Emergency Break light turns on while driving | Ford Explorer Forums

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Emergency Break light turns on while driving

rmccullough

Member
Joined
March 25, 2005
Messages
25
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City, State
Belgrade, MT
Year, Model & Trim Level
'96 Ltd
Searched and could not find a post about this (search is difficult though since I can't search for a phrase).

1996 Ford Explorer Limited
5.0 V8 (not 4WD)
175,000 miles

About 3 weeks ago my emergency break light on the dash started coming on. It seems to turn on when accelerating (lunging forward) and it will sometimes shut off when stopping or when I take my foot off the accelerator.

Is this a loose e-brake cable?
 



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check your brake fluid level it could be low, also there is a momentary switch on the ebrake pedal that may be going bad.

My bet is your brake fluid is low
 






If your brake fluid is low, don't just top it off and move on - check your brake pads (it could be low if they are worn down and need to be replaced), and look around to see if it's leaking (leaking brake fluid + wires = electrical fire, maybe a toasty truck).
 












very good point Bubba!!
 






There are two and only two things that can make the light turn on: Low brake fluid, or the e-brake light switch being activated.

-Joe
 






I will check the brake fluid (I have seen it get low before when the pads were ready to be replaced). Where is the e-brake light switch? Is it by the e-brake pedal?

I will post back with my findings.
 






I went and looked at lunch. It looks like the fluid is a little low. Also, after taking the cap off and putting it back on, the light does not seem to come on as easily. I am pretty sure its the low fluid. I did not see any obvious leaks around the master cylinder.

I have also noticed the fluid going down before when the pads were worn and then going back up to full when new pads were installed.

I was going to get the front rotors turned when the pads were ready to be replaced anyways. I may have to pull the front tire off in the next couple days to take a look at the pads.

Thanks for the quick reply guys.
 






It's really not worth turning rotors. And when they are turned they are more prone to heat up and warp. For the price of new rotors I would replace them. You don't want to make already weak brakes even weaker.


As the pads wear out it takes more fluid to fill the slave cylinders for the brakes therefore taking more brake fluid.
 






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