Clutch activates brake lights????
Thread Starter
4th Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,486
From: San Diego, CA
Clutch activates brake lights????
When I push in my clutch, my brake lights go on...anyone else experienced this issue?
Model: Mustang GT
Year: 2008
Thanks.
Model: Mustang GT
Year: 2008
Thanks.
Last edited by Roy_R; Sep 3, 2010 at 03:20 PM.
Thread Starter
4th Gear Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 1,486
From: San Diego, CA
Oooh, looky what I found....
http://forums.themustangsource.com/f...lights-487146/
http://forums.themustangsource.com/f...lights-487146/
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.
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.
5th Gear Member
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 4,404
From: Texas
Get the GT500 pedal assembly; it also addresses the stuck fully depressed clutch pedal problem. I bet it will fix your brake light-from-flex problem too.
5th Gear Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,460
From: Cumming, GA
LOL ... yes that's my post from the other forum about my clutch pedal turning on the brake lights.
Is the GT500 Clutch pedal bracketry 100% metal ??
EDIT - FOUND THIS: Not sure about the 2008 ... but my 2010 uses the GT500 pedal assembly already. The 2011 uses something completely different ...
http://www.svtsnake.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48221
Is the GT500 Clutch pedal bracketry 100% metal ??
EDIT - FOUND THIS: Not sure about the 2008 ... but my 2010 uses the GT500 pedal assembly already. The 2011 uses something completely different ...
http://www.svtsnake.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48221
Last edited by dmhines; Sep 3, 2010 at 06:04 PM.
1st Gear Member
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 60
From: TX --> MI --> TX
same thing has happened to me. figured the pedal assembly was the issue. i would be interested what you find about the gt500 assembly. my clutch was squeaky and i had not been driving the car very much, so i figured it just was stiff and therefore causing the problem. with some more driving, it has stopped squeaking and my problem solved [i think!].
3rd Gear Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 847
From: ohio
I was shocked when I saw my brake lights come on when I pressed the clutch in. I have no idea how long this had been happening on my car either. I just saw it the other night. What a cheap setup from the factory that would allow the clutch pedal to flex the assembly enough to activate the brake lights.
Crazy stuff. Thanks for posting the fix....worked great.
Crazy stuff. Thanks for posting the fix....worked great.
