Brake Pedal Switch replacement

[trygve]

I have a flaky brake pedal switch -- my brake lights usually just flicker once, momentarily, when I press the pedal. I can wiggle the switch or hold it tight to one side, and sometimes that will get it to work better for a few presses, but then it gets flaky again when I drive. So I'm pretty sure the switch is bad.

My question is (since it is very hard to see under there, and I probably won't see how things are really hooked up until I remove the seat and really crawl under there!), if I get a new brake pedal switch, can I replace it with "reasonable" ease, or would I have to remove and disassemble the whole brake/clutch pedal assembly? I'm hoping that the switch comes off the pedal assembly without having to remove the pedal assembly.

Thanks,

Trygve

Edited July 1, 2004 by trygve

[Tom M]

It's definitely a DIY job. While a bit awkward to get to several people have replaced it themselves. As I recall it's a 90 degree twist to get it out. Reverse the procedure to replace it.

[trygve]

Thanks for the quick reply, Tom! That's great to know.

[trygve]

Update: Just finished putting the new switch in. It's a little uncomfortable to crawl under the steering wheel on my back, and get my head and arms into a workable position in the footwell, but mechanically very easy. The old switch comes out with a quarter twist, then pull. Then you can more easily unplug the connector. Putting things back, I found it worked if I put the switch itself in first, and then plugged the cable in. When I tried w/ the cable plugged in first, I was unable to get enough force to push and twist with my fingers in the tiny space.

It's a 5-minute job. The switch was a little under $20.

There are two strange things about the part number, although in the end they don't seem to matter.

First is that the part that I got has 3 different part numbers imprinted on it! They are:

996.613.111.01

996.613.113.01

996.613.114.01

Second is that the parts catalog shows that two different parts are required depending on whether you have a Tiptronic and whether you have cruise control. And yet, these two part numbers are both imprinted on the part I got (I guess they figured out how to make one part that works for all three cases, and that was not originally true?). The guy at the parts counter said there is another part with a red collar instead of brown. Here's what the parts catalog says:

996.613.114.01 - for manual transmission (M481) with cruise control (M454)

996.613.113.01 - for tiptronic (M249) with cruise control (M454)

996.613.113.01 - for manual without cruise (my car)

(Looks odd, but that's what it says.)

And finally, I took apart the old switch and the mechanism is dead simple. Pushing the pedal just makes the contacts...make contact. There was some greasy gunk on the contacts, probably whatever lubricant they use, gone bad from dirt. A good cleaning of the inside was probably all it needed. Worth a try if your switch goes bad.

Thanks for the help.

:beer:

[d1bobbyg]

On 7/3/2004 at 2:41 PM, trygve said:

Update: Just finished putting the new switch in. It's a little uncomfortable to crawl under the steering wheel on my back, and get my head and arms into a workable position in the footwell, but mechanically very easy. The old switch comes out with a quarter twist, then pull. Then you can more easily unplug the connector. Putting things back, I found it worked if I put the switch itself in first, and then plugged the cable in. When I tried w/ the cable plugged in first, I was unable to get enough force to push and twist with my fingers in the tiny space.

It's a 5-minute job. The switch was a little under $20.

There are two strange things about the part number, although in the end they don't seem to matter.

First is that the part that I got has 3 different part numbers imprinted on it! They are:

996.613.111.01

996.613.113.01

996.613.114.01

Second is that the parts catalog shows that two different parts are required depending on whether you have a Tiptronic and whether you have cruise control. And yet, these two part numbers are both imprinted on the part I got (I guess they figured out how to make one part that works for all three cases, and that was not originally true?). The guy at the parts counter said there is another part with a red collar instead of brown. Here's what the parts catalog says:

996.613.114.01 - for manual transmission (M481) with cruise control (M454)

996.613.113.01 - for tiptronic (M249) with cruise control (M454)

996.613.113.01 - for manual without cruise (my car)

(Looks odd, but that's what it says.)

And finally, I took apart the old switch and the mechanism is dead simple. Pushing the pedal just makes the contacts...make contact. There was some greasy gunk on the contacts, probably whatever lubricant they use, gone bad from dirt. A good cleaning of the inside was probably all it needed. Worth a try if your switch goes bad.

Thanks for the help.

 

I know it's a very old thread, so i hope you guys are all well, but I found this very helpful as I'm having the same issues. Thanks a lot for sharing!