73 Chevy Blazer - Did this year come with parking brake switch?

[Kyle K]

Hey folks, quick simple question. I have a 73 Chevy Blazer, believe it's Cheyenne edition per dash. Do you know if a parking brake switch came standard, or what year this started? Mine doesn't have one, and I don't even see mounting holes on the parking brake lever. I have a new painless wiring kit, so was going to wire it, but if they didn't come standard this year, I'm not even dealing with drilling the hole in the lever or buying a switch. Obviously doesn't provide a ton of value, but fixing all I can.

Thanks!

Note: I do have the brake warning light hooked up correctly to the brake proportioning valve

 

[Turbo Dog]

My 1987 V30 doesn't have a switch, I would like to add one because after building a high torque stroker 388 I can drive away without remembering to release the parking brake.

 

[bucket]

My 1987 V30 doesn't have a switch, I would like to add one because after building a high torque stroker 388 I can drive away without remembering to release the parking brake.

It did originally.

 

[75gmck25]

My ‘75 GMC has Silverado trim (fanciest that year) and there is no parking brake switch. The brake light in the dash is connected only to the proportioning valve. IIRC, it comes on if you turn the truck on but don’t start it, and then goes off as soon as you start it.

Bruce

 

[70SBUDGET]

My ‘75 GMC has Silverado trim (fanciest that year) and there is no parking brake switch. The brake light in the dash is connected only to the proportioning valve. IIRC, it comes on if you turn the truck on but don’t start it, and then goes off as soon as you start it.

Bruce

is the light NOT supposed to stay on until the parking brake is released?

 

[Snoots]

My '73 does not have one. Just the Brake light from the PV.

I drove halfway down Mount Charleston with the parking brake on once. Needed new shoes anyway.

 

[Turbo4whl]

I can add my 1974 has no parking brake switch. By 1982, my '82 has a parking light switch. I am not sure what year they started. Also my '74 does not have a 4 wheel drive light, my 1985 4 wheel drive Suburban did.

 

[Juggernaut]

None of my trucks from 75 to 79 have had a parking brake switch. I've also driven with my parking brake on and ruined the shoes. It sure would be nice to add one. Maybe someone has done this and will share how they installed it.

 

[75gmck25]

I added a parking brake switch to my ‘75. I had to buy a new parking brake mechanism so I had one with a hole to mount the switch, and then I bought a new switch. Puzzled for a bit over how the switch bolts on, but finally found a picture and got it and the brake mounted.

Now for the fun part. The switch on the brake proportioning valve turns on the brake light on by grounding the wire running to the valve. So I knew which wire turned on the dash light when grounded.
- I looked at the wiring diagram to find the wire color and traced it up to the plug for the instrument panel.
- About 8-12 inches away from the panel plug I could get to individual wires and have enough slack to access the wire running to the proportioning valve.
- I t-tapped into that wire and ran a jumper over to the brake pedal switch.
- When the emergency brake pedal is down and ignition is on, it grounds the wire and turns on the brake light in the dash.

 

[Juggernaut]

I added a parking brake switch to my ‘75. I had to buy a new parking brake mechanism so I had one with a hole to mount the switch, and then I bought a new switch. Puzzled for a bit over how the switch bolts on, but finally found a picture and got it and the brake mounted.

Now for the fun part. The switch on the brake proportioning valve turns on the brake light on by grounding the wire running to the valve. So I knew which wire turned on the dash light when grounded.
- I looked at the wiring diagram to find the wire color and traced it up to the plug for the instrument panel.
- About 8-12 inches away from the panel plug I could get to individual wires and have enough slack to access the wire running to the proportioning valve.
- I t-tapped into that wire and ran a jumper over to the brake pedal switch.
- When the emergency brake pedal is down and ignition is on, it grounds the wire and turns on the brake light in the dash.

What did you get the parking brake mechanism from? Did it bolt in or did you have to modify it?

 

[75gmck25]

I looked at LMC and several other online catalogs and just ordered the cheapest one I could find. I don’t recall the vendor, but it was one of the standard online Chevy classics parts places. I could probably find the vendor receipt if you need it.

It is functionally identical to the old one, except for the mounting hole for the brake switch. It bolts in place exactly the same. It took some head scratching to figure out how the switch mounts and worked with the mechanism to turn on the light, but there are only so many combinations to try.

 

[Don-T]

My 73 K10 did not have the switch for the parking brake when I bought the truck. As part of the rebuild I used a Painless kit. The kit included wiring for the switch so I looked into adding it. I found pictures on the internet that show how the switch mounts. I bought a switch from LMC and installed it. The light works as it should, well worth the trouble to get it done.