Brake Issues
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 428
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From: Victoria - Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
Brake Issues The day before I put my car away for winter storage, I accidentally drove it with the e-brake not quite all the way off. After about ten minutes I lost my brakes completely and had to coast to a stop on the gravel at the side of the road. I let it sit to cool down once I realized what had happened, then limped it home. The brakes work fine now, but the e-brake light on my dash won't go out now. Help! 
the e-brake is completely independent of your normal (hydraulic) brakes,
if you had "no brakes" when hitting the brake pedal and had to coast to a stop, you have other problems.
and if you had the ebrake handle up only a few clicks, the parking brake shoes barely touch the rotor, you would have to have the ebrake handle up about 4-5 clicks before you'd actually start wearing the parking brake shoes as you drove.
and there's a switch under the center console where the ebrake handle is, if the ebrake light on the dash, i think it's red and just says "Brake", is on then it's at that switch, which is no big deal really it doesn't affect anything. but if it's the ABS light on the dash then that's different.
if you had "no brakes" when hitting the brake pedal and had to coast to a stop, you have other problems.
and if you had the ebrake handle up only a few clicks, the parking brake shoes barely touch the rotor, you would have to have the ebrake handle up about 4-5 clicks before you'd actually start wearing the parking brake shoes as you drove.
and there's a switch under the center console where the ebrake handle is, if the ebrake light on the dash, i think it's red and just says "Brake", is on then it's at that switch, which is no big deal really it doesn't affect anything. but if it's the ABS light on the dash then that's different.
Thread Starter
TECH Regular
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 428
Likes: 0
From: Victoria - Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
Weird, my mechanic said I'd likely boiled my brake fluid and that was why I'd had no brakes. He looked it over and said the brakes are fine, and it was related to the e-brake. I'll try that switch. And yes, its just the emergency brake light thats on, not the ABS
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12 Second Club
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 354
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From: Springfield, Missouri
sadly, on our cars the e-brake is completely independent from the break system on the car. the e-brake is engaged by a cable instead of by fluid pressure. also the e-break on our cars is located inside the rear disc its a little mini drum break of sorts. look at your brake fluid reservoir under the hood and see if the fluid is clear or black...
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I'm not sure about a '95 but on the later model cars, the brake light is more than just an e-brake light. It could mean a larger issue with the actual braking system. The light will come on when your brake lever switch is engaged - but it doesn't tell you anything about the e-brake. Its other function is to warn you of a hydraulic brake problem.
My '99 owners manual (in the gague light section) says that the Brake light coming on while you are driving is an indication of a brake system failure. It also mentions that if this light comes on while you are driving and you notice a stiff pedal or a pedal that goes to the floor; that you should have the car towed immediately and have the brake system serviced.
My '99 owners manual (in the gague light section) says that the Brake light coming on while you are driving is an indication of a brake system failure. It also mentions that if this light comes on while you are driving and you notice a stiff pedal or a pedal that goes to the floor; that you should have the car towed immediately and have the brake system serviced.
12 Second Club
Joined: Sep 2005
Posts: 354
Likes: 0
From: Springfield, Missouri
I'm not sure about a '95 but on the later model cars, the brake light is more than just an e-brake light. It could mean a larger issue with the actual braking system. The light will come on when your brake lever switch is engaged - but it doesn't tell you anything about the e-brake. Its other function is to warn you of a hydraulic brake problem.
My '99 owners manual (in the gague light section) says that the Brake light coming on while you are driving is an indication of a brake system failure. It also mentions that if this light comes on while you are driving and you notice a stiff pedal or a pedal that goes to the floor; that you should have the car towed immediately and have the brake system serviced.
My '99 owners manual (in the gague light section) says that the Brake light coming on while you are driving is an indication of a brake system failure. It also mentions that if this light comes on while you are driving and you notice a stiff pedal or a pedal that goes to the floor; that you should have the car towed immediately and have the brake system serviced.
