (Randal @ Aug 6 2003, 11:43 AM)

I had recently had to rebuilt my pedal assembly and somehow managed to disconnect the brake switch wire (on the master cylinder) from whereever it goes. What I have now is a connector with wire attached to the MC that is about 6 inches long. There is a grommet on the body up about 3 inches that looks like it could be where the wire goes into the inside of the car, but I cannot find this entry point when looking around the pedal assembly. FYI the two connectors on the brake switch, on the back of the pedal assembly, are connected to the main harness. Physically when I turn on the key the brake lights are always on. Doesn't matter whether or not you put on the brakes Anyone out there had experience with this part of the wiring? Thanks, Randal

Hey Man,
It also sounds like you have the wires for the low pressure switch on the master cylinder detached. If you have wires going to the master cylinder (out side of the cabin part where the hoses hook up) then that would be them. If they short you will get the red light that is also the parking break light flashing at you (top of your left gauge). These wires are not exactly necessary, but are a form of safety measure and should be reconnected.
HTH

OK, so I found this thread... (...and yes I know how to use the search function)

As I stated in a seperate thread, my problem is that the brake lights DO NOT come on at all. Looking at RhodyGuy's pic, it looks like the actuator on the switch is actually pushed back by the MC rod when you remove your foot off the brake, is that correct? If I move the switch arm back and forth, it does seem to hve any affect. Woudl the adjustment screw make a difference then? I've also checked to make sure the wires are attached to the switch as they should.

Perhaps the switch is just bad? Do these usually go bad on well kept cars (ie: generally garaged and not a rustbucket project)?

The switch is normally closed. When you take your foot off the brake pedal, the washer on the brake pushrod pushes against the spring-loaded arm and breaks the circuit that sends power to the brake lights. When you press the pedal, the spring in the switch gets the arm to follow along with the washer on the pushrod.

The switch just shorts the two wires plugged into it together. You can unplug them from the switch and touch them together (metal to metal) or plug a short bit of wire into both. If the brake lights come on (with the key on), the switch is to blame. If not, you have other problems in that circuit.

--DD

Perfect! Thanks Dave! I'll try touching the wires tomorrow to see if they still come on. If so, I guess I'll be ordering a switch.

Also, make sure that they are not always on. This happend to me where every time I got out of the car to check the lights I saw no change untill I figured out that they were actually on all the time. It was a shorted switch and thus shorting the wires produced the same effect...always on.

$.02