[Rmc-list] Answer to Brake Light Problem

[Downwind2nd at aol.com]

Okay folks, remember how I told you that I got a score of 93.82 in the 
convention concours, and that was only .18 points from a gold award? (The dividing 
line between gold and silver is 94 points).  Well, when I finally looked at my 
score sheets I found that my right brake light did not work at the very time 
that it was being judged for Operations. That caused a deduction of 20 points 
out of 1000 (!!) which calculates to .2 points on the final score.

Yes, I checked all the lights BEFORE the judging started!  I did not even 
know it did not work for the judge. Then, the next day during the rally, a guy in 
a truck pulled up next to me and told me my right brake light was out. At the 
lunch break I checked the brakes again and it WAS working. Hmmm...the mystery 
deepens...

Several days later I was in LA and was talking to another Corvair guy and he 
mentioned that if the turn signal switch is on, the brake light will not 
function on that side. Well, we all know that if the ignition switch is ON, and you 
do that, one brake light will stay on and the other one will flash. The thing 
that has never occurred to me is that if the switch is OFF and you turn on a 
directional switch, the brake light will NOT light on that side. At the annual 
picnic on Sunday, I got some people together and we checked this out on my 
car and on Larry Yoder's car parked next to mine. Sure enough, when we turned on 
the directional signal switch it looked like only one brake light was working.

So...I guess what happened is the following: I was asked to turn on my 
ignition and they checked my turn signals. Next I was asked to activate the turn 
signals and turn the wheel to each side to cancel the switch. Then I turned OFF 
the ignition and the judge went to rear of the car to check the brake lights. 
Somehow, I managed to hit the turn signal switch to the right side and the 
right brake light did not turn on. Perhaps...If I had left the ignition switch ON, 
the right light would have started flashing and the judge would have told me 
to turn it off, but since it was off, he didn't know to do that.

The moral of this story is always make sure you DO NOT turn on a directional 
signal unless you're actually making a turn!!! It could cost you big time!

- Herb Berkman
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