Brake light woes...

[paulyz]

Hi all, I have a 1999 XM Exclusive 2.1td auto. It's only been back on the road for a few weeks and about a week ago I started having trouble with the brake lights. Basically they don't come on when I use the brake pedal in a normal way. I've learnt that there's a specific way to press the brake pedal so that the lights operate. The way I have to press the pedal is by angling my foot to the side and applying pressure directly to the middle of the pedal. Is this likely to be an issue with the brake switch which could be easily remedied by changing it for a new one, or is there likely to be another issue?
Thanks,
Paul

[Dieselman]

The brake lam switch is inside the pedal pad. Either the contacts are slightly burned, or they are not contacting properly.
The pad can be opened and the switch contacts cleaned/reformed, as required.

The pad is held on to the metal pedal by a 10mm nut, accessed from behind.

[xantia_v6]

You will likely find that the contacts have been hot and partly melted the plastic protrusion that presses the moving contact.

I fixed that by drilling a hole (about 2 mm diameter) through the he protrusion and fitting a small self tapping screw which I ground off to the correct length.

[paulyz]

You will likely find that the contacts have been hot and partly melted the plastic protrusion that presses the moving contact.

I fixed that by drilling a hole (about 2 mm diameter) through the he protrusion and fitting a small self tapping screw which I ground off to the correct length.

Thanks both!! I did indeed find that the plastic protrusion was the problem. My fix wasn't quite as sophisticated as yours. I put a couple of little layers of Gorilla tape over it and it's done the job for now.

[Dieselman]

How well does Gorilla tape stand any heat generated in the contacts, if arcing, or imperfect contact?