Mazda Break warning light problem

If the brake fluids a bit low then it comes on under heavy braking.

Something not in the book. Just about to sell a Mazda 626 (98) and the break warning light comes on during breaking. I thought must be wearing on the break pads but on inspection not the problem. Break wear audiable alert not light. (RTFM!) Checked in the manual which states the light will stay on after the handbreak is released if there is a fault in the ABS system or break fluid low. Break fluid level OK and light does not "stay on", only comes on during heavy breaking. - Any ideas? Will take to dealers if necessary but would rather miss out on the expense as selling. Cheers

Scrap the car -tak eit to a BRAKERS yard . :-) Stuart

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Remove YOURPANTS before E-mailing Me

Fluid low was what I thought but well above low mark. I'll see if I can tell how well the sender is operating.

Thanks

Breaks are brakes. Unless they're broken in which case they are suffering from a break.

Rob Graham

Oh,give us a break please . :-) Stuart

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Remove YOURPANTS before E-mailing Me

Fill it to the Max mark. Not just above low.

The idea of brake fluid is to have plenty of it. It'sd not like the engine oil where it'll operate satisfactiorily if it's near the low mark and there's not much potential for death if it disappears.

Really? Why are the reservoirs so tiny, then?

It's *exactly* like engine oil in this respect - just enough will be ok, just too little disastrous. However, engine oil is circulated to help cool the engine, so it's usually a good thing to keep it topped up, as more oil will have a greater cooling effect. This is not so with brake fluid.

Brake fluid goes down naturally as the pads wear. Topping it up regardless means you'll only have to take some out at pad change time. So unless you have a leak - which of course should be fixed - there's no need to ever top up except after fitting new pads. And brake fluid should be changed every two years anyway which with many will coincide with new pads time.

So might as well not bother checking it then in that case eh?

Correct. That's what the warning light is there for.

More oil means more solution to suspend and soot and other pollutants in, and maybe longer engine life too if your oil is a bit marginal.

-- James

Trust it with your life do you?

Well, if you have a leak, checking the fluid every few miles might not be enough. If you *don't* have a leak, it never needs topping up. Just change it every couple of years.

Spend the time you would do topping it up to examine the pipes etc for damage etc and leaks. Much more profitable.

But sump capacity has been going down over the years while engine life has been going up.

has been going up.

Oil quality may have something to do with both. Better oil means you need less of it, and it lasts longer and makes the engine last longer too.

My old '94 Xanita TD (XUD9-TE) used 4.75 litres of oil. My current one 97 (XUD9-TF) only takes 4 litres of oil and I haven't done an oil change. All things being equal does the newer engine need better quality oil since it uses less of it? Answer yes, according to the API ratings in the handbook the oil change intervals are the same.

-- James