Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

YouTube Puts the Brakes on Another Trip to the Stealership

News2u
News2u Posts: 335
edited August 2017 in Off Topic
Fresh off that YouTube save the other day over a broken motor mount on the wife's '07 Versa hatchback, the DIYer's indispensable video consultant comes thru again.

This time the Versa's brake lights go out, or so it seemed. Funny, cuz I had just replaced a bad left brake light a couple of months ago. When I checked both brake lights, all the filaments were intact -- the bulbs were a-okay. A quick web search indicated the likely culprit was a worn out relay at the brake pedal. Sure enough, a YouTube video revealed how easy the old one pops out and a new one pops in.
The dealer wanted $135 to fix. AutoZone's price for the part matched Amazon's.
Back in action.

Beef...It's what's for dinner tonight.
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • SamIAm2
    SamIAm2 Posts: 2,006
    Just curious about the material behind the hole in the brake pedal where the spring loaded contact pin rests. Is it rubber or some polymer?  Reason I ask is an experience with my car years ago.

    Came out from work and the brake lights were on. Thought that was odd since I drove to work during daylight hours so no lights could have been left on. When I checked, the contact was fully extended into an empty hole on the brake metal above the pedal.

    Looked around on the floorboard and found broken pieces of some odd material that looked like a plug when held together. Years of being parked outside in sunny Florida had destroyed it.

    Took out a nickel and held it in place with duct tape. Problem solved. Cost a whole lot less than the part the dealer want to charge me. It was still on there when I sold the car years later. Great stuff that duct tape.
    Ubi panis, ibi patria.
    Large - Roswell rig, MiniMax-PS Woo; Cocoa, Fl.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Eggcelsior
    Eggcelsior Posts: 14,414
    I'm planning on replacing my brakes soon and YouTube has been my friend. This should be interesting.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • News2u
    News2u Posts: 335
    edited August 2017
    SamIAm2 said:
    Just curious about the material behind the hole in the brake pedal where the spring loaded contact pin rests. Is it rubber or some polymer?  Reason I ask is an experience with my car years ago.

    Came out from work and the brake lights were on. Thought that was odd since I drove to work during daylight hours so no lights could have been left on. When I checked, the contact was fully extended into an empty hole on the brake metal above the pedal.

    Looked around on the floorboard and found broken pieces of some odd material that looked like a plug when held together. Years of being parked outside in sunny Florida had destroyed it.

    Took out a nickel and held it in place with duct tape. Problem solved. Cost a whole lot less than the part the dealer want to charge me. It was still on there when I sold the car years later. Great stuff that duct tape.
    The business end is the white part, or button, which is hard plastic and spring-loaded, and that's apparently where the relay most often fails. It goes in when you apply the brakes and turns on the brake lights.
    Beef...It's what's for dinner tonight.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • WeberWho
    WeberWho Posts: 11,532
    Nice work!

    My mother-in-law was going to junk her Chevy Lumina a few years ago. I took it in and patched the gas tank, put new tires on it, and changed the oil. I put maybe 6k miles on it. Not a bad deal for next to nothing and some time. I noticed the brake lights were out. I guess it has something to do with the turn signal switch. The whole steering wheel has to come off to replace the turn signal switch. (Thanks GM!) I'm really hoping to get it done this fall but painting the house has to come first.

    Thanks for the inspiration! Always a good feeling when you can save a trip to the mechanic! 
    "The pig is an amazing animal. You feed a pig an apple and it makes bacon. Let's see Michael Phelps do that" - Jim Gaffigan

    Minnesota
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • News2u
    News2u Posts: 335
    Eggcelsior said:
    I'm planning on replacing my brakes soon and YouTube has been my friend. This should be interesting.
    Here's wishing you the best of luck. It's, shall we say, always an education. :o
    Beef...It's what's for dinner tonight.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SamIAm2
    SamIAm2 Posts: 2,006
    News2u said:
    SamIAm2 said:
    Just curious about the material behind the hole in the brake pedal where the spring loaded contact pin rests. Is it rubber or some polymer? 
    The business end is the white part, or button, which is hard plastic and spring-loaded, and that's apparently where the relay most often fails. It stays pressed in until you apply the brakes. That releases the white button and the brake lights go on.
    Understand that. I was speaking of the part that moves away when you press the brakes and makes contact again with the white spring-loaded when you remove your foot from the brakes as is clearly shown in your photo showing how to remove the relay.

