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Brake light switch

 
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dale



Joined: 22 Aug 1999
Posts: 3087
Location: Seattle, WA USA

PostPosted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 4:55 pm    Post subject: Brake light switch Reply with quote

John Firestone, a BMW electronics wiz, has come up with a gizmo to reduce the electrical load on the switch to insure it will last longer.
Not sure if he's decided to sell these or not, I know he's made a couple of prototypes.

Here is a writeup of his design. I'll ask him to comment whether or not he is going to do a production run.
http://www.unofficialbmw.com/john/blcc_files/blcc_design.pdf
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johnf



Joined: 25 Dec 2010
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 5:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I wasn't planning to make any more of my brake light check control units. It was a fairly quick project I wrote up to offer some ideas to others working on similar things. (Electronic Design magazine published its power supply scheme as an "Idea for Design").

I think inserting an automotive, solid state relay between the brake light switch and brake lights would be an easier way to make it last. Hella makes some that plug into a standard socket. Here's one you can get from Amazon with free shipping:

http://www.amazon.com/Hella-H41773001-Solid-State-Ceramic/dp/B000VU5FPE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1293270441&sr=8-1

You could add the relay without cutting the existing wiring, and produce something like stock, using a BMW relay socket, contacts and connector shells. The last time I checked, you could still order the (female) plugs for the brake light switch. The corresponding two-pin male socket is NLA. If you can't salvage one somewhere, you can pop out the contacts from the existing plug and move them to a more readily available, 3- or 4-pin connector plug/socket pair.
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johnf



Joined: 25 Dec 2010
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Sat Dec 25, 2010 5:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

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