R33 brake lights stuck on

[mikep]

Hey all.

I searched the forum and found plenty of references to worn switches, but I'm not sure this is my issue because when I unplugged the connector from the brake pedal switch the lights remain on, the only way to get them to switch off was to remove the fuse.

 

Can someone tell me if the lights will come on/remain on if the brake light switch is disconnected, like as some sort of safety thing?

 

Otherwise, any ideas where to start looking for the problem?

 

Cheers,

Mike

 

[Duncan]

The brake switch pushes on a little rubber piece on the pedal itself; if that brakes or falls out, the lights stay on. Have a look at the clutch pedal in comparison and you'll see where the switch pushes

[GTSBoy]

On 2/14/2022 at 8:45 AM, Duncan said:

The brake switch pushes on a little rubber piece on the pedal itself; if that brakes or falls out, the lights stay on. Have a look at the clutch pedal in comparison and you'll see where the switch pushes

Whilst true....

On 2/14/2022 at 8:27 AM, mikep said:

when I unplugged the connector from the brake pedal switch the lights remain on

Opening the circuit should kill the lights.

This suggests a short. Which suggests that you should break out the multimeter and start fault finding.

[Duncan]

I don't have a car handy to swing around under, but definitely if the stop is missing/damaged or the switch is mis adjusted, the brake lights stay on rather than off. I've had to replace the rubber piece in 2 cars now for this reason (our old navara worked the same way)

[niZmO_Man]

Yep I grabbed a Navara one off eBay to "fix" my switch. It's reversed as Duncan said, brake lights stay on unless that rubber thing is there.

[GTSBoy]

Yes......but..... he disconnected the wiring to the switch and the lights stayed on. That's not correct. No wiring = no electrons bumbling along.

[niZmO_Man]

Look man I found some weird black thing under the pedal, looked like broken rubber bits. Then my brake light was on, I think I disconnected the switch then waited for the replacement rubber to arrive.

[GTSBoy]

I understand that. But this guy has unplugged his switch (same as your bypass to get around the missing rubber!) and his lights stayed on.

[niZmO_Man]

Yes I know what you said I was tired posting okay? I'm going to bed.

[mikep]

Thanks GTSBoy and all. I figured that disconnecting the switch should kill the lights, but wanted to 100% sure before I start looking for obvious shorts. Trust this weird random crap to happen to me! At least I know what i'll be doing for some of the weekend. Think i'll start by pulling off the interior panels in the boot, looking for shorts and also removing the globes one at a time to see if its a dodgy globe. Probably then disconnect the boot lid stop light.

 

On 2/14/2022 at 11:49 AM, GTSBoy said:

Whilst true....

Opening the circuit should kill the lights.

This suggests a short. Which suggests that you should break out the multimeter and start fault finding.

 

[mikep]

Managed to take a good look today, and found the remains of a 15mm round piece and a "mushroom" shaped piece of plastic. Really strange considering I had disconnected the plug from the switch and could see there was still one of these visible.

Turns out I should have looked harder. There are TWO switches, and the one I didn't see (its close to the steering wheel column) was missing that stopper. I haven't yet pulled that plug out, it's hard to get to, but i'd say thats the issue.

Why two switches though, redundancy? Some other function?

 

[Millerman]

Could be for Cruise control or gear shifter if auto

Edited February 19, 2022 by Millerman

[mikep]

On 2/19/2022 at 2:44 PM, Millerman said:

Could be for Cruise control or gear shifter if auto

It is an auto, but no cruise control. Was looking at some pics of someone's blog on the topic, and noticed that the second switch isn't installed in his, and that's a manual. On his car they put the switch in the hole furthest away, man I wish that was the one that broke on mine, if you reckon that ones hard to get at, when its closest to the steering column its a nightmare. Anyway, ordered the part from JustJap for about 1/3 what Nissan quoted and it'll be here in a couple of days. So that's a few hours of next weekend accounted for!

 

[Duncan]

In the meantime, if you need to drive, the wiring plug is probably identical (r32 clutch and brake switch are), so just move the wiring across to the working switch

[Millerman]

On 19/02/2022 at 7:46 PM, Duncan said:

In the meantime, if you need to drive, the wiring plug is probably identical (r32 clutch and brake switch are), so just move the wiring across to the working switch

Just be careful, its an auto you might not be able to release it from park if you swap the wiring

[TXSquirrel]

That small mushroom stopper is $10-$15 from Nissan now. I tried using a round top bolt and securing with a nut instead, it worked but made a metal clunking noise every time the pedal hit stopper, so I paid up.

[GTSBoy]

These threads always take a 90° turn before the end!

[mikep]

On 2/20/2022 at 4:29 AM, TXSquirrel said:

That small mushroom stopper is $10-$15 from Nissan now. I tried using a round top bolt and securing with a nut instead, it worked but made a metal clunking noise every time the pedal hit stopper, so I paid up.

Nissan Berwick quoted me about $30. JustJap have them for around $10ea

[mikep]

Ended up ordering from JustJap, price was decent at around $10ea and shipping was $25. Seeing as I was going to pay that much for the shipping, I figured I should get my moneys worth and bought the Nismo smoked side indicators lol

Anyway, glad I ordered two because the one that was left also disintegrated too 🤦‍♂️

I wasn't looking forward to replacing them because just to see what was going on I had to twist my body in a way no human being is meant to, and I knew it would be worse trying to get hands up there, and might also need a bracket to be removed from the steering wheel. 

Pro Tip: Forget about removing brackets and having to shove hands up in to spaces they don't fit very well. Get a long flat blade screwdriver, like the longest one you find in sets (the ones that are so massive you always wonder WTF is that even used for) some blu-tac and a really decent bright light.

Start the engine, this will allow you to easily push the brake pedal down. Put a decent amount of blu-tac on the flat surface of your new rubber stopper and put that on the end of your flat blade screwdriver. Put the screwdriver and light in the footwell. If you are working on a concrete driveway, get one of those kneeling pads Bunnings sell in the gardening area, your knee's will thank you...

Open driver door as far as it'll go, kneel down, turn on your light and push the brake pedal down far enough to give enough clearance between the tab that holds the stopper and the brake switch(es).

Carefully pick up the screw driver (so the rubber stopper doesn't fall off) and, using the kind of hand eye coordination you normally reserve for a game of championship darts at the pub, push the screwdriver with the stopper on the end up inside the dash and past the inconveniently placed steering column bracket, aiming the mushroom shaped end for the hole in the brake pedal tab. 

Once you think you've got it there, push the screwdriver hard so that mushroom shaped end is completely through that hole. 

Remove the screwdriver and if the stopper isn't on the end, or sitting back on the floor of the footwell, slowly let the brake pedal return to its normal position (I pulled it forwarded a little and held it for 10 sec).

Push the pedal back down and slide a finger to where the switches are and pull away the blu-tac and if you can, give each stopper a reassuring push.

And you're done. Grab a <insert drink of your choice>, make your mate press the brake pedal while you marvel at the awesomeness of your work at the rear of the car. 

Oh, and if you're wondering, the side indicators are removed by sliding it towards the front of the car and when its moved as far forward as it will go, slip a fingernail under the edge that's closest to the door and pull it out towards you. No tool needed. Twist the globe holder to remove from the old indicator body. Replace the clear bulb with the orange bulb in the Nismo package, put bulb holder in new clear indicator and twist to lock in and push the indicator gently back in to the panel. Easy.