| Having a keen grasp on the
precise operational characteristics of your Land-Rover will
most certainly yield a higher margin of safe operation.
One of the simplest safety strategies which the intelligent
operator can easily employ is to tap the brake pedal in
order to warn the operator of a following vehicle that you
are slowing down. Not everybody is attentive in their
driving habits, so if we diminish our speed subtly, an
inattentive following driver may not register the change,
and damage the rear-end of our cherished Land-Rover. The diagnostic strategy is
essentially as follows: back the Land-Rover against a wall
and stop the vehicle. Apply the hand brake if the vehicle is
on an incline. Then apply the brakes and observe the
exact point, with respect to pedal pressure, at which the
brake lights illuminate. There are two types of brake
lamp switches in the majority of vintage Land-Rovers; one is
hydraulically activated, and the other is mechanically
triggered
 .
The hydraulic
variety was fitted into the high-pressure brake lines
of Series II and early IIa machines through vehicle
Suffix E, while later vehicles fitted with power assisted
brakes utilized a mechanical switch. Unfortunately the
hydraulic switch is not adjustable; only replacement of the
switch can alter the point at which the brake lamps come on. The mechanical switch, however, can be adjusted by altering
the proximity of the switch to the brake pedal. Therefore,
if it is necessary to depress the brake pedal forcefully
before the brake lamps illuminate, the mechanical type of
switch can be moved closer to the brake pedal to cause the
brake lights to come on before the vehicle actually begins
to slow down. Thus one can simply tap the brake pedal
lightly to alert following drivers to the need for extra
caution. If the hydraulic switch is sluggish to respond it
would probably be best to replace it, as the switch is set
at the factory to activate at a low point of pressure.
While the foregoing observations may seem somewhat "fussy",
perhaps, a well-tuned vehicle coupled with an intelligent
driving attitude could well avert an catastrophic accident
some day.
CK |
