Dashboard brake warning light.

A

Alfie Noakes

Member
The brake warning light in the centre of the dash (the big amber one that looks like 2 brake shoes with an exclamation mark in the middle) comes on with a beep when I go over a big bump or pothole. It resets itself when the car is stopped but then comes on again when I go over a bump. The guy at B&F Motors said he would only take a couple of minutes to fix it as it was just a couple of wires that needed a tweak that were between the pad and the loom. Near side front by the way.

Well, it seemed to fix itself so I never bothered to chase him.

Now it's happening again!!!

Has anyone any idea what might need to be done to stop this happening? Please don't suggest plugging it in that seems to be a waste of time from my experience.

Cheers

Rob
 
Most likely it's just sensor on your front brake pads been activated due worn out pads and they need to be replaced. You can find out by taking the pasanger side front wheel off and look how much meat is left on them.
 
Also if your mechanic said “it’s just a wire that needs a tweak” it’s possible it’s been bodged in the past to bypass this sensor by shorting it out, hence it only coming on when a big bump makes the short come loose.

Out of curiosity, where has your feeling that “plugging it in” is a waste of time come from? For many things on a “modern” car it is the only way to properly diagnose and fix.
 
Hi Rob,

This looks to be an issue with the brake pad wear sensor.

Under normal circumstances, a trickle of electricity runs through your front-left brake pad. When the pad gets close to being worn down, its ability to conduct electricity is severed, causing the warning light to illuminate.

Unfortunately, this electrical circuit can be unreliable, which causes the warning to appear even when there’s still plenty of meat left on the brake pad. The shock that the wheel experiences when going over rough ground is, in your case, enough to temporarily break the electrical connection.

B&F are proposing to bypass this system by joining two wires together. Some people object to this method of ‘fixing’ the issue, because it deletes the brake pad warning system rather than repairing it.
Others are happy to delete the system, because brake pad thickness is visually checked during the MOT anyway. Some would argue that electrically monitoring the brake pad thickness is needless.

The brake pad wear sensor circuit is not tied to the car’s digital diagnostic system. Consequently, when this issue strikes, a diagnostic scan is indeed a waste of time.

All the best,

Tom
 
Thank you for your replies I have a good idea of where to look now and I have found a couple of other threads on how to fix it.

Someone else mentioned that if the pads are good it's not an MoT failure which is important at the moment.

I have to check and possibly replace the drop link on that side so I can have a look around then.
 
timmus said:
Hi Rob,

This looks to be an issue with the brake pad wear sensor.

Under normal circumstances, a trickle of electricity runs through your front-left brake pad. When the pad gets close to being worn down, its ability to conduct electricity is severed, causing the warning light to illuminate.

Unfortunately, this electrical circuit can be unreliable, which causes the warning to appear even when there’s still plenty of meat left on the brake pad. The shock that the wheel experiences when going over rough ground is, in your case, enough to temporarily break the electrical connection.

B&F are proposing to bypass this system by joining two wires together. Some people object to this method of ‘fixing’ the issue, because it deletes the brake pad warning system rather than repairing it.
Others are happy to delete the system, because brake pad thickness is visually checked during the MOT anyway. Some would argue that electrically monitoring the brake pad thickness is needless.

The brake pad wear sensor circuit is not tied to the car’s digital diagnostic system. Consequently, when this issue strikes, a diagnostic scan is indeed a waste of time.

All the best,

Tom
Click to expand...
Hi Tom, I have exactly the same problem and connected the two wires through 5 years ago, but the wires at the sensor connector at the wheel are now too short to connect through thanks to corrosion and blackening of the copper. These disappear into the loom near the scuttle. is it possible to access these 2 wires where they join the ECU, or will I jist have to cut into the black sleeving to free off the 4 cores within going down to the wheel?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top