"BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats up? - Maintenance and Repair Forum

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"BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats up?
Sunday, April 09, 2006 11:39 AM
alright guys, 2k Z24 Auto cavalier...

The brake light comes on the dash (same as if the e-brake is up) What does this mean and what is going on?


-Its not just the e-brake handl sensor, because that also shuts TCS off at the same time.

-Hard to tell if the car has lost ABS or not, I can't lock up the brakes but cannot really feel if ABS is kicking in, it could just be tht the tires are better then the brakes, so they won't lock up. Been dry so haven't been able to try on wet ground.



Do wheel sensors commonly get dirty? Any tips on cleaning them?
ABS system issue?
Wiring issue?
Car has good volts... But the battery and alternator are 100% original, and its florida, not very common for batteries to last in the heat this long.

Still haven't checked brake lights, but since its intermittant I doubt that is the cause, and not even sure its something that happens on J-bodies.



Thanks in advance...


-Eric
2000 3.8L Camaro w/ 5-speed 14.467@95.45 $0 in mods!

Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats up?
Sunday, April 09, 2006 11:43 AM
Well MustangEater82

You may want to see if youre brake fluid is low, Some times the sensor in you brake master cyl will tight up when you dont have enough brake fluid.

Good Luck
Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats up?
Sunday, April 09, 2006 12:36 PM
shouldnt have anything to do with abs at all unless its in the abs module itself.

sounds like its your ebrake switch




Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats
Sunday, April 09, 2006 2:40 PM
Thing is when the e-brake is up... the TCS turns off...


but when the light comes on the TCS always stays on. So I assumed if the switch was badk the TCS woudl take off as well.


-Eric
2000 3.8L Camaro w/ 5-speed 14.467@95.45 $0 in mods!
Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats
Sunday, April 09, 2006 2:41 PM
Also is there a seperate ight for ABS? on my '00 Camaro, ABS issues come up as a differnet light and the e-brake handle is a different thing.




-Eric
2000 3.8L Camaro w/ 5-speed 14.467@95.45 $0 in mods!
Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats
Monday, April 10, 2006 9:53 PM
Sorry Brandon, please play again, here is the correct answer:

rich weeks wrote:Well MustangEater82

You may want to see if youre brake fluid is low, Some times the sensor in you brake master cyl will tight up when you dont have enough brake fluid.

Good Luck


There is a sensor in the master cylinder that checks the level of fluid (similar to a fuel gauge) and when it gets too low, the "Brake" light will flash. If you check your owner's manual it should mention something about the dash indicators and what happens when this occurs.

Now the reason that yours is intermittent, is that the brake fluid is just low enough to trip the sensor, but when braking/cornering/accelerating, that will produce a "sloshing" effect, turning the sensor off for a moment.









Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats
Monday, April 10, 2006 10:00 PM
i unplug my sensor and just the abs light comes on hows that




Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats
Monday, April 10, 2006 10:07 PM
Your car's just special.









Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats
Monday, April 10, 2006 10:08 PM
your welcome to go unplug the brake level sensor and look at ur dash with ebrake DOWN and tell me if you see a light or not




Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats
Monday, April 10, 2006 10:19 PM
Since I have a blown wheel speed sensor, my ABS light is on anyway, so that is a fruitless effort.

The answer above is correct as to why it will turn on intermittently.

Here's what I'm also using to back that statement.

http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=11&i=88980&t=88980#88980

http://www.j-body.org/forums/read.php?f=11&i=84726&t=84726#84726

From the second link:

Quote:

Okay the brake light comes on for three reasons ONLY!

1. low brake fluid
2. e-brake is engaged
3. a brake line snapped, and grounded that thing in the master cylinder, which completes the circuit and turns on the light.


kthnxbye









Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats
Monday, April 10, 2006 11:15 PM
lol.. ok so id u pull the sensor out yet? whers the ebrake light?





Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats
Tuesday, April 11, 2006 6:36 AM
Haven't had time to pull the sensor....

The e-brake light on my car (which will differ from the Cavi cluster) is on the lower left corner. The ABS is on the lower right.









Re: "BRAKE" light sporadically comes on... Whats
Thursday, April 13, 2006 11:30 AM
Thanks for the help.

just topped off the fluid... Its appears fine now... Little wierd it was as low as it was. Definitley looks cooked. Looks like I am going to flush it, and bleed it. But no leaks, pedal has plenty of pressure.


Wierd you guys have a sensor, F-bodies don't and we all know how GM has one big parts bin they like to pull parts from for every model.


-Eric
2000 3.8L Camaro w/ 5-speed 14.467@95.45 $0 in mods!
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