Parking Brake Oddity.

pigbuggy · 03-05-06, 02:02 PM

On my way to school one day, I saw the red "BRAKE" light come on. "Odd" I thought, so i came up to a stop sign, put it in park, pressed the release button on the barking brake, but it was all the way down. so I lifted up the parking brake, released it, and sure enough the light turned off. "cool." put it in drive, and drove off again.

couple seconds later, i look down and the "BRAKE" light came on again. kept going until i got to the second stop sign, but this time all i had to do was put it in park, and the light went off. after school i went home, checked the fuses, and they were fine.

but it still does it. most of the time the light only goes on after i accelerate a little harder than i should then let up on the gas or after it shifts into second. (i know, obvious solution, "dont accelerate hard." but now its to the point where it does it even if i accelerate normally.) usually all i have to do now is come to a complete stop, and the light will turn off. but lately its been fussy. ill put it in park, play with the brake lever, even turn it off, and back on again, but its stays on. after i leave it in the driveway overnight and come back and start it in the morning, its usually off.

I dont even know if the brake turns on when the light is on, or if its just a malfunction in the light mechanism. I just dont want to "damage" anything (wear out brake pads) and i cant find anything on a search of the thread that is similar to my situation. I guess for now the only thing to do is accelerate really really slowly. (it takes about a minute to get to 50 so the light wont go on.) Thanks for anyone who can help.

--Trev

(P.S. I almost forgot. I was sitting in the parking lot at church, because the light wouldnt go off. i had my foot on the brake, and when i let go, it accelerated all by itself, and it was going 25 mph and i didnt touch the gas at all. Its only happend once, but i'm just confused as to why it happened. Anyone? Thanks.)

NorCalDoug · 03-05-06, 02:12 PM

Check your brake fluid level.
You could be low on fluid -- the light comes on to indicate low fluid level.

CJF · 03-05-06, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pigbuggy

On my way to school one day, I saw the red "BRAKE" light come on. "Odd" I thought, so i came up to a stop sign, put it in park, pressed the release button on the barking brake, but it was all the way down. so I lifted up the parking brake, released it, and sure enough the light turned off. "cool." put it in drive, and drove off again.

couple seconds later, i look down and the "BRAKE" light came on again. kept going until i got to the second stop sign, but this time all i had to do was put it in park, and the light went off. after school i went home, checked the fuses, and they were fine.

but it still does it. most of the time the light only goes on after i accelerate a little harder than i should then let up on the gas or after it shifts into second. (i know, obvious solution, "dont accelerate hard." but now its to the point where it does it even if i accelerate normally.) usually all i have to do now is come to a complete stop, and the light will turn off. but lately its been fussy. ill put it in park, play with the brake lever, even turn it off, and back on again, but its stays on. after i leave it in the driveway overnight and come back and start it in the morning, its usually off.

I dont even know if the brake turns on when the light is on, or if its just a malfunction in the light mechanism. I just dont want to "damage" anything (wear out brake pads) and i cant find anything on a search of the thread that is similar to my situation. I guess for now the only thing to do is accelerate really really slowly. (it takes about a minute to get to 50 so the light wont go on.) Thanks for anyone who can help.

--Trev

(P.S. I almost forgot. I was sitting in the parking lot at church, because the light wouldnt go off. i had my foot on the brake, and when i let go, it accelerated all by itself, and it was going 25 mph and i didnt touch the gas at all. Its only happend once, but i'm just confused as to why it happened. Anyone? Thanks.)

LOL. Good Sunday afternoon reading!

Your voodoo attempts to get it to turn off probably have absolutely nothing to do with the actual problem. Definitely check the fluid level, as NorCalDoug said. If it's fine, unplug the fluid level sensor, and see if that cures it. If so, the sensor's bad. Next thing to check would be the sensor for the parking brake lever, but try the aforementioned stuff first.

As for your P.S., your truck is clearly possessed.

Curtis

landtank · 03-05-06, 02:56 PM

It's probably your brake fluid level and if so SUSPECT worn pads somewhere. More often than not that is the reason for the low level and if you add fluid you'll be sucking it back out when you change the pads.

177mph · 03-05-06, 07:03 PM

my truck is doing the exact same thing. Better check the fluid.

Cruisin'Carolina · 04-09-06, 07:18 PM

The wife just reported a similar experience today.....

I've heard no squeal to indicate the front pads are bad, but I did notice a little vibration coming home from a funeral the other day.....all I thought was maybe some turning of the rotors would be due.....

I doubt I have a fluid leak, I will check the pads first....maybe order some 100s from CDan......they will work with a 94?

CJF · 04-09-06, 07:58 PM

When you say you'll check the pads first, hopefully you don't mean before checking the fluid level? Obviously good to check the pads too, as mentioned previously in a previous post.

If everything checks out, unplug the sensor to see if that itself is the porblem.

Curtis

firetruck41 · 04-09-06, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cruisin'Carolina

The wife just reported a similar experience today.....

I've heard no squeal to indicate the front pads are bad, but I did notice a little vibration coming home from a funeral the other day.....all I thought was maybe some turning of the rotors would be due.....

I doubt I have a fluid leak, I will check the pads first....maybe order some 100s from CDan......they will work with a 94?

Check the fluid level first, it is not low because of a leak, it is low because brake pad material is worn down, taking more fluid in the system to make the brakes work, which leaves less fluid in the reservoir.