Morris Minor Owners Club

can any one help in this little problem with my brake lights . i have an 2 door 1962 1098 moggy, this still has the all in one rear light . the problem that im having with the old gril is that the light arnt working proply.when you brake a little bit to bring you to an stop thay dont work , now if you wait until the last minute then brake hard thay work ,you have to put a lot of pressure on be for thay light up slightly then having to go harder to make them come on full.
i have fitted an new switch a bout 2 years ago (could this be the problem ), the brakes have been bleed but un sore if total drained . all the blubs have been replaced the wiring has been checked and all is well and the earth is fine ,i have run out of idears so if you can please help
thanks moggyminor

the break lights are switched on by a hydralic pressure switch under the radiator, it sounds like that is probably the cause, do the brakes feel spongey??

If you have the all-in-one red lights, then you'll have the big 8-way relay on the driver's inner wing in the engine bay. This operates the indicators, but the brake lights might also run through it. Have you checked the indicators work at the rear?

It wouldn't hurt to check the pressure switch. Mines got no brake fluid in at all while I'm restoring her but the brake lights work on air alone!

Hope this helps,

Philip

thanks for the idears , i will answer them if i can . frist the brakes arnt spongey there very solid but there is a little bit of play from the top /. yes all the rear lights work the side and indecators so do the brake lights when you put all the pressure that you can on the pedal .
moggyminor

If the brake lights come on if you short the two brake switch
contacts together(on the floor to the left of the radiator) with the
ignition on then the fault would seem to be the brake switch
itself. It is not necessary to bleed the system if you replace
this switch provided that you do it quickly and allow a little fluid
to seep out as you finally tighten it up. The biggest problem
is undoing the old switch without ripping it out of the floor!

my brake lights come on without the ignition on....somebody bodged it in the past!

Even a new brake switch can take a lot of pressure to operate. I purchased one from one of the MM places in UK & it was even worse than my old brake switches. I ended up buying a Hella switch (#4565) which has operated perfectly.
Ths switch supplied from UK was "Raven" brand (#BS160).
Spot on Willie, the hardest part of the switch replacement is holding the pipe connecting piece while undoing the switch. A shifter usually holds it enough if you can get it on the right angle.

Buy original Lucus/Wipac switches. Correct opperation guarenteed!

Correct opperation guarenteed

Well... Joe Lucas wasn't called the "Prince of Darkness" in the 60's for nothing!

It's well-known that his lighting switches had three positions - off, dim and flicker; or off, smoulder and burn, depending on their use...

MATT.....your brake light should be fed from fuse terminal A4
( the one with all the green wires on it). I bet yours is fed from
the wrong fuse terminal,A2 ( two purple wires)?

or its not fused....... which i think is probably more likely on my car.... i will look next time i see it......

hi all yet again , i have now put an new switch on and rebleed the system . all is well and it stops ,still a little travel before pressure . the lights still take some going to come on . i had my wife follow me to see how much it needed before the lights come on , the result was i locked up so that the lights come on , this carnt be right ?
i was thinking that the brake shoes need taking up so there is more pressure there at the top , or is there a way that i can modifi an new switch on to the brake pedal like the modern cars have , any idears please more than welcome . the last thing i want to do is stop then get some one hit the rear end , o.k i do slow down useing the gears like you used have to do on your driving lessons
thanks
moggyminor i hope some one out there can help before its to late

If you get the standard system working properly then it should be OK. It takes more pressure to light the lights then on a modern car but not enough to lock the car up, so something is still amiss somewhere. Try adjusting the brakes and make sure that there is no air in the system (including the switch). If that does not cure it then the switch would seem to be at fault (if the brakes are working properly). In which case it would be better to try a 2nd hand known working switch (I'm sure someone on here would be able to supply you with one).

You could try getting a microswitch with an arm on it, and somehow attach it to the brake pedal..... but you would want a switch that is capable of at least 5amps

Yes, you could also adapt a modern pedal switch through the gearbox cover panel, but it's not curing the problem. Something is amiss, it might be just the switch but it's best to investigate further just in case.

Maybe a silly question, but the switch scews into a T-piece? (long time since I looked).
Did fluid por out of the T-piece when the switch was removed? Just wondering if the T is blocked up and nearly disconnecting the switch.
Probably very unlikely though.
Ray

Just remember that thousands of Minors have no trouble with the
standard arrangement for stop lights so they should not need
modifying. You have a switch problem, try slightly loosening
the switch so that fluid can seep out as someone presses the
brake pedal, then tighten the switch whilst the pressure is on.
The fact that you can lock up your brakes seems to indicate
that the system is working pretty efficiently.

when i un did the old switch i dont think there was fluid coming out . so i will re do the bleeding (get brake fluid for nuthing ) then once the brakes are done at each staition ,then ill do the switch . i will get back to you very help full people as soon as i can
thanks
moggyminor

probably best to re-do the switch (and check fluid comes out of the t piece freely) before you re-do the bleeding. Otherwise you'll probably have to re-do the bleeding twice.
But if brake fluid and your time is free... you haven't so much to worry about
Ray.