Quote:
Originally Posted by bgadow
When I was fixing up a '49 Packard I had to replace that switch & I remember folks on forums commenting about the poor quality. One option might be trying to find a NOS part. I would guess there are only 1 or maybe 2 companies making them these days; I know oftentimes NAPA carries 2 lines with Echlin probably being the better.
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The third switch from autozone didn't fix the issue either. I discovered a grease fitting on the brake pedal mechanism under the car and filled that up with no significant effect. There is a return spring I may try beefing up and I got a suggestion about filling the replacement with fluid before installation using a cyringe (which I was told about an hour after plumbing in my kludge) but I just want to finish fixing the brake light and get this into storage for the winter. It's getting much too cold for recreational car work. The original switch was a big hex nut with terminals and a pipe thread end, but the new ones are round...I found a vintage NOS hexnut style on everyone's favorite auction site that I'll probably buy and try in spring.
So last night I kludged in a 1979 vintage trailer brake controller and that seems to allow me to reduce sensitivity to a level that should prevent false triggers. I still need to give it a test drive but it works and looks promising. The one trade off is it's LED is always on, but that's far better than the brake lights coming on and sticking when parked. I'd guess that it would use less power than the clock does. It's brake line threads into the place the factory switch did and I screwed it's bracket into an existing screw (on the steering column bracket) under dash right of the steering wheel...So it's installation is completely reversible and no evidence of its presence will remain. I think it's hidden well enough especially the LED that its presence won't distract and I can still get at it and adjust while driving...I can also use it to manually turn on brake lights independent of the pedal if I want.