Handbrake light & ABS light - 5th gen
02-06-2005, 06:17 PM
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Handbrake light & ABS light - 5th gen
Well when i turned on the car this morning, I noticed on my dash that the handbrake light had remained on after taking the handbrake off. Also noticed that in the display of my car, "BRAKE LIGHT" was also lit up, even when my foot was not on the brake pedal.
Also, my ABS light was on. After driving for a little while, unsure if my rear brakelights were working (brakes seemed to be working fine, I understand that they would not have the ABS function, however, if there was a fault) I stopped at traffic lights and turned the car off for a short while, then turned it back on. The ABS light seemed to be off now, The handbrake light was still on, and the rear "brakelight" light only came on when I pushed the brake pedal... then it stayed on... ABS came on about a minute down the road.
The whole way to work the car was driving perfectly fine, and when I arrived at work I checked to see if my rear taillights were permanently on, which they weren't.
On a side note, on a hot day, my brakes play up. Normally, I can push them in a small amount, and eventually this will pull my in to a complete stop, even keeping the pedal depressed at the same level. On a hot day, to stop the car, I need to depress the pedal entirely to the floor to pull the car to a complete stop.
Any Ideas? brake pads replaced recently, discs appear fine, better at rear than front.
Also, my ABS light was on. After driving for a little while, unsure if my rear brakelights were working (brakes seemed to be working fine, I understand that they would not have the ABS function, however, if there was a fault) I stopped at traffic lights and turned the car off for a short while, then turned it back on. The ABS light seemed to be off now, The handbrake light was still on, and the rear "brakelight" light only came on when I pushed the brake pedal... then it stayed on... ABS came on about a minute down the road.
The whole way to work the car was driving perfectly fine, and when I arrived at work I checked to see if my rear taillights were permanently on, which they weren't.
On a side note, on a hot day, my brakes play up. Normally, I can push them in a small amount, and eventually this will pull my in to a complete stop, even keeping the pedal depressed at the same level. On a hot day, to stop the car, I need to depress the pedal entirely to the floor to pull the car to a complete stop.
Any Ideas? brake pads replaced recently, discs appear fine, better at rear than front.
02-07-2005, 04:48 AM
#2
For your last note about the pedal to the floor, bleed air out of the brake system. But there's a good chance that it won't be a permanent fix; then you need a new master cylinder.
Handbrake warning light comes on for either of 2 reasons...
1 - Flaky switch at the handbrake lever. If the bracket is bent, the lever doesn't push the switch properly.
2 - Float-switch in the brake fluid reservoir. Low fluid or flaky switch.
That warning lamp circuit ties into the ABS. When the ABS sees that, it inactivates itself. But if it stays on, it stores an error code about handbrake being on.
Handbrake warning light comes on for either of 2 reasons...
1 - Flaky switch at the handbrake lever. If the bracket is bent, the lever doesn't push the switch properly.
2 - Float-switch in the brake fluid reservoir. Low fluid or flaky switch.
That warning lamp circuit ties into the ABS. When the ABS sees that, it inactivates itself. But if it stays on, it stores an error code about handbrake being on.
02-07-2005, 07:46 AM
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My ABS light does the same thing on my 5th gen.... its been bitterly cold here for the past few weeks and I left my e-brake on one night at work and I came out in the morning and my car was frozen in place.... I had to drive around the lot at work dragging my back tires until they let loose... and now my abs light is on constant.... sometimes it will go out and when it does the car will stop normal and right before i come to a complete stop the abs feels like it kicks in and the pedal goes to the floor....but when the light is on i will hit the brakes hard in the snow or something and all 4 tires will lock... its quite retarded