How to - Change Brake Light Switch

RLyons

Active Member
Sep 20, 2010
310
0
I've bought another switch in fear that I've broken the second one. I now have 3 switches, all different!

To clarify, I need to plug in the switch. Push the brake pedal down. Locate the switch and twist to lock in position, then release the brake pedal?
 

RLyons

Active Member
Sep 20, 2010
310
0
Turned out to be a cheap faulty part!

The genuine SEAT switch (which looked different to all I've seen before - it was very square) slotted straight in and works perfectly! Easy peasy!
 
Sep 29, 2008
835
1
Bradford
Turned out to be a cheap faulty part!

The genuine SEAT switch (which looked different to all I've seen before - it was very square) slotted straight in and works perfectly! Easy peasy!

Hi, did you just plug the connector in, insert the switch into the pedal and all was good or did you have to press the pedal down and pull the rod out ?
 

RLyons

Active Member
Sep 20, 2010
310
0
Hi, did you just plug the connector in, insert the switch into the pedal and all was good or did you have to press the pedal down and pull the rod out ?

Plugged in the connector then slotted it in, I think it just worked then!

Where did you get the part from? The one I got from GSF was crap and didn't work so ended up getting one from the SEAT main dealer - it has a thick plunger and a square foot on the end (more substantial than the original and GSF one)

The GSF part sort of worked when I messed about with the plunger (pulling it out, installing it then pressing the pedal etc) My advice to anybody doing this repair would be to get the part from SEAT.
 
Sep 29, 2008
835
1
Bradford
got mine from gsf too but it came in vag packaging so i presume it is original.

problem i have is with my brothers vw bora pd130 2002, he rang me up last week saying his glowplug light was flashing, he came up, i scanned it and googled the fault code, can't remember exactly what it was but said after the code that it was brake light switch fault.
checked the brake lights and only the centre light was working

i had a brand new switch from gsf in my glove box which i bought over a year ago when my brake lights were playing up, turns out that my "rod" had stuck in ;) and after fiddling with it all was well,

back on topic, i fitted the new switch but no joy, this made me wonder wether the new switch actually worked or not so decided to take my working switch from my leon and tried that, again no joy, after lots more googling i found a thread from rosstech giving a list of symptoms and possible causes, one of these were to obviously (or not) to check the bulbs themselves):doh: turns out both had blown, trip to halfords and 3 quid later we now had all three brake lights working as they should and the glow plug light went out by itself, all good for a few days.................. then he rang me last night.
brake lights are lit up by themselves, :wtf: no key in ignition either!!!
he checked them when he left the car last night and they were not lit up however when he came to his car this morning they were lit up and his battery had been drained and the only way to turn them off was to unclip the brake switch.

sorry for the long post but any help /advice would be great.
 

RLyons

Active Member
Sep 20, 2010
310
0
I would replace the brake light switch in the bora.

When my GSF switch wasn't working I messed about with my old switch which then made the lights stay on permanently (as you describe)....very weird! I couldn't get either switch to work after much playing about but the genuine SEAT switch did work first time and I promptly chucked the other switches in the bin!

I don't fully understand how the switches work and was a bit baffled by the whole situation but like I say, a new switch sorted it!
 
Sep 29, 2008
835
1
Bradford
well,went back to car last night after work and fitted the original switch and evrything worked except the middle brake light???
the battery is just about fully drained so not sure if this would have any effect or not, will get the jump leads on it tomorrow as its my day off and let you know how it went,

just a note on installation,

each time i have fitted the different switches over the past week (4 times i think) i have simply inserted the switch into the pedal then turned it so it locks and then plugged in the connector and on the last attempt it worked, ( first 3 times failed due to blown bulbs), not once have i pressed the brake pedal down and pulled out the plunger in the switch, after googling some more today there seems to be conflicting info regarding this.

i wish somebody would tell me which is definatley the correct method.
 

RLyons

Active Member
Sep 20, 2010
310
0
My thought is that some switches may get knocked in transit to the shop meaning you have to pull the plunger out. As far as I am aware all switches are at maximum length and by installing iit into the pedal it adjusts itself......could be wrong though!
 

W4TSON

Guest
Great guide! Just changed my brake light switch today, though i have to admit i broke the first switch when installing so had to get another :(

First i had no brake lights on, then when i tried first new switch brake lights stuck on all the time!!! Grrrrr

Theres a great guide on vw vortex forum showing exactly how the switch should be set when installing, very useful...

Ian
 

W4TSON

Guest
you can't pm either i think

post it but use xxxx for the http

lol correct...was wondering why i couldnt find private message thing ha

xxxx://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?1158315-DIY-Installing-a-new-brake-light-switch-(without-breaking-it!)&highlight=Brake+light+switch
 

-LeonFR-

Guest
Thanks for this guide, made it very easy to change the switch. Just to add...I didn't need to remove the screws for the bonnet release (which can be a bit fiddly to get back in for a right hander). The dash will go in and out without the bonnet release lever needing to move.