brake lights!

[phurn]

being followed home earlier by the mrs, she informed me that both my brake lights are out =[ now odviously ill go through and check all the wiring tomorrow but my gut feeling is the pressure switch on the brake pedal has gone.. how difficult is it to swap/ repair these, and more importantly where can i get them from and what sort of price should i be looking at?

[chrisryder]

unplug your pressure switch and touch the cables together, with the ign on your brake lights should come on. if they do it's the switch.

a new switch should only be a few £'s. if you order one be sure to check what terminals you've got. early ones are held by screws but later ones are spade connections.

it is most likely to be that, both bulbs are unlikely to have blown together. and they earth through the same earth as the sidelights on the rear so if the sides work it cant be a bad earth.

a tip, if your sides do still work, if you have to drive the car at all you can put ur side lights on while braking just to give following vehicles a hint that you're stopping!

it can be tricky removing your old switch if it's been on for ages. they're a taper fit i believe and they have a tendency to get stuck. it is good to restrain the T-piece with mole grips to stop it turning, otherwise you can stress the brake pipes.

if you're lucky you wont need to bleed the brakes after re-fitting, but you can get an air bubble trapped under there.

[phurn]

actually would an air bubble stop it working? ive been meanign to bleed my brakes tbh, theyre abit spongy.

[mike.perry]

No, air in the system would not affect the switch, if it did then you would have no brakes at all.
Test the switch by shorting a paper clip across the terminals with the ignition on and the wires still connected. If the brake lights work then the switch is knackered.
If you change the switches quickly you may get away without bleeding the whole system

[phurn]

i see, ill definatly try that tomorrow, where is it actually located? im guessing its behind the brake pedal, but what exacly am i looking for?

[chrisryder]

it's down in the engine bay. open the bonnet. look to the left of the radiator (there may be a 'fresh air intake' hose depending on age) it'll be down there (under the hose if there is one) fitted on top of a T piece.

can be tricky to find without a torch!

[mike.perry]

It is under the right hand corner of the radiator where the three brake pipes meet

[phurn]

ah right! good job i asked, i was gonne look by the pedal box! haha

[chrisryder]

i've found a photo if it helps:
[frame][/frame]
if you ignore the bent pipe and rust everywhere, the switch is just the large bolt-like thing and should unscrew from the 3-way connection below it.

the one in the pic is of the screw terminal type by the way.

[MarkyB]

Grip one of the Tee pieces when you are undoing the switch, or the whole thing may turn twisting the pipes.

[phurn]

if i get time ill take a look before it gets dark! pics a great help.

[phurn]

well theres one problem fixed. the earth wire had come away form the switch =/

[MarkyB]

That was painless then .