Brake light switch and rear lights help

[Bret2094]

Alright guys and gals, Ive been patching together spotty wiring to my 72 plymouth duster so i can get it street legal ( Ive owned it for a year and hasn't been registered yet). The question i have is as follows: Where is the brake light switch, and could someone please show me a pic of it installed? Pretty new to the mopar family. (cut my teeth on aircooled vw's back in highschool and wanted some muscle) Also, my rear lights are extremely dim, and you can't even tell they are on untill you remove the lens covers. I saw a thread about the ground needing to be good and clean, but wanted to make sure wires are actually connected to the switch

 

[95teetee]

I don't have a picture, but if you get up under the dash you'll see it attached by the brake pedal assembly- it's a white plastic piece with a spring and a wire with sort of a pigtail on it. I want to say it's attached to the mounting for the steering column, but I'm not positive. If you follow the brake pedal up you can't miss it (I'd get a picture but my back is in no mood to crawl up under there right now lol).

 

[TrailBeast]

Pretty sure it's high up by the top of the brake pedal lever, and easiest to get to laying on your back.
As far as the lights go: you can check for needing a better ground, you can just take the lens off and clip a ground wire to the car.
Use the other end of the wire and touch the bulb base where it goes into the socket.
If the light gets brighter it needs the ground circuit tended to.

About the brightness these lights suck stock, and I went to LED's on mine because of that.
Depending on a which angle if any your bulbs are positioned in thier housings you can get some nice LED's pretty cheap on Ebay.
Search 1157 replacement LED on ebay and check it out.

 

[Bret2094]

Alright..well i got underneath and found it, but....its bee sheared in half for some unknown reason. Guess its off to the parts store

 

[rkh17]

I'd like to continue the tread with a discussion about where this switch connects into the circuit. I have a 72 duster which no longer has the break pedal switch. It was a drag car so has been modified. I want to put it back on the road and this is the last thing holding me back. I have a new replacement switch and a bracket to mount it in place. Just wondering where to tap in. Any wiring diags?

Thanks,

-Rob

 

[abodyjoe]

 

[abodyjoe]

 

[rkh17]

Thanks for the diagrams.. Very helpful. So if I'm really lucky I'll find pink and white wires just hanging under the dash

So I'm good tracing the pink from the engine side but what happens with the white wire when it goes into the gear selection switch?

Thanks much.

-Rob

 

[RedFish]

One wire hot at all times comes from the brake lamp fuse. The other wire goes to the turn signal switch. That switch determines which rear lamp gets brake lamp power and when. Signal switch centered = both brake lamps.Signal switch out of center = one brake lamp and one turn ( blinking ) lamp.

 

[moparlover]

in other words: you cant hot wire the brake lights or switch

they are not tied together, they have two different circuits and run through the turn signal switch

so when you have your blinkers on and hit your brakes the blinker still blinks

 

[rkh17]

in other words: you cant hot wire the brake lights or switch they are not tied together, they have two different circuits and run through the turn signal switch so when you have your blinkers on and hit your brakes the blinker still blinks

but I should be able to tap back into that feed into the turn switch and if the remainder of the circuits are still wired correctly I should see some life in my brake lights.

-R

 

[RedFish]

but I should be able to tap back into that feed into the turn switch and if the remainder of the circuits are still wired correctly I should see some life in my brake lights. -R

Yes sir. There is another way to get brake lights without dealing with the signal switch. You would need approx' 25 feet of white wire and additional lamp sockets cut into the rear fixtures.
I would recommend this route only where there is a 3rd / high mount brake lamp added.

 

[67Dart273]

This is not clear to me........... The wiring is all hacked up? The switch needs fused hot power to it The output of the switch goes to the turn signal switch This is easy to ID just read the service manual. In fact I posted the TS hookup in another thread about this same problem Read through this http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=289033

Skip down to the bottom of this post

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showpost.php?p=1970568362&postcount=50

The very top wire, white, at the "pointy end" of the connector, is where your brake switch power goes into the TS switch

So hot from fuse...........through brake switch..........and to this TS switch connection

Spend some time here

http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?p=1970088617

and here

http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=31

 

[rkh17]

This is not clear to me........... The wiring is all hacked up? The switch needs fused hot power to it The output of the switch goes to the turn signal switch This is easy to ID just read the service manual. In fact I posted the TS hookup in another thread about this same problem Read through this http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=289033 Skip down to the bottom of this post http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showpost.php?p=1970568362&postcount=50 The very top wire, white, at the "pointy end" of the connector, is where your brake switch power goes into the TS switch So hot from fuse...........through brake switch..........and to this TS switch connection Spend some time here http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?p=1970088617 and here http://www.mymopar.com/index.php?pid=31

Hey, This is most helpful. Pouring through it all right now. To answer your question, yes the wiring is all messed up. This car was converted to a drag car and I'm putting it back on the street (street / strip). Right now it looks like most of the lights are working with the exception of the brake lights and the turn signals which (both left and right) are wired to work the flashers. So yes.. hack hack hack. Thanks for your input. Still digging. -Rob