Ok, thanks, I appreciate it. A cap kit is cheap enough, if removing the strainer doesn't help, I'll just buy a cap kit, I found them online for less than $30.00. I wonder what I can buy it at the local Honda dealer for.....

 

The strainer would mechanically interfere with the movement of the float. If you removed the cap & made the float go all the way up, & STILL the light came on, then it's a bad cap-switch.

Actually, try it a different way...
Hold the cap upright & use your fingers to push the float all the way up. The dum little contacts inside there might fall out-of-place if you hold the entire cap upside-down.

 

Ok, I'm pretty sure now that it IS the cap switch. I brought my multimeter home from work with me this evening.... the brake light was dimly glowing again. I took the cap off and unhooked it. The first couple times I checked it I had continuity with the float lifted up, but then after that I didn't. I put it back on and the light is now off. Guess I'll call the places in town tomorrow and see if they can get me one or if I'm gonna have to either make a 40 minute drive to a dealer or else order one online....

 

Id order one online... The dealer is going to rape you otherwise... Ive always considered dealer a last resort... Granted I always call them first just in case... They are always a good source of partnumbers as well

 

Well, being a small business owner myself, I normally try to keep my business here in my home town, but there isn't a Honda dealer here, and I dunno if this is a part I can get at the local napa/IKT/etc (we have about 5 parts places here in town now)... but I'll try here first. I already found it online, though, so I know about what it should sell for. I won't overpay, but I WILL pay a little more to keep it in town and for good service. We'll see tomorrow after I make a few calls.

 

Do you have a local salvage yard or picnpull???

 

Ok, local salvage yard didn't have a cap they were willing to part with, they'd rather sell the entire master cylinder, so I ended up ordering a cap online. Got it the day before yesterday, and it seems to have cured the problem, no more dimly glowing brake light on the dash.

 

Very good.

We appreciate you coming back & telling us the end of the story. Too many times we never find out if our advice helped or not.

 

And I appreciate the help. I have had my accord for a year and 4 months now, and other than a set of tires which I knew I was gonna have to put on it, I haven't had to do much else besides the brake cap..... OH, and I had to replace the ignition switch, which was also inexpensive. I didn't get the car dirt cheap, but I didn't pay a truckload, either, and if I can get 2 or 3 years out of it without spending much on repairs, then I think I'm way ahead of the game. And I just really like the car, too.