Help! more lighting problems, this time brakes!

[hotshotzny]

well once again i am having a lightng problem, this time its the brake lights, courtesy of the new york state police i found out last night while on my way to work that my brake lights arent working.... so once i got there i had to check and noticed that if i pump the brakes they will occaisionally come on but not every time, i dont know if it could be a switch possibly, or related to my other crazy electrical problems or something even more new and exciting.... wiring has never been my specialty so i am dreading trying to trace down the short that i think i have somewhere!

any opinions or ideas would be very nice;help

 

[duke94]

You need adjust the brake light switch on the pedal.

It's the white one in this photo.

 

[hotshotzny]

i didnt get to mess with it today but thats what i was gonna try tommorow, i just dont fit under the dash so well .... i did try and see if it was working (which they arent) seems just about every third pump of the brake pedal and the lights work just about....

should i bother adjusting it or just replace the silly thing

 

[petes74ttop]

Try to adjust it first, it might be easier if you pull the seat out first and schedule an appointment with your chiropractor for Monday, just be glad you don't have to replace the power booster, PG.

 

[Curtis]

My electrical and lighting problems were intermittant.. it was a corroded ground cable from the battery to the frame. easy fix.

 

[hotshotzny]

My electrical and lighting problems were intermittant.. it was a corroded ground cable from the battery to the frame. easy fix.

ya know it sucks when you read stuff like that at 430 in the morning,... cause all i want to do is go out and mess with it now...

what kind of electrical problems were you having out of curiosity

is this what i am looking for
http://www.napaonline.com/masterpag...rtNumber=SL186SB&Description=Stoplight+Switch

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=ACD&MfrPartNumber=D850A&PartType=422&PTSet=A

 

[duke94]

Should have only 2 terminals like this one. Pull the seat out, 4 bolts and you're done, makes life under the dash much easier.

http://www.zip-products.com/Zip/pro...alse&mscssid=25BE5C99F5144BEA99DFE3F92629EED4

 

[wishuwerehere82]

ya know it sucks when you read stuff like that at 430 in the morning,... cause all i want to do is go out and mess with it now...

what kind of electrical problems were you having out of curiosity

is this what i am looking for
http://www.napaonline.com/masterpag...rtNumber=SL186SB&Description=Stoplight+Switch

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=ACD&MfrPartNumber=D850A&PartType=422&PTSet=A

This is the one.
http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPag...rtNumber=SL169SB&Description=Stoplight+Switch

 

[hotshotzny]

i squoze my head up under the dash today in the blazing 100 degree heat and took alook at the switcha nd played with it a little, it seems now that after i gave it a little tap (my dad taught me that technique years ago) its working fine.... it could be possible that it got jarred out of place or loose last week when i had to lay on the brakes cause some little punk in a ricer doesnt know what a big red eight sided sign means at the end of a roadad

once the tempature breaks im gonna get under there and make sure all is right

 

[Curtis]

my electrical problems were battery not charging, but alternator putting out 14.6 volts and turn over sluggish when trying to start the engine.

 

[petes74ttop]

Check the connections first.

Your alternator is putting out a little more that normal, should be about 13.8 heres a link to rebuild the alternator, your voltage regulator may be going, http://www.4wheelnoffroad.com/alter.html but before you get into that check that the connections at the battery, starter and alternator are clean and that the negative at the battery and frame and frame to block are good. PG.

 

[hotshotzny]

OK so my brake lights are working fine after using the age old family technique of tapping the switch with a hammer thumbthanks dad)

and for laughs i checked the negative battery cable.... turns out the terminal on the battery is stripped out, as soon as i touched the wire i lost contact... so after a few minutes of sweating my tukas off in that 26 year old sauna i managed to get it hooked up with what i think is a decent contact (temporary of course) and now my interior lights work right, my signal lights are working properly and in the same flash pattern but my dash lights are still not working right:ugh .... guess you cant win em all

updated...

this is a new quirk for my car... now the right front signal is working fine BUT only if the headlights are off..... if the headlights are on the front light will not flash.... im gonna get up under it tommorow and check the wiring (and the bulb to make sure its the right one) and see if i can get this thing right