Hi everyone,
Hoping someone can shed some light on this, as it's definitely doing my head in.
The brake warning light on the check panel comes on as normal , then goes off when brake pedal is pressed, then comes on again after a few mins of driving. I've changed the bulbs, brake switch, checked the earth under the rear seat, bulb contacts look good at the clusters. It is a US spec car, so has the 3rd brake light, but its deleted, and i'v connected the green/black wires together to by pass the check panel for the 3rd brake light. Does anyone suggest trying the earth wire mod that another zones did a while back to see if it sorts it? Trouble is, I don't want to start cutting wires if it's something else. Sorry for the long post. Any help appreciated.
Dreaded brake warning light
Moderator: martauto
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Brianmoooore
- E30 Zone Team Member
- Posts: 49359
- Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm
First thing to check is the soldering on the legs of the large 220 ohm resistor in the instrument cluster, near the temperature gauge. Resistor position can be seen on the back of the case, where there's a rectangular hump housing it.
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M42
- E30 Zone Newbie
- Posts: 146
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:00 pm
Thanks Brian, I'll have a look.
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M42
- E30 Zone Newbie
- Posts: 146
- Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 11:00 pm
Brian, I have looked into this online and it's always related to brake pad wear light. Does the soldering on the resistor also apply to the rear brake light warning too?
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Brianmoooore
- E30 Zone Team Member
- Posts: 49359
- Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:00 pm
Sorry! Sunday lunch = large quantity of red grape juice, and I was up very early this morning, courtesy of Japan being badly placed on the planet.
Resistor is nothing to do with the brake failure light at all, of course.
Brake light switch is a possibility, or a transverse brake pull rod in need of adjustment. If the rod is allowing the brake pedal to bounce and just momentarily flash the brake lights, or the switch has been damaged by this, the warning light can sometimes come on. Don't forget that once it's on it stays on until reset with the ignition switch.
There are at least three different designs of rear light bulb holder assemblies in use, and they are not of equal reliability. Temporary earths could be added to prove a point, but if this cures the problem, it would be better to track down exactly where the poor connection is than to just bypass it.
Resistor is nothing to do with the brake failure light at all, of course.
Brake light switch is a possibility, or a transverse brake pull rod in need of adjustment. If the rod is allowing the brake pedal to bounce and just momentarily flash the brake lights, or the switch has been damaged by this, the warning light can sometimes come on. Don't forget that once it's on it stays on until reset with the ignition switch.
There are at least three different designs of rear light bulb holder assemblies in use, and they are not of equal reliability. Temporary earths could be added to prove a point, but if this cures the problem, it would be better to track down exactly where the poor connection is than to just bypass it.