I would like to put a switch on my e brake / parking brake handle and have a dash light to let me know it’s on. Anyone have any suggestions on the type of switch to use? I’m thinking of this one. Will I have the clearance between the switch and the top of the shift rod?
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Just wondering out loud here...could you not just look down and see the angle of the parking brake lever to know if it is engaged ? Why the need for a dash light ?
I thought it would be a neat option.
And it would be! I have one of the “unused” lights in my multi-gauge wired to show me when the glow plug is on in my gas heater so let’s see what I can add, here.
You want a switch that activates when the e-brake lever is raised, but that one you show appears to want to hang down into the tunnel, right over the shift rod (which you point out). Kinda un-cool.
How about a different switch that can be either mounted on top of the tunnel or onto the side of the e-brake lever, has a slim profile and won’t be seen under the e-brake boot?
Take a look at this one from a Pellet Stove Outfit
It is slim, low profile, is already set up to close when the lever is raised, would hide easily under the boot and has a couple of mounting holes to attach it to the e-brake lever with a couple of 10-32 screws. Position it with the switch actuator lever facing forward, on the bottom and angled down so that releasing the e-brake by pushing it down pushes the switch lever up and opens the circuit (you can also bend the switch lever to fine tune it). Wire it into an unused light on your multi-gauge. Run the wires under the carpet, not through the tunnel.
There are two types of lights in the multi-gauge. One type has 12volts applied all the time from the ignition circuit and lights when you apply a ground to that light through a switch. The other type is grounded through the multi-gauge case and lights when you apply 12 volts to it. Figure out which you want to use and wire the switch accordingly. Whichever you use, it should go out if the e-brake is up and the ignition is off.
I have to confess that I left mine on my 1969 bug and the tell tale smell of roasting rims and brakes made me realize my error. 
I have an idiot light on my umbrella hand brake in my car. Just saying.
A small micro switch would work too if you can get it fastened somewhere on a bracket there are many choices with rollers too.
Here is a pict but not actually from a VW>..
BTW Gordon's is a good suggestion it can handle 5A and 250V... same logic.
David Stroud posted:Just wondering out loud here...could you not just look down and see the angle of the parking brake lever to know if it is engaged ? Why the need for a dash light ?
I don't know how old JB356SR is, but I have noticed that as I get older I forget to do things what were once habit for me.
Todd M posted:David Stroud posted:Just wondering out loud here...could you not just look down and see the angle of the parking brake lever to know if it is engaged ? Why the need for a dash light ?
I don't know how old JB356SR is, but I have noticed that as I get older I forget to do things what were once habit for me.
If that is the case, I'd suggest an audio alarm because by the time you engage first gear you might be best looking in front of your vehicle rather than at the dash.... I'm not a driving instructor for sure but there might be some room here for common sense. Do you need a warning light for you seatbelt too ?
Don't forget to add a smoke alarm in the event that the you go blind (can't see the brake handle or the warning light, or the switch on the light goes bad ,or the one on the audible alarm does. The smoke alarm will tell you when the brakes are smoking ! Thats pretty positive!.......Just having fun here............Bruce
Rough crowd. It's nice that all of you are 100% aware of every possible thing going on around you.
A light to tell you that the e-brake is not 100% on it's return stop is a lot more useful than a standard "brake" light. I probably don't need a light to tell me my brake pedal is going all the way to the floor (which is the only time they light up). But if the e-brake is up one click, it's nice to know.
... and yes-- in my dailies, it is almost always the incessant chime that chides me to put on my seatbelt.
David Stroud posted:Todd M posted:David Stroud posted:Just wondering out loud here...could you not just look down and see the angle of the parking brake lever to know if it is engaged ? Why the need for a dash light ?
I don't know how old JB356SR is, but I have noticed that as I get older I forget to do things what were once habit for me.
If that is the case, I'd suggest an audio alarm because by the time you engage first gear you might be best looking in front of your vehicle rather than at the dash.... I'm not a driving instructor for sure but there might be some room here for common sense. Do you need a warning light for you seatbelt too ?
Exactly what happened to me yesterday. Drove off in my Subaru, and wondered why the ride was so rough. Idiot me had forgotten to release the parking brake. I had to use it as I as parked facing downward on a steep hill, tightly between two cars, and had to back up carefully.
I only noticed the warning light on the dash after I had released the brake.
Stupid is as stupid does.
I'm putting a warning light on the zippers of all my pants because yesterday I walked out of a gas station bathroom and realized once I got in the car that I had failed to zip up. I'm not going to put a chimer on them though. I think musical pants would attract too much attention.
This thread is going downhill quickly... 
David Stroud posted:Todd M posted:David Stroud posted:Just wondering out loud here...could you not just look down and see the angle of the parking brake lever to know if it is engaged ? Why the need for a dash light ?
I don't know how old JB356SR is, but I have noticed that as I get older I forget to do things what were once habit for me.
If that is the case, I'd suggest an audio alarm because by the time you engage first gear you might be best looking in front of your vehicle rather than at the dash.... I'm not a driving instructor for sure but there might be some room here for common sense. Do you need a warning light for you seatbelt too ?
Well, I don't need a light for my seat belts or my emergency/parking brake. For whatever reason, I never forget to put my belt on, and when I start driving with my parking brake engaged, I feel it as soon as I take my foot off the brake, or in a stick, as soon as I start letting out the clutch and press on the accelerator. Oddly, I seem to remember a time about a year or two ago where I got about 50 feet from home before the sluggishness of the car helped me realize I still had the parking brake on, and I am fairly sure that the emergency brake light was on. The light did not appear to help alert me in that case, but if JB356SR thinks a light will help him I can understand his concern.
Yesterday I had to get out one of my corded drills because it has a 1/2" chuck as opposed to the 3/8" chucks on my cordless drills, but when I went to use the chuck key I could not remember where I had put it. Just before I ordered a new chuck key from Amazon, I remembered, the chuck key is attached to the cord.
"Getting old ain't for sissies." - Bette Davis
Panhandle Bob posted:I'm putting a warning light on the zippers of all my pants because yesterday I walked out of a gas station bathroom and realized once I got in the car that I had failed to zip up. I'm not going to put a chimer on them though. I think musical pants would attract too much attention.
OH MY GOSH!!! THAT'S IT!!! My dad keeps coming out of the bathroom without zipping. I am going to put a buzzer and a light on his pants. Or, if the buzzer is too alarming for him, I will put on a ringtone, like the theme from James Bond.
Bob: IM S6 posted:This thread is going downhill quickly...
C'est la guerre, Bob....c'est la guerre. 
Well, the real trouble starts not when you forget to zip up, but when you forget to zip down. Just sayin' . . .
Is that the voice of experience talking, Kelly? 
I think the real issue is not tucking in before zipping up. But, it would be hard to rig a warning light or alarm for that.
There would certainly be some alarm involved, I would think.
