Hi,
I've just fitted a new rear brake light switch:-
https://www.feked.com/brake-light-switch-bsa-a50-and-a65.html
It sits in an off position, as the brake is applied it moves to an on position then as the brake is applied further it moves to an off position. As they say in electrical circles off/on/off.
My problem is that I cant set the actuators on the pedal to keep the light on when the brake is fully depressed.
Does anyone know if this is the normal action of the original brake light switch? The suppliers are saying it is...
Thanks.....
There is a limited arc of contact within these D shaped switches.
There is similar fitted to my A10 - the D bit is the same just the mounting bracket and lever differs.
To get it to work properly it seems to me that trial and error with position is the way forward. If it comes on too soon light will go out before pedal fully depressed.
Below is photo shows the inside of such a switch, the moving contact sits in the bracket indicated by the arrow.
Hi Julian,
Thanks, seems a bit of fiddling on the cards.
I hope that's not from your bike? ;)
Best wishes...
Its the one before the one before the one that is now fitted!!
I had the same problem, the only way I could get it to work was to have the travel on the brake pedal so small/short it felt virtually non existant, so I gave up on it and fitted a common or garden spring pull switch hooked on the 'Stop Switch arm, brake pedal' part no. 68-7052.
Jo Barge of the Hampshire Branch has fitted an IP65 DP Microswitch on a home made bracket and its a brilliant idea. He uses a bolt as a peg to stop the brake lever return in a permanent position. If you are interested in taking a look, I have a picture but its loo large to attach so email me on editor@bsaownersclub.co.uk and I will send it to you.
Regards
Chris
Hi Bess, I fitted a new one as well and had the same problem. I eventually got the brake light to stay on by adjusting the brake and the lever arm that comes from the brake pedal to the switch. It took a few attempts to get it right.
Regards
Dave
I have just bought all the parts to reinstate the brake light switch and remove the emgo type universal switch. However I can't adjust it to make the switch no matter how much I adjust the pedal stop, switch position or arm position.
I have played about with them all in every position I can get them to sit in and can't get a reliable switching action, The only place I can adjust it so that when the pedal is hard pressed the switch is made the arm jams on release, If I adjust it to smoothly operate I can't get it to make when the pedal is pressed down hard.
Adjust the pedal itself so there is less movement so it accounts for the limited travel of the switch still doesn't solve the problem.
I am now looking to see it I can hide the emgo switch somewhere up inside the side cover but to say I am annoyed would be an understatement, it looks like about £40-50 pounds in parts are useless.
is there something I am missing or is it just the replacement switches just don't have enough travel in them?
I was keen to put it back to original but not at the expense o not having a reliable brake light!
Hi,
This cannot be right. A brake light switch that goes off/on/off is not safe and if spotted on an MOT would surely fail. Did the original ones do this? I doubt it so send them back for a refund if you can. I will have to check my original/old ones to see if they do the same thing. I see Feked mention this problem so if you still buy it there are no comebacks on them. There must be one out there that works properly.
With the dodgy switches that people have bought it may be possible to limit the movement of the switch lever to keep it on when the brake pedal is pressed.
Dave.
Hi,
Unfortunately the off/on/off is correct. I have got it to work by faffing around a lot, swearing did help as well >:(.
Best wishes...
Same here. A lot of fiddling to get it right. Did think about changing to a universal spring switch too.
A friend of mine fitted the later OIF A65 style rear brake switch to his pre OIF. Obviously some mods required, but not as tricky to set up as the rotary style!!
Hi,
I have just looked at mine and one bike has a simple switch that in is off or on. The other possibly an original one and it does go off/on/off. I had never realised this as it has never been a problem to set up. Another day older another thing learnt.
I did notice though that to get it go off again I had to really slacken the brake off to the point that it probably would have been unusable.
Dave.
Before I started I straightened all the pegs and levers out as they were all bent out of shape in various ways. I now find that looking at all the various pictures that my brake pedal will not come up as high as most of those pictures. This seem to be the reason I cannot adjust the switch correctly as the angles are all wrong.
Not sure what the issue is and why straight footpegs would be a problem. The brake pedal contacts the footrest rubber well before it comes up to the adjusting stop. I can't see a way around this as I don't want to chop bits off the footrest rubbers nor do I want to bend them back to wonky.
I'll have another look tonight with a fresh pair of eyes but its looking like I will need to look at another method or switch. It needs to be reliable and even with a news switch and all new parts I found testing that night I was sometime getting off-on-off-on-off when pressing the pedal, not all the time, just now and again.
