Sometimes these Mavericks can just drive you crazy. Case in point-we removed the entire dash from the 1976 Maverick we just restored. As usual, the back of the circuit board turned to white dust ( thank you Ford for another dumb assed idea ). We replaced it with a good one from a 1974 Maverick using the original circuit board from the 1976 Maverick. Everything seems to be working at that end, so I'm not sure if it's related the actual problem we are having or not. The problem: the brake lights will not go out. The turn signals work as do the running lights. We are on the third new brake light switch along with the original one ( which worked, BTW ) and still the brake lights will not go out. Dale is ready to pull out what's left of his hair right about now. The switch's are being installed correctly, so what less could be causing this problem? Dale needs what little hair he has. If it helps, the master cylinder was also replaced.
Do the lights stay on with the brake light switch disconnected? Perhaps there is a short in the wiring.
Problem Solved! I can't believe Dale found the problem just after I posted this. It did take two days to find out what the problem was. So what was the problem? The rod on the new master cylinder was about a 1/16th inch too long. The solution? File the hole in the brake light switch slightly bigger so the rod fits better and now the brake lights go out. I checked and the master cylinder is correct for the car. So if anyone else ever encounters this problem and it's not the brake switch, check the length of the rod on the master cylinder. One thing's for sure... we have plenty of brake light switches now. Oh, and Dale won't get any balder for the time being.
I know this is an old thread... but would it be better to file some off of the end of the pushrod instead? I'm having the same problem. Just brainstorming
Lol I just went through all of this with my Grabber and still working on getting brakes back after swapping rods!
mine has an adjustable rod..... I thought the problem was the metal on the eyelet of the pushrod (part that fits on the brake pedal) being too thick - making it too tight with the brake light switch. Is this not the case?
I know on mine it was the pushrod was too long and causing the brakes to be applied slightly all the time and keeping the brake lights on all the time, put on one 1/4 inch shorter and the brake lights work fine now but I have no brakes, gotta figure that one out still.
Oh that would be so awesome! I'll try just making my pushrod shorter... you guys just saved me the pain of getting that switch off again. Are you're brakes still not working from when they froze up on you or is this a new problem?
Part of the original problem, too long of a pushrod kept brakes applied somewhat so when I changed pushrod i wound up with no brakes, put other pushrod back in and still no brakes.
ooph.. That blows! I just finished my brakes swap.... waiting to see what problems I run into too :16suspect
None of this makes much sense. If the pushrod is too long, it will result only in the brake pedal being too high. It shouldn't have any affect on the brakelight switch. Are we talking manual or power brakes?
There is a stop the limit the back swing of the pedal, having the rod too long pushes the pedal against it putting pressure on the switch making the brake lights come on. Another solution for this issue would be to trim the bumper the pedal comes back against. I had a similar issue with a 66 Malibu I had in high school but it would eventually lock up my brakes. It was just enough too long that it held the piston just past the bleed off port in the master cylinder. Until we figured out the problem I carried a wrench to crack the bleeder screws when the car wouldn't move anymore!
It is probably that the push rod is too long from where it attaches to the pedal to where it contacts the switch. Modifying either the switch or the push rod should work. I had a high pedal problem when I converted to disc brakes along with a disc brake master cylinder. I simply spaced the master cylinder out from the fire wall about 5/16". When I converted my son's Comet, I switched the push rod from the drum brake ms to the disc brake mc, and yes it is a bear to get that push rod out. Never had any issues with the brake light switch. Just my two cents. Lee "THE MAV" Richart
