E-brake light on while driving

[finch1750]

This morning I noticed my e-brake light was lit on the dash while driving to work, and no, my e-brake was not engaged. It has been doing it intermittently the rest of the day and not sure what could cause it.

On a side note my GFs 99 Accord has been doing the same thing for like 3-4 months but her light stays on much more constant then mine did today.

Is this a sensor issue, adjustment issue, something else?

[Mr.ac]

Check your break fluid. It's low.

[Overdrive]

^^^^^^^^ As said, either your fluid is low...

And/or, your pads are super low and in need of replacement. If that's the case, you may find when you do replace them that your possibly low fluid level will come back up to normal territory.

I'm not 100% sure, but they likely talk about this in the manual. I remember it being in the manual for my older Toyota (2003), where they specifically said not to top up the brake fluid because it would prevent the system from giving you the brake light warning on the dash when your pads reach the point of needing replacement like it's supposed to.

[Mr.ac]

There are no sensors for low break pads. Fyi.

[Overdrive]

I don't think I mentioned anything about any sensors. What I'm saying is that (apparently) the idea is that as the pads wear down, the fluid level in the system will lower, and once it reaches a certain low point, the brake light turns on on the dash as a means of telling you that your brake pads need to be replaced. Could also be as you said, for some reason or another the fluid level got low and needs topping up. So it's just something to check before topping up the fluid, because it could just be time to replace the pads before you top up the system.

[finch1750]

Ill check when i get to level ground. Interesting since its intermittent but I guess fluid can slosh around.

Didnt figure though since i just checked it prior to my track day yesterday and it was good. Could have worn down the pads enough to make a difference I guess. Guess I just should have RTFM

[Bonburner]

I don't know much about the mechanics .. but is it even possible to wear down the E-brake's drum brakes in 5 years? I had mine cleaned out recently when getting the pads swapped and they looked like 0 wear.

I guess if you've been yanking it constantly to drift?

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by Bonburner

I don't know much about the mechanics .. but is it even possible to wear down the E-brake's drum brakes in 5 years? I had mine cleaned out recently when getting the pads swapped and they looked like 0 wear.

I guess if you've been yanking it constantly to drift?

Thats why I was puzzled by it at first, but I also didnt think that it doubled for the regular brakes too lol. My brake fluid is right at the min line so it is probably reading low as it moves around like other pointed out.

[Imrac]

Originally Posted by finch1750

Thats why I was puzzled by it at first, but I also didnt think that it doubled for the regular brakes too lol. My brake fluid is right at the min line so it is probably reading low as it moves around like other pointed out.

FYI, don't just top off brake fluid. Brake fluid doesn't go low without a reason.

Either your brake pads are worn and you are using more fluid as the slave pistons are extended further to engage the brakes, or you have a leak.

Easiest thing to do is check your brake pads and replace if necessary.

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by Imrac

FYI, don't just top off brake fluid. Brake fluid doesn't go low without a reason.

Either your brake pads are worn and you are using more fluid as the slave pistons are extended further to engage the brakes, or you have a leak.

Easiest thing to do is check your brake pads and replace if necessary.

Yeah, the pads were sorta on their way out and I was at the track sunday so I know that is the cause lol. Just didnt even think the light was related to anything other then the e-brake. I'm on my 5th or 6th set of front pads now and it never came on before so just didnt think about it

[Imrac]

Originally Posted by finch1750

Yeah, the pads were sorta on their way out and I was at the track sunday so I know that is the cause lol. Just didnt even think the light was related to anything other then the e-brake. I'm on my 5th or 6th set of front pads now and it never came on before so just didnt think about it

I read about your track experience after I posted, then realized you probably already knew! I didn't know the brake light would come on due to low fluid though.

[Stang70Fastback]

Your girlfriend's Accord has had an almost-constant BRAKE warning light illuminated on the dash for "months" and you still haven't done anything about it?

Do you hate your girlfriend?

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by Stang70Fastback

Your girlfriend's Accord has had an almost-constant BRAKE warning light illuminated on the dash for "months" and you still haven't done anything about it?

Do you hate your girlfriend?

You're thinking about this like a guy. You see a problem and want to fix it. You see a guy describe a problem and don't understand why he didn't fix it. It's very simple to us.

To a woman, fixing her car may carry a lot of extra connotations. It's not, "Now my car is fixed." It's, "What does it mean for him to fix my car?" Does it mean she now has some obligation to him? Will fixing her car cross them into a different stage in their relationship? The next time they have a fight, will he be able to use this against her? If she tells her dad the boyfriend fixed the car, will he get upset? Will her mom tell her she's being too dependent? Does it really mean she's becoming dependent? Is she ready to depend on him? What if she starts relying on him and then he stops working on the car? What will that mean for their relationship? Is he going to let her down? If she's obligated now, what does she owe him? Maybe she should buy him something. Or does she need to just blow him? Surely a nice dinner will be sufficient. But oh, she's going to have to sit out there with him while he works, because it would be super bitchy to stay inside. Boooooring.

So maybe he hasn't fixed his girlfriend's car because they're not at that stage in their relationship, and she won't let him. Or maybe he's smart enough not to wade into that morass just yet.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

You're thinking about this like a guy. You see a problem and want to fix it. You see a guy describe a problem and don't understand why he didn't fix it. It's very simple to us.

To a woman, fixing her car may carry a lot of extra connotations. It's not, "Now my car is fixed." It's, "What does it mean for him to fix my car?" Does it mean she now has some obligation to him? Will fixing her car cross them into a different stage in their relationship? The next time they have a fight, will he be able to use this against her? If she tells her dad the boyfriend fixed the car, will he get upset? Will her mom tell her she's being too dependent? Does it really mean she's becoming dependent? Is she ready to depend on him? What if she starts relying on him and then he stops working on the car? What will that mean for their relationship? Is he going to let her down? If she's obligated now, what does she owe him? Maybe she should buy him something. Or does she need to just blow him? Surely a nice dinner will be sufficient. But oh, she's going to have to sit out there with him while he works, because it would be super bitchy to stay inside. Boooooring.

So maybe he hasn't fixed his girlfriend's car because they're not at that stage in their relationship, and she won't let him. Or maybe he's smart enough not to wade into that morass just yet.

WOW! ....... ol extrashaky dug right into a woman's head to come up with that .........

To give you an example, waaaaay back-in-the-day, when I was courting mrs humfrz, she was living in her condo with her daughter. My sons and I were invited over for supper. When we arrived, she was just finishing up vacuuming the carpet, I offer to finish up the job while she tended to the cooking.

I noticed that the vacuum wasn't picking up anything; the filter was totally clogged. I pointed that out to her and cleaned the filter. She was embarrassed and felt I was criticizing her housekeeping skills.

So, since I was the EXPERT on running a vacuum sweeper, I have been assigned that task for the last 35 years now .......


humfrz