Brake lever/switch problem?

Urishen · Mar 13th, 2008, 12:34 PM

Hey there all. Got a question regarding the brake light switch. Now I own a 86' 300ZX (Gold) single turbo. now there's two switches on the pedal mount, one (top) is apparently for normal braking, and the second one (bottom) i gather is for cruise control.

when pedal is pressed the lights would come on right? nope.. When my brake isn't touched the lights stay on constantly. Granted when i got this car the (top) switch wasn't even plugged in, and there was a spare switch in the center console for eronious reasons. Well i replaced the switch with said one and thats when i noticed they stay on. even when i pressed the pedal. So i went to my buddy at an auto store, and he looked at it and said "hmm..." What i hadn't noticed is that there are holes on the pedal itself where the switches come through the mount and would and should touch the pedal to cut the lights off when the pedal isn't braking. So i pushed the brake in, and reached under and pressed the (top) switch and the lights cut off, i release it and they turn on.

Now my question is why in the world are there holes there where the switches should be touching metal. Is there a cap of some sort that goes on these holes (on the pedal)? Because I'm about to break out the ol' JB-Weld putty and cap those suckers up. I know pretty well thats my problem. (among other things)

Any help, and or advice on what i mentioned would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks - Rich

nickz3188 · Mar 15th, 2008, 03:24 PM

i donno dude, i'd ask the previous owner why he put a hole there, mine doesnt have a hole but it has a small round magnet on it to make sure it hits the switch

AZ-ZBum · Mar 16th, 2008, 11:47 AM

repairs:brakepedal [Z31.com 300ZX Wiki]

Urishen · Mar 16th, 2008, 04:14 PM

hey thanks a lot fellas, that last post is exactly what was wrong as i was thinking. So instead of getting those rubber caps or finding who sells them, i ended up using this 2-part epoxy i bought at my favorite auto parts store. Works just as well as the caps do. the best part about this stuff is that if i ever need to take it off, i can always drill or tap it.

Thanks again for the help.

AZ-ZBum · Mar 16th, 2008, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Urishen

hey thanks a lot fellas, that last post is exactly what was wrong as i was thinking. So instead of getting those rubber caps or finding who sells them, i ended up using this 2-part epoxy i bought at my favorite auto parts store. Works just as well as the caps do. the best part about this stuff is that if i ever need to take it off, i can always drill or tap it.

Thanks again for the help.

I think one of the stupidest things people do is rigging something instead of fixing it right. It only causes more problems down the road. Either for you or for the next owner.