The brake light switch in my car has been acting up. It started only randomly turning on the brake lights and rather than be with out my car for a day and a half having it warranty repaired – I figured I’d just tackle it myself. On paper its pretty simple. Unhook the wiring harness, loosen the two nuts and pull it out. Get a new switch and reverse the process.
Not so easy. First, no one has a replacement switch in stock. It only costs $20 but I can’t find one, and no one can order it. So I’ll have to try to pull one off the internet somewhere. Second, the switch is underneath the dash, on the drivers side, behind the steering shaft and in between the brake pedal arm and the metal bracket that holds it. In order to get to it, you either need to lift the car (which I don’t have the means to do) or sit on the ground with your back to the car, and bend your back over the jam and get your head and arms underneath the steering wheel and dash.
But wait, theres more. the switch itself is behind the steering shaft, and you can’t really see it. On top of that, you have to depress the brake pedal to get to the first nut. This nut needs to be loosened and taken off so that you can pull the switch off from the other side of the bracket.
So at this point I don’t have a replacement part but I need to get my brake lights working correctly again. I read online that the switch might just be sticking and it can be cleaned up so it doesn’t stick anymore. So I decide to clean it up.
I go through the above process of getting the switch out and sure enough its pretty gunked up. I clean it up as best I can and now I have to get that little bastard back into the car.
This is the really difficult part. You have to get the bolt part of the switch back down through the bracket and get the nut on the other side. You have to press the pedal down to get the nut in there, but I have to hold the switch with one hand, and the nut with the other. Not to mention I need to hold the flashlight, and get the brake pedal depressed.
Did I mention theres hardly any room for the wrench you need to loosen the nuts?
Anyway, I finally had success – but only after the lady came out with a long wooden handled grilling utensil to push the brake pedal down for me while I’m juggling everything else. The switch is now fastened to the bracket.
Turn on the car: the brake lights are on. Bah. I gotta adjust it. The switch needs to be moved down closer to the pedal. Basically, when the pedal is not pressed, it is pushing the switch in, and as you press the pedal; it lets the switch come out, turning on the brake lights. If the lights are on with out the pedal being pressed I need to push the switch down so that the pedal is pressing it in fully. Loosen one nut, push the unit down, and tighten the other nut to hold it.
Finally!
My brake lights still don’t always turn on when I press the brakes. Guess I’ll have to work harder at finding a replacement, or just let the damn dealership take care of it.
