flickering brake light

[rcsavage]

Hey guys. Got kind of a weird one. When driving, i get a sometimes flickering sometimes solid brake light on the dash. (not the abs, the one that lights up when the parking brake is on.) I don't think its the switch for the parking brake. Does this light alert you to anything else on the car besides the parking brake being on? Thanks in advance.

 

[frosho]

low fluid level. my e-brake pedal used to cause similar symptoms because it would hang slightly low, but if you don't think it's that then i'd check the fluid.

 

[SASHO91]

yep. Low fluid.

 

[Shoaz]

x3 on the low fluid. You'll want to sort out *why* the fluid is low, though. The reservoir and fliud level indicator are sized such that the piston displacement by the pad material as the pads wear down matches the low fluid level. In other words, when the reservoir is topped off with new pads, when the pads are completely worn the fluid level will trip the low-level sensor.

So don't just put fluid in it and think you're good to go...check the pads. If the pads are all fine, try to see if there's a leak developing somewhere in the braking system. The hard lines are known to corrode in the rust-belt states, and a leak may be a precursor to an eventual failure.

 

[frosho]

...yeah, what he ^ said. i blew a line doing 80 on the highway after being cut-off.