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<p>How soon after switching to DOT-5 are failures <span>typically</span> happening?</p>
<p>I am asking because I flushed out mine several moths ago and used DOT-5</p>
<p>So far all seems well.</p>
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<div id="x_divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="font-size:11pt"><b>From:</b> type3-vwtype3.org <type3-vwtype3.org-bounces@lists.vwtype3.org> on behalf of Jim Adney <jadney@VWType3.org><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, July 14, 2016 2:31:19 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> type3@vwtype3.org<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [T3] DOT5 and Brake Light Switches</font>
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<div class="PlainText">On 14 Jul 2016 at 12:46, Sean Bartnik wrote:<br>
<br>
> So far I've been through two new FTE brand switches (the $20 ones) and<br>
> a NOS Ate switch, all of which failed in the same manner within a<br>
> couple months. <br>
<br>
My '69 Square has DOT-5 and was stored for 14 years before I got it <br>
out and prepped it to drive to the 2016 Invasion. It had a number of <br>
problems, but the brakes were completely trouble-free. The brake <br>
light switches on it appear to be 2 different versions of Brazilian, <br>
but I can't be sure because they haven't been touched in probably 15 <br>
years.<br>
<br>
It's clear that we have a brake switch problem. What's not clear is <br>
whether DOT-5 is part of the problem. I've cut apart a number of <br>
failed switches to see if I could pinpoint a cause. I've never found <br>
brake fluid on the wrong side of the rubber diaphram and I've never <br>
found a diaphram that was swollen or damaged in any way.<br>
<br>
I've seen a few switches with a melted plastic part that should have <br>
been metal and Dave Pallo had one that he bought from me that was <br>
simply improperly made. <br>
<br>
I'm surprised that the FTE (formerly FAG) switches failed. I thought <br>
those were supposed to be good. NOS is not always a good choice, <br>
because some parts degrade just sitting on the shelf. Switch contacts <br>
may degrade if not cycled occasionally.<br>
<br>
We went thru the (made in China) Meyle problem, where the pinouts <br>
were wrong, but even when they fixed that, their failure rate was so <br>
bad they stopped making them there. Meyle switches are now made in <br>
Spain IIRC, but they no longer import them into the US. That's too <br>
bad, because they claim their failure rate is now excellent. I have a <br>
small number of the Spanish Meyle switches if you want to try those.<br>
<br>
Frankly, I'm stumped, but I'm not convinced that DOT-5 is part of the <br>
problem.<br>
<br>
The Harley switches sound like a good solution for '67 and earlier. <br>
For the later cars, I'd like to preserve the 3-pin configuration, <br>
even tho the warning light is a pretty worthless feature.<br>
<br>
-- <br>
*******************************<br>
Jim Adney, jadney@vwtype3.org<br>
Madison, Wisconsin, USA<br>
*******************************<br>
<br>
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