View Full Version : Brake lights
63Sedan
July 5th, 2011, 09:14 PM
Here's one that's been puzzling me for a while. When I went through my car I replaced pretty much everything to do with the brakes with new stuff. New soft lines, new wheel cylinders, drums, new master cylinder and I also got a new pressure sensor for the master cylinder. Problem is, with it on there I have a pedal that goes to the floor. I've tried returning it and getting other new ones, nothing seems to help. I've tried bleeding the system, same thing. Now if I put the old sensor back on there, the brake pedal is super firm... like stand on it to lock 'em up sort of firm, but the brake lights won't turn off a lot of the time, or if I park it and the lights are off... the pedal will fall a little after sitting for a short while and the lights will turn on. Any advice?
It's a '63 144ci sedan.
redfalken
July 5th, 2011, 10:29 PM
Pretty strange. I don't know why a switch would make the pedal soft and it sounds like you've bled the lines. You could do away with the fluid pressure operated switch and put one inside on the pedal.
Here's a thread discussing it:
http://www.rainierfalcons.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1293
I've had one on for quite awhile and it works great.
63Sedan
July 5th, 2011, 11:08 PM
Looks like a pretty clever solution. I can't say I'm a huge fan of the pressure operated switches so this is perfect. Do you have any pictures of the installation?
The link in that post doesn't work anymore, but this appears to be the same part number?
http://www.amazon.com/Tru-Tech-SLS66T-Brake-Light-Switch/dp/B000CPK39Q
Luva65wagon
July 6th, 2011, 02:39 PM
You can run out to the Pick and Pull and go under the dash of any of the late 60-70's Ford pickup and grab the switch - and the connector too. I picked up one of these on Sunday, but then pulled the brake plunger from the 65 sedan in Sequim later that day to use the later model switch that goes on the plunger shaft and pedal arm:
http://www.falconparts.com/ford-falcon-auto-parts/pc/1965-BRAKE-LIGHT-SWITCH-179p737.htm
So that's the direction I am going and I don't have need of the one I got from the Pick and Pull anymore - if you want it. The one I grabbed had the nuts on it, which you would need to adapt it to the 60-64 cars.
The 65 was the first year to eliminate the pressure switch - which was always scary.
There is nothing I can think of either as to how this switch (or multiple others of the same kind) could cause the pedal to go to the floor. Just doesn't work that way. It's a trap, not a by-pass device. You need to have a means for fluid to by-pass to have it act that way. The scary part with these was that when their seal failed, they were a by-pass device, but the evidence of it was no brakes, or a pretty bad leak coming out of the switch.
So, have you tried just to plug the port with an 1/8" pipe plug to see if that causes one thing or the other?
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