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From: Edward X. Petrus
Email: [email protected]
Remote Name: 63.157.136.32
Date: July 27, 2003
This is a common situation on cars whose brake lights are triggered by hydraulic pressure at the switch on the master cylinder. That's how my '57 works, and possibly your car, too. The suggestion to clean or replace the switch is right on, or you can interrupt the two wires going from the switch through the firewall and install a momentary-contact switch on the pedal assembly (I've done that on one of my cars). In my '57's case, the wires are pink and white. When they are connected together, the brake lights should come on. Therefore, you want a normally-closed switch so the undepressed position of the pedal keeps the button depressed (the contacts open). When you step on the pedal, the contact is released to its normally-closed position and the lights come on. Test the diagnosis by running a lead across the two wires at the master cylinder and see if the brake lights come on. If they do, everything I've said shoudl be correct. If you do the pushbutton thing, skip the Radio Shack $4 ones and go to an appliance parts store and get a heavy-duty one.