MTFCA Forum

Fun projects brake light switch?

Are these units still being produced? If not who is making a comparable setup?

thanks in advance.

The last I knew which was several months ago they still were not being produced. Birdhaven is supposed to, but not as yet that I know of. Call them.

I contacted them about a month ago to inquire. I was told they are waiting on parts to make them… much like everyone and everything else the Model T vendors are experiencing back orders, shortages and out of stock due to supply issues.

No Birdhaven Website and their Facebook page hasn't seen activity since 9/11/2021 other than my comment Today.
The funprojects.com domain has been for sale for some time
and Today I got this

Thanks for the feedback guys. I figured the same thing. Hopefully they will come back soon.

Looks like the brackets need to be made

Knowing the FP switches are unavailable, I made my own. I spent about $11 for a push button switch and a small eye bolt. The rest was all junk I had on hand. It ain't rocket surgery. Even better than the cheap price is that it actually works.

I made mine with an old brake light switch, a spring, a bit of baling wire and a hose clamp.
Cost very little and works.
The switch was mounted on the frame rail.
The hose clamp on the brake pedal clamped one end of the baling wire (using a ring for articulation - see picture) with the other end attached to the spring. The spring then attached to switch. It is set to 'rest' when the pedal is in 'normal'. When the pedal is pushed the spring takes up the movement and pulls the switch.

Hope that helps.

Use a motorcycle brake light switch, some have a spring.

Snyder's sells a model A stop light switch with a pull rod which should work. part # A-13480-B $6.50 in 2021 catalog. similar to one the one Whiteman used in photo mounts to the frame connected to the brake pedal by spring and short rod. photos of motor cycle switch like Dale mentioned.

I use a switch off a tractor supply store .
Toon

Many ways to do it as shown here but man was that kit worth the price or what.

Charlie B in N.J. wrote: ↑

Mon Apr 04, 2022 7:18 am

Many ways to do it as shown here but man was that kit worth the price or what.

I agree Charlie. Like Steve J said, aint rocket science. Easy to clone, just gotta have the desire/ambition to do so, none of which I have! I got lucky and got two that a guy didn't need, one had the plate adapted for a TT (not sure why it needed it) but it will work on my Torpedo once I get the engine back. I love how these switches can be tweaked to activate the brake light without even so much as engaging any brake band at all, be it stock, or R.M. or A.C. Keeps the idiots off your arse!!

The FP brake light switch was an elegant design like so many of John Regan's products. Unfortunately, Birdhaven appears to have had little plan for continuing the product lines once the original inventory sold out. I was lucky to have purchased what I needed while it was still available.

Just to to be different I made a stop-light switch from a solid-state MEMS gyro, and another from a hall-effect device

My reasoning was that a mechanical switch and associated mechanism would be more prone to failure, and since I already had the necessary gear it was easy to do. It also integrated nicely with the concept b/ecm I was developing at the time...

Subsequently my car stopped working, we got locked up, our rights were abrogated, and I lost interest. Besides that it was way over the top for something as crude+simple as a T and would only have served to confirm my nerd status!

Anyway I guess my point was just to say that in the absence of 'proper' parts a bit of ingenuity will go a long way, as several have demonstrated.

BTW I checked that website Frank, it's working here in NZ so perhaps they were just offline for a short time?

and would only have served to confirm my nerd status!

I can confirm that is not true! Luke is a very curious, clever and talented friend, but nothing nerdy there I can perceive