The Subaru and Nissan brake light switch… Of DRAMA

The contact that turns on the brake light, turns off cruise control, and triggers the solenoid that lets you shift out of park got all pitted! Ewww. Needless to say this was a show stopping bug… but it died at a gas station in walking distance of a Walmart where I was able to get some CRC QD cleaner and 2500 grit sandpaper and burnish it back to life. Here’s the before state. The contacts are actually proper silver buttons and the switch can be disassembled to clean it.

What a right mess though.

Not sure why the CRC QD cleaner turns my skin all weird looking like that.

The switch has a Nissan logo on it so I’m guessing some Nissan model out there in addition to the 2014-2017(?) Subaru Forester have the same thing.

From the “It Blowed Up Real Good” Desk…

These are not my pictures. I know nothing of the horror here, though it was powering the transmitter that cooked these modules. The faults may or may not be related. First off— yes, you are seeing light through that— it blew a hole right through the cover. Also, I am now adding an “Arcy Sparky” category for all future posts relevant to it.

 

It sharted.
Please, no, I do not want to know what horror lies below that tape. Never show this to me. Never. In theory it may be split bolt connectors, but I fear far, far, far worse.

Oh, yes, in case you’re wondering what I mean when I say “Zeeky Boogy Doog”….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlmyWLyEEvw#t=10m20s