Brake Light Switches

louisville911 · 04-19-2010, 04:21 AM

After a little research, it is time to replace the two brake light switches on my 85 911 (brake lights are not coming on until pedal depressed a couple of inches). Forgive the stupid question but, will I need to bleed the brakes once this is done? Thanks.

JeremyD · JeremyD's Garage

Yes. Search on the topic - several good threads. The good side is you don't have to remove the MC to replace. The bad news is it a bit of a pisser to get at.

Targa Me · Targa Me's Garage

Actually I've replaced those 2 switches without needing to bleed the brakes.
Find yourself a 2x4 or broom handle cut to the right length (sorry, i don't know what that is at the moment); to press the brake peddle about 1 inch, doing this closes off the system and a minimal amount of brake fluid is lost.
Also, if you do bleed the brakes, invest in one-way check valve bleeders, that make bleeding the brakes a whole lot easier.

gtc · gtc's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Targa Me

Actually I've replaced those 2 switches without needing to bleed the brakes.
Find yourself a 2x4 or broom handle cut to the right length (sorry, i don't know what that is at the moment); to press the brake peddle about 1 inch, doing this closes off the system and a minimal amount of brake fluid is lost.
Also, if you do bleed the brakes, invest in one-way check valve bleeders, that make bleeding the brakes a whole lot easier.

+1, I've also done it without bleeding the brakes. Also, in case you haven't read about it, you may need to remove the plastic connectors from your wiring harness. The switches were changed at some point, and the "adapter" that pelican's catalog refers to is NLA. Just pop the spades terminals out of the connectors and plug them onto the switches directly.

Por_sha911 · Por_sha911's Garage

Is it possible to replace the switches without bleeding the brakes? Yes.
Is it better to bleed them? TO be on the safe side, yes. Besides, if the fluid is more than two or three years old you really should do a flush of the system anyway. Why have world class brakes and bad fluid (which equals poor braking)?
p.s. The search button is your friend.