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Instrument Cluster Brake Light Question

by fanatic26, June 8, 2010



Hi all,

I have had something new happen to my poor 94 1.8l. I was in a drive-thru the other day grabbing a quick bite to eat when my BRAKE light came on. This is the in-cluster BRAKE light under the odometer. This light is normally only on when the e-brake is pulled up so I checked the parking brake trigger to make sure it was not stuck from a spill or something. Everything looks A-OK on the car, I topped the brake fluid off since it was just above the minimum line but nothing has had any effect on the light. Now i know that my brakes are worn (3/32nd pad left last oil change) but as far as I know the only sensors in the braking system are the ABS sensors and the fill sensor in the master cylinder. Does anyone know of anything else that would cause the BRAKE light to stay on solid? It has been on for about 4 days now and I am taking it into the shop ASAP but I would like to know what is wrong going in so they dont gouge me on repairs. As of right now other than the worn pad squeak here or there I have felt no degredation in how the car stops and I have tried to heat the fluid up with a couple panic stops to see if I could smell any leaking/burning. So far all is well other than the light being on.

Thanks in advance!

As long as it is the "Brake" warning lamp and not the "ABS" warning lamp - you can have it come on under these conditions:

- Low brake fluid level in the brake master cylinder

- Parking brake cable or related components (i.e., switch) fails to fully release/operate

- Partial loss or circuit imbalance of hydraulic pressure in the master cylinder

Hard to judge braking performance, possible that there is some fluid contamination (old brake fluid) that is causing some problems with internal corrosion of the brake lines (proper brake fluid flushes are critical in ABS equipped systems) and/or early fluid level sensor death. Also possible it is a bad parking brake switch or even a bad circuit relay on the combination meter (gauge cluster) or related wiring - items that are not related to the hydraulic aspects of the brake system.

I have a 3rd gen Camry with over 350K miles and still running strong - it also exhibited same weird brake light behavior, ended up being the brake hard lines were nearly rotted through (corrosion from the outside in, right underneath the mounting clips). After replacing them, problem never surfaced - but lightened by wallet to the tune of $600+ for just the parts alone. But I was amazed that they still stocked pre-bent hardlines for an almost 14 year old car. Not saying that this is exactly what is happening in your case, just to point out the myriad possibilities on what could kick on that lamp.

Since you need new friction material - might as well take it in and have it inspected/diagnosed while you get the brakes done.



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