Parking Brake Plunger For Dashboard Light

I have a 99 Tacoma where the parking brake light started staying on and just last week started staying on all the time. I worried so I just took my manuals out and traced the system and it's fine. When on it's tight and when off it it totally off. I now think I spent time crawling in the dirt for nothing. Well I now know how it goes.

When it is pushed all the way in it hits a little plunger and I think this is the problem. It makes no difference whether I push it or not. It screws off easily and goes into a white plastic mounting that seems to be a permanent pushthrough and then up to the dashboard. Does anyone know how it works? I mean pressure on it breaks a circuit or pressure on it opens a circuit? I have some boxloads of electronics I got years ago from an electronics store closing and I have some plunger switches that would fit. I'm just asking because I'm a big guy and I'd like to know which to adapt before getting into those tight spots.

BTW, this is my first post and I love it. I got it in '04 or '05 since I wanted an all around Tacoma without too many electronics other than air conditioning for an off road and living in the country utility truck and it has been faultless.

Steve

 

Check your parking brake assy at the rear wheels where the cable enters the wheel. They tend to get seized over time and it causes the parking brake handle to not fully retract. This causes the parking brake switch to act intermittently.

 

It may not be the parking brake.
Have you checked your brake fluid level?

 

I agree with^ someone had this problem awhile back, his brake fluid was low, the float in the brake fluid reservoir was dropping causing the brake light in the dash to come on, the switches on the e-brake handle rarely fail.