    Ubi panis, ibi patria.
    Large - Roswell rig, MiniMax-PS Woo; Cocoa, Fl.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • NC_Egghead
    NC_Egghead Posts: 786
    I have saved literally hundreds of dollars by going to YouTube or doing a google search with any issue on my vehicles. Dealer wanted a grand to replace the prop shaft on our Jeep GC. I bought the CV kit for $165 plus a pair of Otiker pliers for the clamp ( about $15 on Amazon) and a couple hours later she was good to go. 
    Charlotte, NC

    XL BGE, WSM, Weber Genesis 2, Weber Kettle
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • News2u
    News2u Posts: 335
    SamIAm2 said:
    News2u said:
    SamIAm2 said:
    Just curious about the material behind the hole in the brake pedal where the spring loaded contact pin rests. Is it rubber or some polymer? 
    The business end is the white part, or button, which is hard plastic and spring-loaded, and that's apparently where the relay most often fails. It stays pressed in until you apply the brakes. That releases the white button and the brake lights go on.
    Understand that. I was speaking of the part that moves away when you press the brakes and makes contact again with the white spring-loaded when you remove your foot from the brakes as is clearly shown in your photo showing how to remove the relay.

    Let me check that tomorrow and get back to you. Frankly, I didn't pay that much attention to that part of it. I was only after the switch, and, I mean, as soon as I turned it a quarter inch to the left, it literally fell out onto the floor-mat.  But if I get your drift, you're talking about what the pin makes contact with?
    Beef...It's what's for dinner tonight.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SamIAm2
    SamIAm2 Posts: 2,006
    News2u said:
    SamIAm2 said:
    News2u said:
    SamIAm2 said:
    Just curious about the material behind the hole in the brake pedal where the spring loaded contact pin rests. Is it rubber or some polymer? 
    The business end is the white part, or button, which is hard plastic and spring-loaded, and that's apparently where the relay most often fails. It stays pressed in until you apply the brakes. That releases the white button and the brake lights go on.
    Understand that. I was speaking of the part that moves away when you press the brakes and makes contact again with the white spring-loaded when you remove your foot from the brakes as is clearly shown in your photo showing how to remove the relay.

    Let me check that tomorrow and get back to you. Frankly, I didn't pay that much attention to that part of it. I was only after the switch, and, I mean, as soon as I turned it a quarter inch to the left, it literally fell out onto the floor-mat.  But if I get your drift, you're talking about what the pin makes contact with?
    Correct. I earlier automobiles that part was solid metal and the switch mount was engineered to contact properly. Some one thought it would be easier to mount/align the switch by having a dome shaped connecting part pressed into a hole in the metal. An extra part to charge for when you buy the car and  and when it fails in future plus an easier engineering process. Win/Win.
    Ubi panis, ibi patria.
    Large - Roswell rig, MiniMax-PS Woo; Cocoa, Fl.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • News2u
    News2u Posts: 335
    NC_Egghead said:
    I have saved literally hundreds of dollars by going to YouTube or doing a google search with any issue on my vehicles. Dealer wanted a grand to replace the prop shaft on our Jeep GC. I bought the CV kit for $165 plus a pair of Otiker pliers for the clamp ( about $15 on Amazon) and a couple hours later she was good to go. 
    Nice rescue. Like I said, YouTube has become my indispensable video consultant on just about everything.
    Beef...It's what's for dinner tonight.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • News2u
    News2u Posts: 335
    SamIAm2 said:
    News2u said:
    SamIAm2 said:
    News2u said:
    SamIAm2 said:
    Just curious about the material behind the hole in the brake pedal where the spring loaded contact pin rests. Is it rubber or some polymer? 
    The business end is the white part, or button, which is hard plastic and spring-loaded, and that's apparently where the relay most often fails. It stays pressed in until you apply the brakes. That releases the white button and the brake lights go on.
    Understand that. I was speaking of the part that moves away when you press the brakes and makes contact again with the white spring-loaded when you remove your foot from the brakes as is clearly shown in your photo showing how to remove the relay.

    Let me check that tomorrow and get back to you. Frankly, I didn't pay that much attention to that part of it. I was only after the switch, and, I mean, as soon as I turned it a quarter inch to the left, it literally fell out onto the floor-mat.  But if I get your drift, you're talking about what the pin makes contact with?
    Correct. I earlier automobiles that part was solid metal and the switch mount was engineered to contact properly. Some one thought it would be easier to mount/align the switch by having a dome shaped connecting part pressed into a hole in the metal. An extra part to charge for when you buy the car and  and when it fails in future plus an easier engineering process. Win/Win.
    That round, contact pad - or whatever you call it -- does indeed appear to be a separate part.  There's a little play in it when you touch it, so it feels like a grommet you snap in with a hard plastic or metal surface where the pin makes contact.  
    Beef...It's what's for dinner tonight.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • SamIAm2
    SamIAm2 Posts: 2,006
    For your sake I hope it is metal. You will at least know where to look for your problem if you see your brake lights on when the head lights aren't. :)
    Ubi panis, ibi patria.
    Large - Roswell rig, MiniMax-PS Woo; Cocoa, Fl.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories