biketimus_prime
21st May 2014, 13:39
Just putting this up for others who may encounter this issue. The switch does get exposed to the elements so it's bound to happen. Unless the spring inside breaks, there's not much else that can go wrong so try this before you replace the switch. So my brake lights would work intermittently when I wiggled the wires. I thought it was a broken solder joint or something before I opened it, what I found was a much simpler setup
Opened it up by putting a very thin flat blade screwdriver and prying apart the housing. Don't lose the black pushrod down the bottom that breaks the circuit! This is the position the switch is in when you pull your brake lever:
http://i.imgur.com/tvJx5Ih.jpg
When your brake lever at rest, this is the position the switch is in, circuit broken, no light on:
http://i.imgur.com/rxIxHNX.jpg
The faces where the two plates make contact will be corroded as hell.
I had to scrape away the corrosion on the round contact and sanded the rest of the metal back.
http://i.imgur.com/7sQxiWX.jpg
You can see here the shiny line I made through the round contact with my razor blade. Very thick layer of dirt and corrosion.
http://i.imgur.com/Oa8g9MT.jpg
Don't forget to clean the two connectors that come out of your bike's loom too. Once that was all done, I put it back together and it all works great, even if I jerk the wires and move them around roughly. Here's hoping it stays like that! I also gave the inside a coating of WD-40 and wiped it down before assembly to slow down any more corrosion. I also taped the housing with electrical tape as it won't make a 100% perfect seal when you assemble it again.
Saved myself around $10-15 and only took about 10 mins.
However if you switch is broken in another way, Alan Mobley at bikebitz.co.nz gave me the cheapest quote of $10.00 shipped to me.
Opened it up by putting a very thin flat blade screwdriver and prying apart the housing. Don't lose the black pushrod down the bottom that breaks the circuit! This is the position the switch is in when you pull your brake lever:
http://i.imgur.com/tvJx5Ih.jpg
When your brake lever at rest, this is the position the switch is in, circuit broken, no light on:
http://i.imgur.com/rxIxHNX.jpg
The faces where the two plates make contact will be corroded as hell.
I had to scrape away the corrosion on the round contact and sanded the rest of the metal back.
http://i.imgur.com/7sQxiWX.jpg
You can see here the shiny line I made through the round contact with my razor blade. Very thick layer of dirt and corrosion.
http://i.imgur.com/Oa8g9MT.jpg
Don't forget to clean the two connectors that come out of your bike's loom too. Once that was all done, I put it back together and it all works great, even if I jerk the wires and move them around roughly. Here's hoping it stays like that! I also gave the inside a coating of WD-40 and wiped it down before assembly to slow down any more corrosion. I also taped the housing with electrical tape as it won't make a 100% perfect seal when you assemble it again.
Saved myself around $10-15 and only took about 10 mins.
However if you switch is broken in another way, Alan Mobley at bikebitz.co.nz gave me the cheapest quote of $10.00 shipped to me.