BJ8 brake light not working?

[John_Progess]

Does the engine need to be running for the brake light to work on a BJ8 with servo? I was installing all the lights and checking them out. All the lights work but not the brake lights and I did not start the engine. 27 months of work but getting real close to being on the road! Thanks and have a good day!

John

 

[GregW]

Hi John,
No, the engine doesn't need to be running, but the key should be on to energize the electrical system. It is possible you have an air bubble in the brake light switch that keeps the fluid from pushing the contact. One thing you might try is pull the two wires off the switch and connect them together. You could use one of those inline fuses that have the wire tails on them to make the contact, just to be safe. The brake switch is between the master cylinder and the booster, so vacuum pressure shouldn't effect the switch.

 

[Patrick67BJ8]

Does the engine need to be running for the brake light to work on a BJ8 with servo? I was installing all the lights and checking them out. All the lights work but not the brake lights and I did not start the engine. 27 months of work but getting real close to being on the road! Thanks and have a good day!

John

Check the system out like Greg said and it is possible that the switch is bad. I've had two of them go bad in 35 years and finally switched to a mechanical one because they can be adjusted to turn the brake light on as soon as your foot touches the pedal. There's a lag when pushing down the brake pedal until you have enough pressure to make electrical connection in order for the lights to come on. You want traffic behind you to have plenty of warning your applying the brakes.
Patrick