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1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Early Eighties Bullnose Ford Truck

brake lights problem

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Old Sep 5, 2008 | 01:07 PM
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brake lights problem

My brake lights only come on when I hit the brakes pretty hard. Normal braking they do not come on. Is there a way to adjust them so I don't have to push the pedal down so far for them to come on? They work fine when I push the pedal down really far.

(truck in my sig)
 
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 06:56 AM
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Thats the tailgater removal option.

My truck is kind of the same way, pedal goes about 1/2 way before the lights come on. I heard the switch was adjustable but I haven't checked it out yet.
 
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 07:06 AM
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Yes, the switch is adjustable.

You just have to crawl under there and you'll see.
 
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 12:26 PM
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Whats the switch look like and how do you adjust it?
 
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 01:13 PM
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Crawl under there and look.

It's not rocket science.
 
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 01:57 PM
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Originally Posted by uncle.stosh
Crawl under there and look.

It's not rocket science.

ahh Thanks for your help... I know exactly what to look for...
 
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 02:12 PM
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It's a piece of plastic with two wires coming out of it and it's attached to the brake pedal.

Does that help?
 
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 02:26 PM
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little bit. I found a picture on autozone website.



Just don't know how to adjust it now.
 
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 03:15 PM
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LMC has new ones for $10 so i think ill just get a new one.
 
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Old Sep 6, 2008 | 04:57 PM
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I don't think they are adjustable. Ford has been using this type of switch on most of their vehicles for many years. I personally think it's a little bit of a rig, but it seems to work most of the time.

So when you take it apart, make sure you see how everything comes apart. Here's the rigged part of how it works. They have a very large hole in the booster rod. They have a very small pin in the pedal arm. So there is a sloppy fit between the booster rod and the pin on the pedal arm. The brake switch hangs in mid air off the pin on the pedal arm. It's a tight fit on the pedal arm, and when you push on the brake and take up the slop in the booster rod, it hits the brake switch and activates it.

The picture you have above shows this "slop" method of activating the switch.
 
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