The Roadster Factory Recovery Fund - Friends, as you may have heard, The Roadster Factory, a respected British Car Parts business in PA, suffered a total loss in a fire on Christmas Day. Read about it, discuss or ask questions >> HERE. The Triumph Register of America is sponsoring a fund raiser to help TRF get back on their feet. If you can help, vist >> their GoFundMe page.
Hey there Guest! If you enjoy BCF and find our forum a useful resource, if you appreciate not having ads pop up all over the place and you want to ensure we can stay online - Please consider supporting with an "optional" low-cost annual subscription.
Hey there Guest - be sure to keep your profile page up to date with interesting info about yourself: learn more
What the heck is that "Resources" tab up there all about? Learn more
More tips and tricks on Posting and Replying: click
Everything you've ever wanted to know about bookmarks, but were afraid to ask: Learn More
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the smilie in place of the real @
Want to mention another member in a post & get their attention? WATCH THIS
So, you created a "Group" here at BCF and would like to invite other members to join? Watch this!
Hey Guest - A post a day keeps Basil from visiting you in the small hours and putting a bat up your nightdress!
Hey Guest - do you know of an upcoming British car event? Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> Here's How <<
Hey Guest - you be stylin' Change the look and feel of the forum to fit your taste. Check it out
If you run across an inappropriate post, for example a post that breaks our rules or looks like it might be spam, you can report the post to the moderators: Learn More
I had this problem. On my BJ8 there's a switch mechanism on the brake pedal hinge. When you press the pedal a follower rolls around a roller and activates a microswitch. On mine the follower had come off the roller.
I've not explained that well but have a look at the pedal hinge and if it's the same as mine you'll see what I mean.
AJ
These cars have a hydraulic pressure switch in the system that can fail with age. Look below the generator to where there is a junction block for the brake lines and you'll see the switch with two wires on it. Once you get to it it's simple to replace, but you should bleed the brakes afterwards.
I've gotten a few, uh, "heads up" from other drivers who think my brake lights aren't working (they do). I think it's partly because, unlike a lot of drivers, I don't accelerate to stop lights/signs and slam on the brakes at the last second; I prefer to coast in gear and often don't even have to brake at stoplights if I time them right (I also get my rear end ridden by people who, for some reason, are in a real hurry to stop). But, to be sure, my lights don't come on until I've applied a fair amount of pressure--maybe 5-10 pounds--on the pedal, so if I just lightly apply them they might not light. I think this may just be the nature of the switch and I suspect the rubber diaphragm in the switches stiffens with age. I heard about this item on the emailing list and bought one:
I haven't installed it yet, so can't say if it's an improvement (the connector setup is a bit wonky). Also, Roger Moment wrote an article about the brake switch problem in a recent edition of Austin-Healey Magazine in which he described a setup with a microswitch (not original to these cars). I also bought the microswitch, but the installation looks like a PITA and I'm hoping the more sensitive switch solves the problem.
Go to your trust workshop manual and follow the wiring diagram for the brake lights, then check the wiring to that rectangular relay box on the inside wing (fender) release the screws and wiggle the connections and re-tighten, that is, if your pressure switch is fine. If the lights come on then I would suggest that you clean up all the wiring connections to the box and treat them to some vaseline.
Later BJ8s (he says he has a '67, but the "year" of a Healey is mostly meaningless) do not have that relay on the inner fender. The failure to come on when the brake pedal is pressed could be due to the bulbs, the light sockets (corrosion), the wiring (loose connections), but is most likely the brake pressure switch on the right inner fender. I got tired of replacing this switch, only to have the replacements fail in a short time. I replaced the pressure switch with a mechanical (adjustable) switch that operates off the brake pedal. It has the arm and roller described by mgtf328. That switch has operated just fine now since 2006.
I was thinking that a mercury switch would be easier to install and more reliable than one with mechanical contacts but apparently they are no longer available, understandable casualties of environmental/safety considerations.
As a boy I had a vial of mercury, as did most of my friends, which I think I swiped from my high school chemistry lab. Great stuff for shining up coins and spattering/shattering with a hammer. I know I handled and no doubt ingested/absorbed relatively large quantities of the stuff with no apparent effect....:single_eye:
I was thinking that a mercury switch would be easier to install and more reliable than one with mechanical contacts but apparently they are no longer available, understandable casualties of environmental/safety considerations.
As a boy I had a vial of mercury, as did most of my friends, which I think I swiped from my high school chemistry lab. Great stuff for shining up coins and spattering/shattering with a hammer. I know I handled and no doubt ingested/absorbed relatively large quantities of the stuff with no apparent effect....:single_eye:
Michael, I think everyone our age played with mercury at some point in our young lives. I remember busting the Hg out of thermometers. It was fascinating stuff.
Watsons StreetWorks, where my mechanical switch came from, says that pressure switches fail because they don't "wipe" the contacts and over time they carbon up. The mechanical switches do wipe the contacts, and therefore last longer. That's what they say. I only know that my stock pressure switches did fail too soon after installation, but the mechanical switch is still doing its thing 13 years later. Looks like the current version is $4 less than I paid in 2006.
I installed a mechanical switch several years ago and it has worked flawlessly. A mechanical switch will activate the brakes lights with light pressure compared to the original switch. This alerts people behind you much faster that you are braking.
Later BJ8s (he says he has a '67, but the "year" of a Healey is mostly meaningless) do not have that relay on the inner fender. The failure to come on when the brake pedal is pressed could be due to the bulbs, the light sockets (corrosion), the wiring (loose connections), but is most likely the brake pressure switch on the right inner fender. I got tired of replacing this switch, only to have the replacements fail in a short time. I replaced the pressure switch with a mechanical (adjustable) switch that operates off the brake pedal. It has the arm and roller described by mgtf328. That switch has operated just fine now since 2006.
Your setup looks a lot more professional than Roger's TBH. He used a microswitch with a long(ish) lever that just laid across the pedal shaft. I'm gonna try the 'extra sensitive' hydraulic switch then do a mechanical if that doesn't work. I think I've only had one failure of the hydraulic switch in 35 years/150K miles.
Maybe you guys are right and the mercury had some effect....
But in fairness to ME I would like to point out that I only have one street car (the Healey)and I AM trying to sell the Courier (really) and recently reduced its price to $22K which should be a steal, though I cannot find any thieves.
I might have you beat. My grandfather was a dentist. He used to give us mercury which we duly abused as most kids who got their hands on it. I have you beat because in the basement of our my childhood victorian house was an old coal burning boiler ( not in use for many years) covered in this white flakey stuff. When we couldn't find anymore stray pieces of coal to throw, my brother and I used to break off chunks and throw the white stuff at each other. Yup, asbestos. Between the mercury and that I figure I'm doomed. So far so good. We also rode bikes without helmets and made our own skateboards when kneepads were only worn by wrestlers.
A friend of mine's family owned a shoe store in Annapolis which had one of those fluoroscopes that would show your feet in your prospective shoes. It was deactivated--probably banned--some time in the 1960's but Jerry tells me that he and his friends would go into the store's basement and play with the machines for hours x-raying their hands, feet, etc. etc. Check it out: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoe-fitting_fluoroscope
A friendly reminder - be careful what links you click on here. If a link is posted by someone you don't know, or the URL looks fishy, DON'T CLICK. Spammers sometimes post links that lead to sites that can infect your computer, so be mindful what you click.
(Click X in the upper-right to dismiss this notice)
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.