Chriskaw440 Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 My 1990 SE decided to have mysterious brake lights...after coming home from the gym tonight, and parking the pathy....a little while later, the brake lights came on by themselves...while truck not running. I figured it has to be a brake light switch on the brake pedal assembly. There are two of them that look identical. I unplugged the right hand one and the lights went out/off. unplugged the left hand one and plugged the right hand one back in, lights came back on. I have never had to deal with these before so I am wondering if I have to replace BOTH switches, or just the left hand one. They are inexpensive and available on rockautoparts.com ps...the brake lights stayed on whether the brake pedal was depressed or not. Im thinking the switch just shorted out/went bad? thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackspawn Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 (edited) My rig did the same thing. I found out that the little rubber stopper on the pedal that push in the switch got brittle and fell off causing the brake lights to stay on.. Look and see if yours have a gap between the pedal and the switch,if so you need to replace that little 0.50 piece.. Edited June 10, 2011 by blackspawn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriskaw440 Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 My rig did the same thing. I found out that the little rubber stopper on the pedal that push in the switch got brittle and fell off causing the brake lights to stay on.. Look and see if yours have a gap between the pedal and the switch,if so you need to replace that little 0.50 piece.. ah thanks...will check in the morning (call of duty black ops is calling my name at the moment LOL) If it is the switch thats bad at least they are super cheap $$ -Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriskaw440 Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 You hit the nail on the head....went out to check the brake pedal...and where there normally would be TWO round hard rubber pads that depress the brake light switch(es)....are gone. I found the broken up pieces in my floor mat. Now to come up with a quick fix. How did you fix yours? I kinda doubt you can actually order those pads?? thanks again...you saved me from ordering parts I didn't need. -Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 One is the brake light switch, and the other is the cruise control cancel. obviously the one that makes the brake lights turn off when unplugged is going to be the brake light switch. You're probably best off buying a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriskaw440 Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 One is the brake light switch, and the other is the cruise control cancel. obviously the one that makes the brake lights turn off when unplugged is going to be the brake light switch. You're probably best off buying a new one. thanks Dennis...it looks like its the pad on the brake pedal that broke off is the problem. Since both of the pads are missing for each switch, this may be my answer as to why my cruise control hasn't worked in years also! it probably fell off the pedal a long time ago.....now both have broken off so the both switches are not being activated when the pedal is in the full-up rest position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Glad I was able to help, and I'm sure your cruise control has been really confused with you "riding the brakes" all the time! Get those pads replaced and you'll be good to go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahardb0dy Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 I had the same problem on my Sentra, one day I noticed what looked like a broken tan lifesaver on the floor, turned out it was the rubber part, had to rig something up until I got the replacements. The new Nissan ones are a greenish material, I always keep an extra one in the car as it is the same rubber part that is used for the clutch pedal that lets the car start. Always better to order a few extra and keep one in the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 (edited) both of mine fell out too. I used a plastic body rivet to replace them. Just find one that fits snug in the hole. You probably will have to re adjust the switch after. The button on the switch should be pressed all the way in but should not stop the pedal from coming all the way up. Lowes has a good selection of these. James Edited June 10, 2011 by JamesRich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriskaw440 Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 both of mine fell out too. I used a plastic body rivet to replace them. Just find one that fits snug in the hole. You probably will have to re adjust the switch after. The button on the switch should be pressed all the way in but should not stop the pedal from coming all the way up. Lowes has a good selection of these. James Thanks for the help. My local Nissan dealership wanted $5.25 for each OEM rubber stopper...and was out of stock. I ordered 3 from Z1 Motorsports in Georgia (I'm in South Carolina) for $3.23 each. I borrowed one from the clutch pedal that did not have any switch (in the up position)and put it on the brake pedal for the brake lights for now. The back tab of course mostly broke off when I pried it off the clutch pedal since its brittle from age...so I placed a dab of liquid nails adhesive on it to ensure it would stay in place for the time being on the brake pedal. Seems that over the years, as of last night, ALL the rubber stoppers on all the pedals had broken off except for two of the three stoppers on the clutch pedal. The clutch interlock one was missing too but my interlock is bypassed anyway. thanks again. (what stinks is, the shipping for these things costs more than the three rubber stoppers do!