Brake(dashboard) light

[Montillious]

hey everybody, see what you can make of this. The brakelight (dashboard) turns on and off intermittenly during heavy braking and moderate acceleration.
It's becoming more frequent, coming on with less moderate acceleration and staying on longer after reaching a constant speed. Is this a bad switch or something serious? If it matters it a '96 Eddie B V-8 AWD w/ 145,000 miles. Thanks for any help.

 

[DeRocha]

The brake switch only comes on If you have the Emergency Brake on, or your low on brake fluid. I'm guessing you don't have a habit of driving around with the E-brake on so that leaves a low fluid condition. There is a low fluid sensor connected to the brake fluid reservoir. It has a couple of wires sticking out of it. If the fluid drops below the sensor the brake light will come on. When you accelerate or brake the fluid will move to the rear or front of the reservoir (respectfully). This can cause the fluid to momentarily drop below the sensor and cause the warning light to intermittently turn on.

The next question will be whether or not you have a leak in the brake system. After filling up the brake fluid check the brake lines and hoses for any leaking..

BTW Welcome to the site... You'll find lots of great info..

 

[spta97]

Hit the emergency brake with some 3-in-one oil or WD-40. Mine was having similar behavior and the brake switch was stuck. The other thing to check is to see if your fluid is low in the brake resevoir - which would mean low pads or rotors. It could also be another problem in the system.

 

[Montillious]

Thanks a lot guys, I'll be sure to check the fluid as soon as I get out of class. And spta, when you say spray the emergency brake, do you mean at the pedal or the calipers. I appreciate the advice and the welcome.

 

[Charlie's_93EB]

Thanks a lot guys, I'll be sure to check the fluid as soon as I get out of class. And spta, when you say spray the emergency brake, do you mean at the pedal or the calipers. I appreciate the advice and the welcome.

no no no no no no, i do not know what part he is talking about,
>but WD40 + braking surface = BAD

 

[axionplaya]

Check for brake fluid... if it comes on and off randomly, chances are you've got little or NO brake fluid at all. I remember when that used to happen to my truck occasionally. The brake light would come on just randomly every once in a while... then later it would come on more and more... to the point of whenever I braked or came to a complete stop, the light would come on again. I checked my brakes and found lots of brake rust and dry residue. Cause: No brake fluid. I poured in brake fluid immediately and the light never came on again. However, because of my not putting brake fluid in the truck, the brake pads eventually became useless and I had to replace all 4 pads. Check your brake fluid as soon as you can... if the light still comes on, be sure to take the car into the mechanic immediately.

Roy
_________________________
1996 Ford Explorer XLT
4WD
4.0L SOHC V6
K&N Filter
Flowmaster

 

[spta97]

Thanks a lot guys, I'll be sure to check the fluid as soon as I get out of class. And spta, when you say spray the emergency brake, do you mean at the pedal or the calipers. I appreciate the advice and the welcome.

No, I mean the mechanism behind the actual emergency brake pedal where the springs and stuff are inside the truck. If you play around you'll find the sensor that triggers the dashboard "Brake" light. Find where it is then lube it up so it operates smoothly. However, it sounds like low fluid could be the cause too - don't just top it off and call it a day - if the fluid is low either the pads have worn down (the piston on the caliper extends and the fluid in the resevior drops) or there is a leak.

I have never beleived in adding more brake fluid - it just masks the problem and will ooze all over the hoses (it is corrosive to them apparently) when you put new pads on and compress the caliper piston.