'86 Brake light sensor

[ebradway]

The other day I had some yahoo tailgating me. When we came to a stop he screached up along side me just missing my rear end. He started yelling at me that my brake lights were out. When I got home I had a friend check and sure enough, the brake lights aren't coming on unless I press REALLY hard on the brake pedal.

I noticed in the Bentley manual that there are two sensors for the brake light. Does this mean that one of them has gone out? Any tips?

[movin]

Yep, I had the same problem with my '87, had to really bear down to activate the brake lights. I replaced both hydraulic switches, what a pain to get to the furthest back! 7/8" deep socket works. One thing, I could not find them anywhere except at Pelican, OEM German, not that Spanish or Brazilian crap out there that won't fit your plugs. Make sure to check what plug type you have before ordering, two pole or three pole. Don't forget to bleed all four wheel calipers to remove any air.

[This message has been edited by movin (edited 09-03-2001).]

[ebradway]

Anybody got a part number and price at Pelican Parts?

[DJB]

I also have exactly the same problem on my 86. Is there anyway of testing the switches?
Any recommendations for a power bleeding tool?

------------------
David
86 Wide Body Cab
Sydney, Australia

[jester911]

Man this must be a bug with the 86. My car also does this. Until this post I didnt realize the car wasnt like that from the start since I have only had it for a year.
Sometimes you learn things here that you may not want to know. Oh well looks like my todo list is getting longer by the day.


------------------
Jerry
'86 carrera coupe

[This message has been edited by jester911 (edited 09-04-2001).]

[movin]

You have to know which type of switch you have, two pole or three pole. In the Pelican on-line listing check the 911 parts, brake section, under cyl parts.

[ebradway]

I need to let off some steam here...

Why are there two different types of switches? Now I have to partially disassemble my master cylinder to find out which one I need. This is in my daily driver! Does that mean I'm going to have to pull a switch (assuming they are both the same!) to check it and then replace it, bleed the brakes, and then order the parts? Do I need one or both?

Of course, without looking, I'm sure my car has the $35 three-pole switches as opposed to the $21 two-pole switches. And of course, I have to have two of them. So it's $70+s&h as opposed to $42.

For a daily driver this is a must. It's actually more important than getting my leaky top fixed. Grrr....

[jester911]

Hey I'm with you Ebradway. I was wondering the same thing about having to take out the switch to know which one I have. Any of you guys out there know a short cut in figuring out the proper switch without removing it?
tia


------------------
Jerry
'86 carrera coupe

[movin]

No you don't have to remove the switches, just pull the electrical connector off one of them to see how many poles or terminals there are. You can reconnect the connector, order your parts, and install whenever you receive the new switches.

[This message has been edited by movin (edited 09-04-2001).]

[ebradway]

I found another discussion over on rennlist. They are claiming that the 3-prong was primarily used in the 930 master cylinder. They are also claiming (to varying degrees of success) that they are interchangeable.

I'll be checking mine as soon as I get rid of this head-cold.

-Eric

[jester911]

I verified that mine is the 2-prong switch over the weekend so I ordered 2 from here.
It isn't real easy to get to. I had to remove the panel covering the duct work and even had to take one of the clamps loose on the duct to access it.
On these cars it seems many times the challenge is more getting to the work than actually doing it.

------------------
Jerry
'86 carrera coupe

[ebradway]

I think the Rennlist guys may be onto something. GRanted, it's not a very big sample, but if I've got the two-prong plug too it may be pretty safe to assume that 3.2l 86's have the two-prong plug while the Turbo 930 has the three-prong plug.

------------------
Eric Bradway
'86 911 Targa
http://www.bradway.net/porsche

[Kevin Stewart]

I had this same problem with my 82 SC, I just replaced the master cylinder because it came with the switches, believe me its easier then trying to get a wrench on them switches, and if they have been on that long its probably time to replace it all anyway,

[JDaniel]

You are kidding right? Did you actually replace the MC because it was "easier" than getting a wrench on the brake switches?

When I did this I found there was some minor dis-assembly of air hoses and such to get to the switches, but overall the task was pretty easy. I think you just need the right tool.

Odd how when I ordered the 2 switches (about 2 years ago from performance) they were $4.78 ea.

------------------
Dan Tolley
1987 911 Coupe
http://www.cheaterswayside.com/911/gallery.asp?sort=0&userid=294

[Kmatts]

Guys,
I am having the same problem on my 78 SC. I have to get on the brakes quite hard before the brake light comes on. However, I'm having some difficulty with the Reverse lights as well. Could someone tell me more specifically how to check for this. I don't know the car very well and am not to mechanicaly inclined. I will check the tail lights tonight for a possible short/ground.
thanks.

[ebradway]

I just ordered from Performance Products. I prefer to order from Pelican but their price was better and I'm watching my pennies right now.

[ebradway]

Oh yeah... I forgot to mention - I had to replace my spark plugs recently but it was easier to just swap out the engine with a new one. Since the old engine had so many miles on it, it probably needed it anyway.

(P.S. That is a joke...)