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The other day I was backed into the driveway and I noticed that when I press in the clutch, my break lights flash????? This doesn't happen all the time, as this morning I checked them and they are not flashing when I engage the clutch. Any suggestions? Thanks.
I did some more digging and found this in another thread. I will crawl under there and check it out first chance I get.
"Strange Problem. Clutch pedal is turning on the brake lights.
Went out tonight and while backing out my driveway I notice when I push in the clutch pedal my brake lights are coming on. Drive to the store and sure enough every time I clutch to shift the brake lights come on. I figure that must really be freaking folks out since I have no idea how long this has been going on.
When I get home I crawl under the dash to see what could be happening.
Unlike old cars that have a brake switch that is activated by pushing a plunger IN it seems the S197's have a brake switch that activates when the plunger is released.
There is a metal tab on the brake pedal that keeps the plunger in and when you depress the pedal the tab moves out with the pedal and the spring loaded plunger comes out and brake lights go on.
Well ... turns out the ONLY metal on the brake/clutch pedal mechanism are the pedals themselves. The entire bracket and housing is made out of PLASTIC. What was happening is pushing the clutch pedal in was causing the entire mechanism to flex just enough to cause the plunger on the brake pedal switch to come out.
It was only coming out a fraction of a millimeter but that was enough to make the brake light come on.
To fix it I slightly bent the tab on the brake pedal in toward the plunger. The brake lights still come on with very little brake pedal pressure but now the flex in the bracket when you push in the clutch is not enough to let the brakes lights come on."
So, I fixed this but not the way everyone else has. I was concerned about trying to bend the tab on the brake pedal arm, not to mention It's hard for me to get under there to even get to it. My solution was a very simple one and maybe this can help someone else down the line. Instead of bending the tab that contacts the switch to make it closer, I took a small rubber "foot thing" (not sure what to actually call it) that came with a network switch I purchased last year. These little rubber feet are included in case you want the unit to sit on a shelf/desk instead of being mounted in a rack. They come 4 to a sheet and are adhesive on the back, just peal off and stick. These are less than a 8th inch thick and heavy rubber. They have a 3M backing on them so I figure this is a long term fix because even when it's hot I doubt this will come off easily. All I had to do was push down the brake, stick the rubber foot thing on the tab (between the tab and the switch) and BINGO, no more flashing brake lights when I press on the clutch. Even if you don't have any of these, or can find some, you could get creative and find something similar. I thought that I could have used some Gorilla Tape cut into little squares and layered about 5 thick to get the same results. My only concern with the tape would be that over time a divot would develop from compressing the tape and you may have the problem come back. So I hope this helps someone to quickly fix this problem. Have a great day everyone. -David
2/2/18, 09:15 AM
