Emergency Brake Light On when its not in use?!

[Leo]

hey fellas, my emergency brake keeps coming on when i drive around. i checked the dual master cylinder and saw a low amount of fluid in the rear chamber. im assuming its a leak some where.

where would a leak likely most occur on these ol' box's??

[86VickyLX]

Either problems with actual brakes or parking brake pedal not up all the way.

[Leo]

funny that you mention that. some times when i kick that emergency pedal down and slowly bring it up the light would go away. but i checked the brake fluid today and saw that it was low. its gota be a leak...

do 85 cv's have the light come on if there are major issues with the brakes?!
my galaxies would have the E brake light show up if there was a major catastrophe in the brake system.

[johnunit]

if you suspect a leak, measure how far from the top the fluid is in the MC (both reservoirs), put the cap back on, and pump the hell out of the brakes, several times.


If there's no measurable difference, it's probably not a leak causing your light to come on.


Is just the LIGHT coming on, or do you have reason to believe the emergency brake itself is staying applied?

[90ltd]

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[90ltd]

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[90ltd]

I had a same thing last week. Turned out that my rear brake shoes were almost to the metal. Went to napa and got them for $ 35. Mine looked like factory originals.

[Leo]

if you suspect a leak, measure how far from the top the fluid is in the MC (both reservoirs), put the cap back on, and pump the hell out of the brakes, several times.


If there's no measurable difference, it's probably not a leak causing your light to come on.


Is just the LIGHT coming on, or do you have reason to believe the emergency brake itself is staying applied?

thats a good idea, i'll try it in morning and get back to you guys.


the pedal shoots right up when i release it. i dont feel any dragging either.

[86VickyLX]

How does your regular brake pedal feel? Soft or squishy?

[BerniniCaCO3]

A leak could be anywhere. Check calipers and wheel cylinders (inside rear drums) first, then along the lines for any spot rusted through. But like stated above: brakes operate at something like 2000psi. If there's even a pinhole leak, pumping the pedal (with the engine running for power assist) should noticeably drain the fluid reservoir.

I was asking about the emergency light switch itself not long ago. I'd accidentally tapped into the sensor wire...
As I understand it, it's just a switch that when one circuit operates at a lower pressure than the other, the switch moves and grounds the warning light? Kindof like the battery warning light, which has alternator and battery voltages opposing each other, and when one stops performing (namely, the alternator), the light gets battery voltage and lights up. I might misunderstand.

[GM_Guy]

hey fellas, my emergency brake keeps coming on when i drive around. i checked the dual master cylinder and saw a low amount of fluid in the rear chamber. im assuming its a leak some where.

Not necessarily unless it is visibly dropping in level.

As the front brakes wear out, the caliper pistons stay further out, and with that, fluid now resides in the caliper chamber rather than in the master cyclinder.
Similarily with the rear brakes, if they are out of adjustment, the rear cylinders need to move further before the shoes touch the drums, that again takes more fluid to move the pistons, jam on the brakes for some heavy braking and your brake light may flash on under these circumstances if the fluid is closer to min than max in the reservoir.

Alex.