Toyota Repair: battery & brake lights, antilock brakes, barrel carburetor

Question
My battery & brake light is both on at the same time. 1988 corolla. I heard something about a brake switch somewhere and I don't want to replace the alternator if its just a switch. I do a lot of self repair, I am very capable. Is there such a thing as a "brake switch"? I've never heard of this component before. Its an old car, no antilock brakes, regular old 2 barrel carburetor. 4 cylinder, engine model 4 AF. Car has been very good to me, over 233,000 miles. Automatic trans. I would SO much rather it be some switch instead of the alternator-I recently did the harmonic balancer & it was very difficult to do by myself. Can you give a checklist of things to look for?

Answer
Yes there is a switch on the emergency brake that turns the light on when the brake lever is pulled up but in theis case the battery light being on would indicate a bad alternator, if you have access to a voltmeter connect it across the battery with the engine running and check the voltage, it should be more than battery voltage, about 13.5v to 14.0v anything less would indicate that the alternator is not charging.