Brake switch tip

[Dennis]

Got this from the Healey List.  Might be of interest to some of
you...........Dennis
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LBCarCo Tech Tips - Each Chatter a New Reader Submitted Tech Tip!
Our Tech Tip this issues tip is from Dan Lamprecht. Thanks Dan ($20.00 will be
credited to your LBCarCo account) Please contact us ASAP for further info.

Brake Switch For Silicone Fluid (DOT5)

There are benefits to using DOT 5 silicone brake fluid, including no
absorption of water into your brake lines and no lifting of paint when it
spills or leaks. Silicone fluid works great as long as you dono?=t mix it with
any other type of fluid, and introduce it into a clean, dry system with new
rubber seals throughout. But a typical problem many LBC enthusiasts have
complained about is that this silicone fluid is many times not compatible with
the hydraulic brake light switches used in our older cars. The switch may work
for a while, but in a short time you may notice that it takes heavy pedal
force to turn the brake lights on, if at all.

Discovering that Harley Davidson uses silicone brake fluid exclusively in
their late model bikes, it seemed likely that a Harley switch should be
compatible with silicone brake fluid while also being designed to operate with
the relatively light pedal force used with motorcycles. I went to the local
Harley dealer and purchased 72023-51D BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH KIT REAR. The pipe
threads are identical, and the Harley switch has the same 1/4 inch Lucar
terminals typically found on our carso?= stock switches. It works great as a
low pressure hydraulic brake light switch designed to be used with silicone
fluid, while it has a relatively stock appearance on our classic cars.



Tech Tip this issues tip is from Dan Lamprecht. Thanks Dan ($20.00 will be
credited to your LBCarCo account) Please contact us ASAP for further info.

Brake Switch For Silicone Fluid (DOT5)

There are benefits to using DOT 5 silicone brake fluid, including no
absorption of water into your brake lines and no lifting of paint when it
spills or leaks. Silicone fluid works great as long as you dono?=t mix it with
any other type of fluid, and introduce it into a clean, dry system with new
rubber seals throughout. But a typical problem many LBC enthusiasts have
complained about is that this silicone fluid is many times not compatible with
the hydraulic brake light switches used in our older cars. The switch may work
for a while, but in a short time you may notice that it takes heavy pedal
force to turn the brake lights on, if at all.

Discovering that Harley Davidson uses silicone brake fluid exclusively in
their late model bikes, it seemed likely that a Harley switch should be
compatible with silicone brake fluid while also being designed to operate with
the relatively light pedal force used with motorcycles. I went to the local
Harley dealer and purchased 72023-51D BRAKE LIGHT SWITCH KIT REAR. The pipe
threads are identical, and the Harley switch has the same 1/4 inch Lucar
terminals typically found on our carso?= stock switches. It works great as a
low pressure hydraulic brake light switch designed to be used with silicone
fluid, while it has a relatively stock appearance on our classic cars.