[T3] DOT5 and Brake Light Switches

[Sean Bartnik]

For me it's generally been around a month or so. 

-Sean

> On Jul 14, 2016, at 5:00 PM, Daniel K. Du Vall <dduvall at 1peter4-10.org> wrote:
> 
> How soon after switching to DOT-5 are failures typically happening?
> 
> I am asking because I flushed out mine several moths ago and used DOT-5
> 
> So far all seems well.
> 
> ________________________________
> From: type3-vwtype3.org <type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org> on behalf of Jim Adney <jadney at VWType3.org>
> Sent: Thursday, July 14, 2016 2:31:19 PM
> To: type3 at vwtype3.org
> Subject: Re: [T3] DOT5 and Brake Light Switches
> 
>> On 14 Jul 2016 at 12:46, Sean Bartnik wrote:
>> 
>> So far I've been through two new FTE brand switches (the $20 ones) and
>> a NOS Ate switch, all of which failed in the same manner within a
>> couple months.
> 
> My '69 Square has DOT-5 and was stored for 14 years before I got it
> out and prepped it to drive to the 2016 Invasion. It had a number of
> problems, but the brakes were completely trouble-free. The brake
> light switches on it appear to be 2 different versions of Brazilian,
> but I can't be sure because they haven't been touched in probably 15
> years.
> 
> It's clear that we have a brake switch problem. What's not clear is
> whether DOT-5 is part of the problem. I've cut apart a number of
> failed switches to see if I could pinpoint a cause. I've never found
> brake fluid on the wrong side of the rubber diaphram and I've never
> found a diaphram that was swollen or damaged in any way.
> 
> I've seen a few switches with a melted plastic part that should have
> been metal and Dave Pallo had one that he bought from me that was
> simply improperly made.
> 
> I'm surprised that the FTE (formerly FAG) switches failed. I thought
> those were supposed to be good. NOS is not always a good choice,
> because some parts degrade just sitting on the shelf. Switch contacts
> may degrade if not cycled occasionally.
> 
> We went thru the (made in China) Meyle problem, where the pinouts
> were wrong, but even when they fixed that, their failure rate was so
> bad they stopped making them there. Meyle switches are now made in
> Spain IIRC, but they no longer import them into the US. That's too
> bad, because they claim their failure rate is now excellent. I have a
> small number of the Spanish Meyle switches if you want to try those.
> 
> Frankly, I'm stumped, but I'm not convinced that DOT-5 is part of the
> problem.
> 
> The Harley switches sound like a good solution for '67 and earlier.
> For the later cars, I'd like to preserve the 3-pin configuration,
> even tho the warning light is a pretty worthless feature.
> 
> --
> *******************************
> Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
> *******************************
> 
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