May 18, 2016, 01:39 PM
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Electric E-brake using line lock
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 246
Likes: 1
Electric E-brake using line lock Well it looks like I don't have room in my car for a traditional lever style e-brake. My seats pretty much touch the doors and touch each other in the middle. So I am looking at other options. I have seen that they make electronic e-brakes but they are different then what I was thinking. It is pretty much an electric motor that pulls a cable. It would work fine for me but they are big $. So my thought was to use a line lock solenoid on a switch. This would be attached to the rear brakes only. Has anyone tried this? Do you guys see any problems with the solenoid staying powered for a couple hours? I won't need to use it all the time (mostly when not parked at home or work) but would be used as a anti theft device as well. Thoughts?
Well seeing it being electric it will drain the battery down if you left it on long enough. Any reason you cannot relocate the regular handbrake? I've seen people put it under the seat when there's not enough room in the console.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 246
Likes: 1
01SS - I did read somewhere that the solenoid draws about 3 amps but wasn't sure if that was while it was moving from open to closed or constant. Sounds like it is constant. I have a small battery so 3 amps would kill it fast.
M4N14C - I don't have many other options. The seats nearly sit on the ground and I have the slide adjuster in the front of them as well. I might be able to mount something in between the side of the seat and the door below the cage bar. But if I did that, I would have to open my door to be able to reach the handle. I have room behind the seats but who wants an e-brake there? I would literally have to get out of the car to pull it. I tossed around the idea of doing a pull style out of the dash, but then that is one more cable to run from the front of the car to the back, which I don't want.
So we scratch the line lock idea. What about a similar concept but instead of using a solenoid, use a manual ball valve? I am mounting my proportioning valve between the seat and would have room to add a ball valve behind that. Won't be the easiest thing to reach but should be possible. I will toss both seats in tonight and take some pictures to give you guys an idea of how little room I have.
M4N14C - I don't have many other options. The seats nearly sit on the ground and I have the slide adjuster in the front of them as well. I might be able to mount something in between the side of the seat and the door below the cage bar. But if I did that, I would have to open my door to be able to reach the handle. I have room behind the seats but who wants an e-brake there? I would literally have to get out of the car to pull it. I tossed around the idea of doing a pull style out of the dash, but then that is one more cable to run from the front of the car to the back, which I don't want.
So we scratch the line lock idea. What about a similar concept but instead of using a solenoid, use a manual ball valve? I am mounting my proportioning valve between the seat and would have room to add a ball valve behind that. Won't be the easiest thing to reach but should be possible. I will toss both seats in tonight and take some pictures to give you guys an idea of how little room I have.
Give these folks a call to verify what I'm about to say..
https://www.mico.com/products/brake-...activated-lock
We used these in heavy utility trucks where I work. It seems to work similar to a linelock, but does not need the electric draw on the solenoid to keep it activated if memory serves.
You activate it with enough pedal pressure to turn off the warning alarm, then apply MORE pressure with the switch off to release the brake pressure. I'm pretty sure you can turn the switch off and the brake continues to hold until more pressure opens the valve.
Again, its been a while, but I'm pretty sure thats how it worked.
No idea on pricing.
Or maybe this is a better option,
https://www.mico.com/products/brake-...cks/lever-lock
https://www.mico.com/products/brake-...activated-lock
We used these in heavy utility trucks where I work. It seems to work similar to a linelock, but does not need the electric draw on the solenoid to keep it activated if memory serves.
You activate it with enough pedal pressure to turn off the warning alarm, then apply MORE pressure with the switch off to release the brake pressure. I'm pretty sure you can turn the switch off and the brake continues to hold until more pressure opens the valve.
Again, its been a while, but I'm pretty sure thats how it worked.
No idea on pricing.
Or maybe this is a better option,
https://www.mico.com/products/brake-...cks/lever-lock
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Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 246
Likes: 1
95wannabe - That might just work! I will have to see what kind of price it is though...
80TA - No room there either.... I should have chose a bigger car to start with.
This is the best shot of the pedal area I can find.
80TA - No room there either.... I should have chose a bigger car to start with.
This is the best shot of the pedal area I can find.