Whatever I do it needs to work.
Can you set the footrest a bit higher?
If the rubbers are the round type you could change for the oval type.
Hi,
The brake pedal on this A65 does not come up to stop against the footrest but against the stop that is incorporated into the bolt that holds the brake light switch on. Also the switch can be rotated so that it can be put in the best place. The hole on the very top of the brake pedal has a small plate attached for final adjustment of the switch.
Sorry about the blurry images.
Dave.
Having got fed up with the dumb design of conventional brake light switches. They are unsightly, exposed to the elements and why should you have to be fiddliing about with them when working on the clutch!
So I splashed out £3.98 and 2 days later a micro limit switch arrived by post. I've screwed it inside the tool box to protect it having first made a small hole for the operating arm to protrude through. A piece of half inch round ally suitablly drilled and tapped off centre provides a quick and easy cam adjuster so the switch operates at just the right extent of brake pedal travel.
In 10 years its never needed any attention, and the cam adjuster lets me fine tune when the light comes on just at the the screwdiver.
No more having to disconnect the switch when taking the brake pedal off as nothing is physically attaches it to the pedal.
That's a good novel solution!
I have managed, with a bit more fiddling and adjustment, to get it to operate.
Still not convinced its going to be reliable and I think over the winter I'll look for an alternative solution. I think I might just be able to fit a pull switch behind the cover where it can be seen but I'll look at this when I have put everything back together again.
I have to pull both wheels off for new tyres to be fitted as well soon so with do this first and reset up the back brake before looking at it again in more detail.
I have just fitted a new brake switch to mine and had exactly the same problem. After a bit of head scratching I realised that the footrest isn't designed to be the stop for the brake pedal - this makes the pedal uncomfortably high - my ankle doesn't work then! The footrests on both sides are mounted on a taper; loosen the nut, give the footrest a tap or three to break the joint. The brake pedal can now be adjusted with the threaded stop above the switch, and the footrest set to a more natural position.
After checking here for guidance I just pulled my "off on off" switch apart. After cleaning it up I tweaked the little spring retaining tang so that it hits the case a little sooner ie it limits the arc and prevents it losing contact. Switch now sorted as "off on" as it should be and ready to be sealed up and put back on the bike. That has finally put paid to years of irritation! Top tip, when prising the case apart hold it in a vice or you'll soon stab your finger with a screwdriver as I did.
Came across the same off/on/off problem on my A50, I thought I had a faulty switch until I read this post!
However I did come up with an alternative solution to the ones provided.
I drilled and tapped the switch bracket and used an M4 allen bolt as a 'stop' so the switch is unable to go to the second off position.
The purists could use the BA equivalent screw!
PLEASE NOTE: I have a home made adjustment lever which clears the allen head but still makes contact with the switch lever, standard ones may not work!
Hi,
Good solution....
I was going to suggest a screw in the D shaped part of the switch to limit the full travel of the switch.
One of the problems I have found with this switch is that if there is any play between the standard brake lever and the fulcrum then the little arm which acts on the switch can get jammed between the rotating part of the switch and the switch body, the switch bracket being the weakest part ends up getting bent.
I did come up with 2 solutions to the problem. my favourite being the use of the OIF (and pre OIF B series) switches, mounted onto a bracket and a long arm fabricated. This works flawlessly and has been on the bike a few years. The only issue with them is the quality of the rubber (like with fork boots etc) is just trash and will rot and fall apart after a couple of years... Sometimes sooner but I guess this is down to how long since they came off the mould. I tend to just buy a new £6.50 switch and fit the rubber part and carry on.
The other solution was using a T21 switch(or so i beleive that is where it was from according to a lucas catalogue), the A10 late switch would be better but I couldn't find one of those. This type is in plentiful supply. ...
I prised the 4 crimps open at the back of the switch, pulled out the gubbins and rotated the arm by 180 degrees, the bit where it all attaches to is circular but with two flat sides.
I then shortened the arm and bent it back a little,
removed the entended part off the brake lever extension and fitted a bolt and a nut (somewhat emulating the late A10 brake pedal design but with less finesse).. Had I fitted a screw into the D part of the switch to limit overall travel as i mentioned above I would probably still have it fitted now (but I resorted back to the other switch I created). But the advantage with this over the standard setup is there is less likely hood of the exteneded arm on the brake lever missing the striker on the switch.