The stock style pressure switch is installed in the stock master cylinder using new stock wiring, problem is, it takes considerable pedal force to activate the brake lights. The brake lights do work, but for normal driving situations, the brake pedal is eased on and off, and light pedal pressure should activate the lights, but thats not whats happening. I've installed two different pressure switches, same effect, easy pedal force, no brake lights. I know I could add a normally open electric switch to the brake pedal, but the pressure switch design should work. Just wondering if anyone else had the same problem and what was done to correct the problem. Maybe another vendor for a better quality pressure switch?
Try bleeding the switch. Loosen it enough to allow a small amount of fluid to leak when pushing the pedal from above, (or pulling from below), and tighten when you relax the pedal. Perform this a couple of times. Doing this improved the switch sensitivity on my '51.
A switch from Harley-Davidson may be what you need. However, these switches, over time, carbon up from arcing, leading to the exact syptoms you describe. I use a relay in my system to activate the lights and lessen the electrical load on the switch, which nearly eliminates the arcing. You may want to put a capacitor between the switch leads to absorb the arcing as another avenue of cure. Good Luck, Cosmo
Was going to try the HD switch as "bleeding" didn't seem to help...... what fixed my problem was to put some pedal slack back in the MC push rod. I had taken all the slack out of the pushrod to get a good hard pedal, so I shortened the rod adjuster about a quarter inch giving me some free pedal and my brake lights work just like they are supposed to. Thanks for all the suggestions.
Vintage Ford has a low pressure switch that is made specifically for the F1. Call them because it is nearly impossible to find stuff on their website. http://www.vintageford.com/
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