Would it actually reset and calibrate? It seemed to be just an on or off sort of deal. With my current bad luck I'm really reluctant to take it out because I'm told they're easy to break haha

I'm working from memory here, and it's a long time since I was working on stuff that old really, but it was common for the switches to be broken simply by people not fitting them properly and knocking them out of calibration as a result. The fix was often just to remove the switch, reset it, and reinstall correctly as I recall.

Any idea as to how far the pedal had to travel before the lights would turn on?

I can't recall. In the main, it never entered my mind to check as once fitted correctly the switch always just worked.

Ah fair enough. Mine would probably benefit from a new switch for the few spare quid it'd cost but for the mean time I'll see how it goes. As long as it works and continues to work I'll consider myself lucky 

Andy as coincidence would have it, i recently replaced my brake light switch with a ECP item (within the past 2 weeks) due to my cars running issues. Easy enough to do, just take your time and youll not damage a thing. 

 

My advice to you woukd be to buy it from a dealer! My new switch has already gone faulty and my brake lights (as of the past 24hrs) will intermittently engauge regardless of ignition. My work colleagues and neighbours find it amusing though. Ah the joys!! 

Get your own little light show, who needs cheap eBay show lights when you can just have a buggered brake light switch haha. Yeah for stuff like that that needs to work day in day out and reliably I would go with dealer parts.

Hilariously enough as part of the bad luck I mentioned further up the thread, I had a Mazda 3 until the end of April and at random points when it was parked the hazards would flash. It didn't ever drain the battery but it was bloody annoying. I'm convinced the bad luck is following me 

Lol my bad luck has never left me for the past 10 years of ownership of this car bloomin annoying some times! Did you mention your from up Newcastle way? 

 

Some of us are just cursed man haha. Aye I'm about twenty minutes drive from Newcastle mate.