Following the advice Florida240sx gave me, I decided to start at the switch that the brake pedal contacts to operate the brake lights.

It wasn't hot like he had described his, but something was definitely wrong enough for me to check it out. I immediately noticed i was going to run into a problem. Between the brackets for the steering column and the brackets for the brake pedal, there was really no room to operate back there.

I started be removing the lower dash cover and kick panel and dropping the steering column all the way by removing the 2x 12mm bolts near the wheel and 2x 12mm nuts at the back on the bracket. This allowed me at least a couple extra inches to work with, but the brackets still prevented me from getting a 14mm open-end wrench on the nut I needed to remove to pull the switch.

I asked my dad what he thought about it, and he said it looked like a job for a crow's foot wrench, which I had never used before. We had to make a quick trip to O'Reilly's to pick up a set (they don't sell them separately).

Due to the extra "lip" and the fact that they are made about twice as thick as a regular wrench, it was difficult to muscle it onto the nut holding the replacement switch to what has now become a parts car more than anything else. The switch that I thought was bad was not so lucky; I grabbed it with RoboGrips and broke off the plastic box after messing with it for nearly 10 minutes.

*NOTE* there is a second switch on the right side of the brake pedal, identical except in color. I believe this is used for cruise control shutoff when the pedal is pressed, so if you don't have a CC-equipped car, it might not be there for you. If you do have it, it will need to be removed to access the left switch.

The new switch went in fine and my idle problems and burning smell seemed to be gone, but the brake lights were still stuck on. Dammit.

I re-inspected the switch with the intention to adjust it so the pedal bracket made contact with it correctly, and I made a discovery that both shocked and appalled me. The bracket itself was NOT what depresses the switch button operating the brake lights. A PLASTIC RIVET in the bracket itself is responsible for that. Sure enough, the plastic rivet on the donor car was fine, and the rivet on my other car was in pieces on the floor.

WHY DID NISSAN USE A PLASTIC RIVET THAT CANNOT BE REPLACED TO OPERATE THE BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH?!

I was a little more than frustrated at this point having realized I spent time and money replacing something that may not have been broken (I later realized the switch was bad too, possibly from the same thing that broke the rivet). I tried creating a new "rivet" out of zipties, but failed miserably. Then I dug through my toolbox and found a small nut and bolt and decided to try that out. After another 15 minutes of futzing around with the pedal and switch to get some clearance, I was able to get the hardware in place and give it a test. It works better than it used to and cost me nothing. I wonder why Nissan didn't use something a little sturdier or at least replaceable when they installed it in the first place...

*NOTE* DO NOT attempt to adjust the switch's contact point at 11pm in the dark, you will end up making the switch depress the brake pedal just enough to drag your rear caliper, and you will only figure it out after you have been driving down the freeway for 10 miles and the pressure in the system progressively builds. You will have to adjust it on your back in an empty church parking lot with your brake pads smoking while calling your boss to let them know you will be a few minutes late.

DIAGRAMS:

1. Wire harness plug (black)
2. Plastic switch body (lt blue and black)
3. Bracket
4. switch button
5. POS plastic rivet that pushes switch button

this is where the rivets are located on the brake pedal.

my solution: a small nut and bolt that goes in the bracket on the brake pedal shown above in place of the rivet.

I hope that saves you guys some time and trouble next time you are diagnosing brake light problems.

e

kinda like this

Modified by srpowered240sx at 9:30 AM 8/16/2007

...............................................its a plastic pop rivet......dont know how its silly.

ohhhhhhh, bastards. did that one work??

PS. about the other problems, i am thinking its time to replace some grounds in the engine bay to see if that will help the overall situation.

Quote, originally posted by JimmyMethod »

Plus she'd probably start bitching and crying about how "I wanted you to put it in my *****, THEN my ***, THEN my mouth! You ruined everything! My life is over!" I wouldn't want to deal with that ****.

You fixed the "Thread Title", but not your original "Post Title" (bold text at top of you post). And you also mis-spelled Exclusive.

Nico Exlusive: Brake Pedal Switch... OR SOMETHING MORE?!!!!

Quote, originally posted by dickie »

ah ****, im stupid. in my defense, it is spelled properly in all other instances of the thread

That just doesn't cut it. Your dumb. Trust me, I no what I am talking about when it comes to spelling.

by the way, i plan on making it look like an auto-erotic asphyxiation accident to spare my family the shame of my suicide.

please tell my mom this was not her fault.

Quote, originally posted by bone_stock_240 »

Trust me, I no what I am talking about when it comes to spelling.

KA-T why settle for anything less?

if i ever stumble across this problem in the future i knows how to fix it

1992 Nissan 240sx Hachback - Project (rb25det)
1990 Nissan 240sx Hatchback SE - DD

need misc s14/s13 5 speed stuff ?
http://forums.nicoclub.com/zer...n-abs

I guess the concept of irony is lost on you. That is ok, it is a pretty advanced concept.

.......not really. i go to google.....and search "asian porn". its easy, and rewarding.

Now I am confused. I guess that is what I get for trying to be ironic to poke fun at the situation. I remember in one of the threads, encryptshun or whatever his name was talked about the common misspellings that bothered him, and I said how much it bothered me too. From that point on, I made all of those errors deliberately, and it was just insane at how many people pointed out, "y0 dud3, its you're and not your, LOL pwnt"

And yes, I realize that I used "its" wrong. In case you didn't notice, that right their was a deliberate mistake.

any other suggestions?

Its going on 20 minutes and i still cant get the bolt in the hole!!!! ahhh back out to the car to try some more. I think i need to get my little sister to put it in for me. helpful thread BTW!

or get a girl friend to get down there while you push the pedal with your foot. then tell her, while shes down there..............to clean your floor mats.

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This site dedicated to the memory of Stacey Lynn Childs 1970-2007

First, at 5:30AM, when I was getting ready to leave for work, I have a dead battery. D-E-D dead. Dangit.

Call a cab to work, $20.

Rental car after work - $45

New battery ~$100. Mine was already pushing 5 years old, and though it had been performing well, this was the straw that broke the camel's back and it was unlikely to hold a charge.

Total with tax and all is up to about $175-180 I guess. Jeez... and I still haven't fixed it. I've been laying on my back, crawled up under the dash, but I can't get my big hands in there close enough to work on it... stupid brackets and crap in the way.

Just out of curiosity, is it possible that the switch on the other side of the brake pedal shaft (which appears to be a similar setup) could be the reason my cruise control doesn't work anymore???? That my cruise thinks I'm constantly on the brakes, because the switch is never depressed???? So it won't set???? The light on the dash comes on when I power the cruise, but it won't actually set at a holding speed.

My god, this whole thing would almost be worth it if I could just get my cruise control back!!!!!