[Stick Man]

I NEED SOME HELP I HAVE A 1950 DODGE WAYFARER AND IT HAS NO BRAKE LITES DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THIS YEAR AND MODEL VEHICLE HAS A PRESSURE SWITCH AND IF SO WHERE AND WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE. I REPLACED THE BRAKE MASTER CYLINDER AND NO SWITCH ATTACHED IN OR ON THE MASTER CYLINDER OR THE SURROUNDING AREA I'M CONFUSED.

[powerrodsmike]

YOU DON"T NEED to yell... ..not yet, anyway...

Look at all of the brake lines coming from the master cylinder and follow them until you find something that looks like this..


screwed into a "T" fitting along the line somewhere.
Here is a mechanical one..


If you can't find one of those, then the switch is probably located on or near the pedal somewhere. Usually it is at the pushrod pivot, but it could be a simple lever type mounted on the floor, and gets activated by pedal movement. It can e easily tested with a test light while someone steps on the brakes. There should be power to the switch at all times, and then when touching the "dead" terminal it should light the test light with any kind of moderate pedal pressure.

Look for the wires, check those for power, Do your turn signals work? If not it may be something else, burnt bulbs, messed up turn signal switch.
Hope this helps,
Mikey

[Stick Man]

Thank you will look for the usual suspects. Please note I recently replaced the brake master cylinder (no easy chore) and there is no wiring in or around the pedal it looks sort of like a dogs leg(crooked) with a pivot point on the master cylinder the absence of the switch or wiring made me suspicious but only confirmed my suspicion when I talked my wife into helping me bleed the brakes in the middle of the night. There has been some type of upgrade(s) added as the turn signal lites have modern wires and the brake lites have a fabric covered with chaser type wire

[minitruck83]

Like mike said check your wires for breaks and grounding.

Quick check is to run new wiring direct from the battery and see if they work at all as the sockets may have aquired a "patina" over the years. If they do work a switch could be placed inline wherever it works best. (probably where the original was)

Type in "dodge forums" and google a few. One of those is sure to specialize in "classic" dodges.
Shop Service manual reprints are available for most old cars for around $20. (it's the best money you'll ever spend)

I'm not up on mopars. They had a lot of early innovative ideas ("semi" automatic Fluid drive transmissions, etc) Is your mc under the floor? on the firewall?, do the pedal shafts go thru the floor or are they swung from a mount under the dash? (somewhere around where that "dogleg" would activate a switch would be a good place to check for where one should be) 6v? 12v? negative or positive ground? (in other words don't test a 6v bulb with 12v power)
It can be "made" to work (unless your restoring it to original) by fabricating a stout mount for the switch where it would be pressed when the brakes are stepped on.


Good luck and have fun


Allen

[30desoto]

Stick Man
My old dodge powerwagon had the brakelight switch in the cab at the top of the brake pedal arm, you might check and see if yours is there also.

30dee

[home brew]

If you still can't find it after checking out all of the above suggestions follow those fabric covered chaser type wires back to the front of the car until you find it.

[Stick Man]

I did what any novice would do and hadn't properly grounded the bulbs corrosion was on the bulbs and the ground was poor I did both correcting the problem still don't know what the switch looks like wonder if I will ever see it. Thanks for all your help and suggestions.