early 28 brake light swtich
- Thread starter Jim Mason
- Start date
Bick in New Zealand
Well-known member
Gary Karr
Well-known member
Bick, those were my pictures. I recognize the hideous pink towel! Jim, if you need any additional shots, circle back to me. You may remember this switch as one of the two I bought off of EBay several years ago and was criticized on one of the sites for paying what I did for them!
Jim Mason
Well-known member
Yeah I remember, I said I had two for sale for less than you paid for one and couldn't sell them. that was years before. now I wish I could find one. Seems you got a steal for whatever price you paid. I'm trying to develop a plan on how to remove the ribs, and move the tabs on a later one, and still have a functional switch. lot easier to buy.
I also remember walking past sheet metal and scoffing at the price in the 70's...oh to find those prices again
I also remember walking past sheet metal and scoffing at the price in the 70's...oh to find those prices again
Bick in New Zealand
Well-known member
Thanks Gary, have changed file name so I will know next time. Prices in the 70's.... yep, yep, yep.... trouble was I had a mortgage, three young kids, and a beginning teacher's salary... still couldn't afford them!
DaWizard
BANNED
WORD OF CAUTION !!!
Be sure you have a fuse inline as this type of switch CAN short out IF you pull the rod into the housing. It takes your tongue in the right place and adjusting just so to get the pedal travel to switch movement correct. I recommend using a spring between the pedal clevis pin and the switch to keep from pulling the switch rod too far.
I also think there should be a fuse inline with both wires to keep from frying things.
Be sure you have a fuse inline as this type of switch CAN short out IF you pull the rod into the housing. It takes your tongue in the right place and adjusting just so to get the pedal travel to switch movement correct. I recommend using a spring between the pedal clevis pin and the switch to keep from pulling the switch rod too far.
I also think there should be a fuse inline with both wires to keep from frying things.
Charles Reese
Well-known member
Just to add detail to Mr. Karr's photos.
Attachments
Hi all. I tried to install an LED brake light bar today thinking it could't be that tough. I even got a new brake light switch that looks like the photos above. I have a 1929 Tudor sedan.
Anyway, the switch that was in theredid not look quite like these but I attached wires to the positive and then to a ground. Nothing. I thought I may have gotten them wrong so I switched and the brake light came on constantly. So then, I think I messed up. I pulled the little pin part of the switch back towards the back of the car to see if it would do anything and it looks like I may have shorted it as nothing wants to come on at all now. Crap! I am charging the battery now as it was pretty low but I'm scared I did something really bad. Any thoughts? Thanks
Anyway, the switch that was in theredid not look quite like these but I attached wires to the positive and then to a ground. Nothing. I thought I may have gotten them wrong so I switched and the brake light came on constantly. So then, I think I messed up. I pulled the little pin part of the switch back towards the back of the car to see if it would do anything and it looks like I may have shorted it as nothing wants to come on at all now. Crap! I am charging the battery now as it was pretty low but I'm scared I did something really bad. Any thoughts? Thanks
Tom Wesenberg
Well-known member
I'm not understanding exactly what you did, so I'll just comment on the path for the original brake light. First of all remember that the Model A has + ground, so hopefully your LED has two wires, so you can ground the + wire, then run power to the negative wire.
Now for the brake switch, be sure neither terminal makes contact to the switch body whether the switch is off or pulled on. Your wire harness should have two green wires going to the brake switch, and it doesn't matter which one goes to which terminal. One green wire has power at all times, then feeds it to the other green brake light wire when the switch is pulled on.
Now for the brake switch, be sure neither terminal makes contact to the switch body whether the switch is off or pulled on. Your wire harness should have two green wires going to the brake switch, and it doesn't matter which one goes to which terminal. One green wire has power at all times, then feeds it to the other green brake light wire when the switch is pulled on.
DaWizard
BANNED
Exactly, and the +wire of the LED light hooks to chassis, and the -wire from the LED hooks to the NOT CONSTANT wire on the brake light switch.
That way, when you apply the brake the switch energizes the LED light along with the brake light.
Be very careful with the adjustment of the switch to pedal, if depressing the pedal pulls the rod through the back hole in the switch, it WILL short out and burn up the brake light wiring and possibly the rest of the harness to the headlight switch if you don't have a fuse somewhere between the wiring and the battery.
ughh, well that's what I'm worried has happened. I think I hooked it up in reverse and when I pulled the rod through I saw a tiny spark and then nothing on the car would come on, no lights, nothin. Super. The frustration is that the reason I wanted to do this was that my brake lights weren't lighting in the first place and I thought this might be a better route.
So what is the plan now? After the battery is fully charged, I can try and figure out what if anything has power with the voltmeter? Forgive the super basic question but, are there no fuses at all on a Model A? Seems like it's so well designed in other ways. I would really like to get it started and then bring it over to someone who knows more than I at a classic car shop but I fear there may be a tow truck in my future.
So what is the plan now? After the battery is fully charged, I can try and figure out what if anything has power with the voltmeter? Forgive the super basic question but, are there no fuses at all on a Model A? Seems like it's so well designed in other ways. I would really like to get it started and then bring it over to someone who knows more than I at a classic car shop but I fear there may be a tow truck in my future.
DaWizard
BANNED
Providing the car is all original, there are NO fuses at all within the wiring.
Where are you at?
Now, IF the previous owner took the time and money, there could be one mounted on the starter switch, if not, you toasted the wire from the headlight switch to the brake light switch.
Cross your fingers that if the latter happened, it was only one wire toasted and not the whole bundle to the headlight switch.
Where are you at?
Now, IF the previous owner took the time and money, there could be one mounted on the starter switch, if not, you toasted the wire from the headlight switch to the brake light switch.
Cross your fingers that if the latter happened, it was only one wire toasted and not the whole bundle to the headlight switch.
I'm in Clearwater Florida. The car was converted to 12V so I can pray that he also put in a fuse. Will it be obvious when I look at the starter? Is it an in line fuse I can just switch out?
If I did fry the whole bundle, can I still start the car if the battery is good?
I wish there was a Model A community here to help me learn but I just found a shop nearby today that does work on Brass Era cars and others so maybe I need to make some friends over there
I still think it's odd that they didn't put in fuses, but I'll have to let that go. Happy New Year!
If I did fry the whole bundle, can I still start the car if the battery is good?
I wish there was a Model A community here to help me learn but I just found a shop nearby today that does work on Brass Era cars and others so maybe I need to make some friends over there
I still think it's odd that they didn't put in fuses, but I'll have to let that go. Happy New Year!