Brake Lamp,Handbrake lights stay on, lose 4WS

TDK · Post by **TDK** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 9:44 am

checked, drained, flushed, refilled
i have tried everything i could see on forums all over

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:12 pm

What happens if you unplug the handbrake switch? And then if no difference, unplug the brake reservoir float as well.

mart609 · Post by **mart609** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 1:19 pm

it the brake bulb warning light sensor in your rear light cluster my friend
I had this problem a while back

check out this thread

http://www.ludegeneration.co.uk/electri ... 12082.html

TDK · Post by **TDK** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 10:51 pm

thanks mart609, that's the thread i've been hunting for
i did temp ground wire, lights went out, yay i thought
drove 5 minutes to friends house to show him the fix and make it more stable
then nothing,repeat the process and now i'm back to lights on
does this bypass completely take the sensor out of play ?
or have i damaged the newer one I replaced ?

TDK · Post by **TDK** » Sun Jun 08, 2014 10:53 pm

What happens if you unplug the handbrake switch?

haven't tried that, where do i find it ?

89 UKDM BA4 4WS (resto job!) · Post by **wurlycorner** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 12:23 am

Inside the centre console, by the handbrake lever. Worth a try, just to eliminate those circuits as the cause (even if your sparky says he's checked out the switch itself ok).

TbH, I'd discounted the rear brake light sensor being at fault because you said you replaced the units complete, but mart knows his stuff on this one!

It reminds me that I have had a problem before where I swapped the rear light units and that actually caused the fault lights to come on. There are a couple of different types of rear light sensors and I assumed they'd be compatible, but apparently not. Have you still got the old ones? Same sensor box???

TDK · Post by **TDK** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 12:55 am

i'll take him to mechanic during the week and get them to look at the handbrake switch
no matter what I do, following the pics on the bypass sensor thread and still no go, lights are still on

mart609 · Post by **mart609** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 8:56 am

Like wurly said. I swapped out some rear light units a few years back that also caused this problem.
Swapped my old units back in and it fixed it.
Whether the new units I tried to fit had dodgey brake sensors I don't know.

could it be something to do with the wiring from the lights to the front of the car itself? maybe see if you can check the continuety of all the wiring?

TDK · Post by **TDK** » Fri Jun 13, 2014 10:05 pm

ok, after some more testing, it seems there is a discontinuation of signal from the wiring to the brake fluid cap to the computer
dash has to come out to try and locate the break, unless there's a way to disable it at the computer end

Post by **Vtecmec** » Fri Jun 13, 2014 10:17 pm

The break is likely to be at the connectors, worth double checking if you have not already; failing that you could always just run a new wire as an easier solution.