EA Brake Fail Light
Lindsay Kent
I have a 90 EA with S pack. Always when starting I get a red light in the
dash saying "brake fail." My brakes are fine. I've also seen this on a
friends EA so I'm thinking it may be something that just happens to EAs over
time. Can anyone suggest what causes this and what needs doing to fix it? It
is annoying because sometimes it stops me from starting the engine in park
unless I change to neutral (4sp auto gearbox.)
Thanks for any help
Regards,
Lindsay
D Walford
Its only a problem if it stays on.
The unable to start in park is a different problem to the "brake fail"
lamp. You most likely have a faulty inhibitor switch.
Daryl
Lindsay Kent
to stop you starting in gear? I know mine isn't working correctly as I can
start in any gear. I guess this must be the problem.
Thanks for your help.
Lindsay
D Walford wrote in message <3952E4D2...@primus.com.au>...
jmouse
I don't have access to a manual though,
The light may be coming on because the switch near
the out line on the master-cylinder is faulty.
It is to make sure you have a pressure differential
between the front and back brake systems.
Another possibility is a fluid level switch.
There also maybe sensors for brake lining wear.
You can check by disconnecting the switch.(s)
If it is r.s, get a new one.
I would think your neutral safety switch is also
worn out as previously mentioned
If these are common problems, ring the local
Ford workshop, they should know straight off.
jmouse
D Walford
neutral.
Daryl
Lindsay Kent wrote:
>
> Ah ok, the light goes off after starting. Is the inhibitor switch the switch
> to stop you starting in gear? I know mine isn't working correctly as I can
> start in any gear. I guess this must be the problem.
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> Lindsay
>
> D Walford wrote in message <3952E4D2...@primus.com.au>...
> >The light probably comes on when starting to test the circuit.
> >Its only a problem if it stays on.
> >The unable to start in park is a different problem to the "brake fail"
> >lamp. You most likely have a faulty inhibitor switch.
> >
> >Daryl
> >
Dale Mc Innes
series BMW
jmouse <jmo...@one.net.au> wrote in message
news:39534A43...@one.net.au...
> Hi,
>
> I don't have access to a manual though,
> The light may be coming on because the switch near
> the out line on the master-cylinder is faulty.
> It is to make sure you have a pressure differential
> between the front and back brake systems.
> Another possibility is a fluid level switch.
> There also maybe sensors for brake lining wear.
> You can check by disconnecting the switch.(s)
> If it is r.s, get a new one.
> I would think your neutral safety switch is also
> worn out as previously mentioned
>
> If these are common problems, ring the local
> Ford workshop, they should know straight off.
>
> jmouse
>
PeterG
back brakes and the front brakes. There is a switch set between the two
systems to warn that either the front or the back brakes are not working,
because the pressure is much higher in one than the other. They should be
roughly equal. You don't worry about that equal part, as the design takes
care of that. As sixty percent, or more, of your brake effort comes from
the front brakes, you will notice that they are not working well before any
little light can tell you. So, you you usually get the light when the back
brakes fail, because in normal town driving, you will rarely notice the
missing back brakes until you get into an emergency situation.
You should check the brakes now to see if they are working satifactorily.
Go to a mechanic if you don't do it yourself, but get it checked one way or
the other.
When you have satisfied yourself that the brakes work OK, you must take the
wire off the switch and take the switch out. This allows the shuttle valve
that is between the two systems, and activates the switch, to center itself
again. When the shuttle is centered again, you can put the switch back in,
which then should indicate "normally off". ie, no light. The reason the
switch has to be removed is because the shuttle is designed to activate once
only, and bring on the light. The only way to reset it is to remove the
switch and put it back, as the plunger on the switch is what holds the
shuttle off center. As the brakes are an emergency device, any fault, no
matter how transitory, will bring on the light.
If that is not the problem, time to get the wiring diagram out of the bible
and check what other devices use that circuit. A common automotive problem
is "bad earth". When one device can't get a circuit to ground, it uses
another devices route to ground, but this means it goes through the active
part of the other device on the way there. Hence, you get the other device
appearing to "turn on", when it really is not turned on. Typically, these
faults show up in lights and indicators on the dashboard, and the symptom is
the light glowing dimly. Your faulty "no start in park" problem may be
related to the brake fail light, in that they might use the same earth or
power path. I don't have the manual with me, but start there. Bad earth
faults are a cow to find and fix, too.
This is long winded, but I hope it is a useful explanation of what might be
causing your fault.
Dale Mc Innes <Jack...@bigpond.com> wrote in message
news:Yb_55.1043$c5....@newsfeeds.bigpond.com...
squizz
sytem. It should extinguish after starting, if not the system is faulty. As
for stopping the car not being able to sart, this is totaly impossible, as
the two systems are not linked in any way. The reason that it ocassionaly
will not start is a missalignment in the neutral safety switch, if you move
the selector or put it in neutral the car will start. But these two problems
are totally different from each other.