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Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 246
Likes: 1
Yes that would be possible, but very ugly. I guess I could put it a little under the dash where you wont really see it. At the same time, that brings back the part where I have to run a cable from the front of the car to the rear. Another thing I am trying to avoid. I already have enough stuff going from front to back and really don't want to add another decent size cable.
I had an idea to use a quarter turn valve in the brake line. On my hombre, the ebrake was removed when I converted to Camaro brakes. Even bought the valve... just haven't installed it.
Launching!
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Apple Maggot Quarantine Zone
I've been wondering about the electric e-brakes on the newer vehicles, and I'm assuming that they are electronically released, instead of applied. Otherwise a battery failure would leave you unable to slow the car with the system. Wouldn't make much sense. They are called 'E-brakes' as in emergency, not parking brakes. They are supposed to stop the vehicle if you have a failure in the hydraulic system.
That's sort of how the brakes on 18 wheelers work. They are normally applied by mechanical springs, and released by air pressure. If their air lines get cut or separated, the brakes automatically apply.
You could use a normally closed valve instead, but that would be setting you up for a horrible accident if it ever lost power while driving...
That's sort of how the brakes on 18 wheelers work. They are normally applied by mechanical springs, and released by air pressure. If their air lines get cut or separated, the brakes automatically apply.
You could use a normally closed valve instead, but that would be setting you up for a horrible accident if it ever lost power while driving...
What kind of rear end do you have on the car? What type of braking system is currently on it? (Leverage makes a big difference. For example, the handle that pulls out of the dash won't give you the force that a long lever will - so that power needs to be made up in another mechanism, somewhere.)
My first thought was this, but I guess you probably won't find it attractive:
Air brakes could work out for you:
I'm not sure how you would fit air brakes to your car - but they are passive. They have springs that set them in parking mode when you have no air pressure. When you turn the car on and pressurize the tank, you can use that pressure to release the brake. (The brake doesn't re-engage until you pull the yellow handle again and you drain the parking brake cylinders.)
The only downside to the air parking brakes would be that you have to wait for a few seconds (while the air tank charges up) before you can release them and move the car -> you can't do the Starsky & Hutch turn the key and speed off kind of thing.
My first thought was this, but I guess you probably won't find it attractive:
Air brakes could work out for you:
I'm not sure how you would fit air brakes to your car - but they are passive. They have springs that set them in parking mode when you have no air pressure. When you turn the car on and pressurize the tank, you can use that pressure to release the brake. (The brake doesn't re-engage until you pull the yellow handle again and you drain the parking brake cylinders.)
The only downside to the air parking brakes would be that you have to wait for a few seconds (while the air tank charges up) before you can release them and move the car -> you can't do the Starsky & Hutch turn the key and speed off kind of thing.
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 246
Likes: 1
Wssix99 - Man that first picture made me laugh because that is pretty much what I am using now! The brakes are 4 piston Wilwood Powerlite calipers. They are specially machined for a Miata e-brake setup. Also, no rear end for me. Just a transaxle since it is mid engine. Air brakes are also out of the question. I don't want to have a compressor and tank in the car as well as everything else involved.
Going to give the Mico lock a look as it seems like the most simple and straight forward option.
Going to give the Mico lock a look as it seems like the most simple and straight forward option.
Launching!
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 237
Likes: 2
Not sure if possible, but instead of thinking about where traditional emergency brake handles are placed, how about thinking in the upward direction? Like...somewhere on the ceiling of the car, maybe above your head? Sort of inconspicuous there, and it probably wouldn't be too noticeable if you did it right. Could you mount it to the cage and route a cable through the cage, and out the bottom of the car?
Thread Starter
Launching!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 246
Likes: 1
Not sure if possible, but instead of thinking about where traditional emergency brake handles are placed, how about thinking in the upward direction? Like...somewhere on the ceiling of the car, maybe above your head? Sort of inconspicuous there, and it probably wouldn't be too noticeable if you did it right. Could you mount it to the cage and route a cable through the cage, and out the bottom of the car?
Launching!
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 237
Likes: 2
This is also a possibility. Good idea. I have no room on my a-pillar hoop due to the mirror going there. Its 2ft across. The upper door pillar bars (the ones that connect the a and b pillars) might be a spot to mount it. I think the b-pillar hoop is out of the question cause it is too far back. I will have to take a look when I get home. I know the bar is pretty close to the body how it is.