55 Merc maintenance

[MercuryMac]

When I went to go to town today, the battery in my 55 Mercury was dead. I cursed the old battery and boosted it. Away I went to town to get some parts and lunch. When I came out of the restaurant, I noticed my brake lights were on. They would not go out, so I guessed that when the truck was parked in the shed for the last few weeks, the brake lights came on. I didn't realize that so today the battery was dead. The alternator performed well going to town so the battery was charged enough after lunch to start again. Tonight when I got home I crawled under the truck and finally found the brake light switch between the floor, the master cylinder and the frame. I quickly unplugged it. While I was under there I topped up the brake fluid. All in all it was a horrible job.

 

[Bamamav]

I hate that type of brake light. I had problems with two brand new ones when I put my car together, they wouldn’t turn the lights on until the pedal was halfway to the floor. I gave up and put a GM mechanical switch on the pedal arm, now you just touch the pedal and you have brake lights.

If you want to keep the hydraulic switch, I hear the one for a Harley motorcycle works better and lasts longer. It has to be genuine HD part though, not aftermarket.

 

[Old Iron]

That one looks original.
I know they've used them for decades but, I've never had any luck with the inline brake switches.

 

[smallfoot]

Hmmm, I've never had problems with the hydraulic switches!

 

[23crate]

If you want to keep the hydraulic switch, I hear the one for a Harley motorcycle works better and lasts longer. It has to be genuine HD part though, not aftermarket.[/QUOTE]


Thanks for the tip Bamamav

the Lark seems to go through at least one a year .. will head down to my local HD dealer and price one next week.. its about due to "stop lighting" again

 

[Bamamav]

If you want to keep the hydraulic switch, I hear the one for a Harley motorcycle works better and lasts longer. It has to be genuine HD part though, not aftermarket.

Thanks for the tip Bamamav

the Lark seems to go through at least one a year .. will head down to my local HD dealer and price one next week.. its about due to "stop lighting" again[/QUOTE]

You’re welcome Crate. Just passing info along I picked up over on the HAMB. One of the few things they’re good for!

 

[smallfoot]

You and the Mercury is a killer shot Mac!

 

[smallfoot]

Speaking of dead batteries...I've had good luck on some to rejuvenate old dead batteries with a DC welder. It was one of those tips you can find on youtube once in a while. I was pretty skeptical until I did a search and found numerous posts about the same process. I had a few around here that have been removed, thinking they were shot. Some that were way older than they should be. Well, guess what, it does seem to work. Now there are exceptions to which ones will actually come back from the dead. First it has to be "wet" battery. Second, it will not restore one with a dead cell. Before I hit the send button, I'll post a link to UTG and his try at it. He explains it pretty good.
I wanted to see if it worked enough to go to amazon and buy a cheap DC welder. About 70 buck snorts if I remember right. Heck the last 2 batteries I bought cost close to 200. Even if it didn't work, I was willing to throw that little amount at it even if it failed. I tried it on 5 batteries so far and I swear, two of them are back in vehicles and haven't failed yet in several months of service. Also works pretty good as a light welder and runs on 110 volts.
Basically it breaks down the sulfates which coat the plates inside making them hard to charge. Guys, it worked on one of my batteries that's like 7 years old. The 2 that didn't work were wet batts that had dead cells.(you can tell while doing the process, if it doesn't boil, it won't work). The third one that didn't work was one of those dry cell solid batteries. I tried for a few moments knowing I might be screwing up big time, but in a fit of better thoughts I abandoned the idea. Anyway, check it out if you want! Here's a vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rM5nl2ajCdk

 

[smallfoot]

Posted the wrong vid above. Here is the process:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CxFpIoKwy0

 

[MercuryMac]

I've had a few of those pressure switches in my life and had pretty good luck with them. There is a lever switch under there also, but it is unplugged and looks like toast. Anytime you put power brakes under the floor you use up most of the available space so I can see the lever switch but I can't get my hand to it. So as horrible as this job is going to be changing this pressure switch, I'm going that route. An embarrassing side note is, I have a hoist but another dead truck is on it so I have to crawl under this red one umpteen times and fix it like in the old days, lying on my back cursing.

 

[MercuryMac]

Well, I ordered the new brake light switch, and it came in. So, I crawled under my truck and changed the old to the new. I works.

 

[Old Iron]

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[Bamamav]

Did you get the Harley switch Mac?

 

[MercuryMac]

No Bama, I had already ordered a Ford one through NAPA when I learned that trick. The Harley-Davidson store in town has shut down or moved.