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cachefinder Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Thanks for the help. My local Nissan dealership wanted $5.25 for each OEM rubber stopper...and was out of stock. I ordered 3 from Z1 Motorsports in Georgia (I'm in South Carolina) for $3.23 each. I borrowed one from the clutch pedal that did not have any switch (in the up position)and put it on the brake pedal for the brake lights for now. The back tab of course mostly broke off when I pried it off the clutch pedal since its brittle from age...so I placed a dab of liquid nails adhesive on it to ensure it would stay in place for the time being on the brake pedal. Seems that over the years, as of last night, ALL the rubber stoppers on all the pedals had broken off except for two of the three stoppers on the clutch pedal. The clutch interlock one was missing too but my interlock is bypassed anyway. thanks again. (what stinks is, the shipping for these things costs more than the three rubber stoppers do!) Irmo, SC...I'm just up the road in Prosperity/ work in Columbia. I have had the same problem recently and am waiting on a delivery from Nissan Parts Zone...Even cheaper but shipping would be a deal killer if you didn't need other stuff...As a temp fix I slapped in a couple of the cheap panel plugs...works like a charm. Note too that if you have a 5-speed, there is a similar bumper on the clutch pedal that can prevent your truck from starting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriskaw440 Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 Irmo, SC...I'm just up the road in Prosperity/ work in Columbia. I have had the same problem recently and am waiting on a delivery from Nissan Parts Zone...Even cheaper but shipping would be a deal killer if you didn't need other stuff...As a temp fix I slapped in a couple of the cheap panel plugs...works like a charm. Note too that if you have a 5-speed, there is a similar bumper on the clutch pedal that can prevent your truck from starting... Hi there neighbor LOL. Yeah the shipping cost more than the three rubber stops but I couldn't find any locally and would cost me as much in gas to go to a dealership that did have them. Mine is a 5 speed and sure enough, all the rubber stops were gone except for the square one on the clutch pedal and the unused round one on the clutch pedal. As I mentioned earlier, my clutch interlock switch has been bypassed since last year but I did notice that that one was gone too. I live just off the Peak Exit on 26. -Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cachefinder Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Hi there neighbor LOL. Yeah the shipping cost more than the three rubber stops but I couldn't find any locally and would cost me as much in gas to go to a dealership that did have them. Mine is a 5 speed and sure enough, all the rubber stops were gone except for the square one on the clutch pedal and the unused round one on the clutch pedal. As I mentioned earlier, my clutch interlock switch has been bypassed since last year but I did notice that that one was gone too. I live just off the Peak Exit on 26. -Chris I'm back in the woods near Blacks Bridge off hwy 194. Getting ready to run up I26 to claim the kids in Pomaria, I usually take that exit to avoid the freeway and enjoy the country on 176...I'll toot my horn at ya on the fly-by! Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 odd. being as your truck is a five speed, and I'll assume has cruise? there should be a cruise cancel switch on the clutch pedal as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriskaw440 Posted June 11, 2011 Author Share Posted June 11, 2011 odd. being as your truck is a five speed, and I'll assume has cruise? there should be a cruise cancel switch on the clutch pedal as well... yes it's a 5 speed, and there are two switches on the clutch pedal...one on the floor (interlock), one up by where the brake light switches would be (the rubber stop/bumper on that one is square shaped), and there is a space/mount where another switch would be, next to that one, but there is none, so it looks like in some cases, there would be a total of three switches for the clutch pedal. I'm figuring that the switch it does have under the dash, which rests on the square rubber stop on the pedal, is the other cruise control switch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 a small screw and a beer top is how i fixed mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriskaw440 Posted June 11, 2011 Author Share Posted June 11, 2011 my little green colored rubber stoppers arrived today. All is good again AND thanks to this little brake light issue, the cruise control is back in good working order. Oh the benefits of belonging to a good group like this! thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headpeace Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 got home today, parked in the garage, went out bring the trash can in from the street and when I turned around - my brake lights were on! WTF?? Thanks to this thread I easily fixed the problem, the rubber pad was lying on the floorboard. I put a small bolt I found through the hole with a nut on the end a now I'm back in business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted April 23, 2015 Share Posted April 23, 2015 Proof the search function works! Cue someone complaining about the threads age and me deleting it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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