Citroen ZX 1.9D - 1992 - Faulty Handbrake Light.

Hi All,

I've got the above car which seems to refuse to go wrong, in 6 years this is the first problem I've had.

Basically the handbrake light keeps flickering on, sometimes stays on, rarely goes off, but mostly just keeps flickering away. The handbrake works fine, the most annoying thing is that every flicker is a nightmare on the MW radio I tend to listen to (5 live...). So I guess 3 questions if I may...

2) How do I get this light to stop flickering / staying on - whats the cause of this problem.

Many Many Thanks in advance.

Chris

See below....

whats

Are you sure than the warning light is not warning you of a fault, such as worn out brake pads or a low fluid level, often warning lights that come on when the hand brake is applied also warn of other faults, the hand brake warning being used to 'prove' the circuit is working.

The light is only flickering when I driving, not when the handbrake is applied. THe brake is not on whilst driving, it is not binding, but the light keeps flickering on and off. The fluid level is fine and the pads and discs are pretty new.

Thanks.

fault,

Are you saying that you *know* that the brake pads are not worn down or you believe that they are not simply on their age, also have to checked (or had checked) that any pad warning wires are not damaged or frayed. Also, has this problem only occoured since you have your new radio fitted, it could be possible that who ever fitted the radio disturbed the wiring going to the warning light or hand brake lever sensor.

Hi. What I meant to say, sorry not clear, was that the radio is an after market one, but it has been fitted for 5+ years without problems. I don't believe that this would be to do with the radio wiring, but there is a problem there with intererence which occurs with the wipers and fans as well. It really whines !!

As for the brake pads, I've based it purely on age. I've not checked the pads themselves. However would I not normally expect a consistent light coming on if there was a problem ? If I'm just idleing the car without the handbrake on it doesn't flicker, just when I drive it. And it isn't a regular thing, it flickers completely randomly. And that then interferes on the radio. If I pull the handbrake on a coulpe of notches when driving the light comes on, stays on (as you would expect) and the whing goes away.

I'm guessing that the whining radio is something general as a number of things affect it, so a capacitor / suppressor should sort that out, it's the light on and off I really want to get to the bottom of.

Thanks,

Chris

problems.

wipers

Sounds like you need some interference suppressors fitted, or possibly a better earth connection on the antenna. Best take advice from a car HiFi specialist or auto electrician.

checked

Not a good idea, don't just assume, yours and others lives might depend on you not assuming....

However would I not normally expect a consistent

expect)

Sounds very much as though it's a pad wear or warning light cable problem, the symptoms are almost the classic example of excess pad wear - the next symptom will be that the light 'fault' disappears but you get a metal to metal grinding noise from the brake area instead! :~(

Thanks for your response, the car will enter the garage in the morning to get sorted. I've not ventured to doing brake pads -might not start now !

If it was a real pad wear warning it would come on full when the brakes were applied - probably a wire shorting, especially since it is producing a spark effect on the radio.

instead!

Depends on the disc wear, warning light wire and the amount of actual pad wear, I have dealt with symptoms like this in the past were the pads were well worn but the warning light never come on full (other than with parking brake use) even with a foot brake application.

On my BX the pad warning light came on for about 1 second and then went out and didn't re-illuminate. I only caught a glimps of it out of th ecorner of my eye as I was reversing, just long enough for me to think "What was that?" but not enough to identify it.

"wildey" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@i42g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

On my 1.9D the flickering hanbrake light is caused by low fluid level in the brake fluid reservoir. If you are sure yours is definately at the full mark, it may be the actual float or switch in the float is defective. That is located in the filler cap.

Have you checked the operation of the switch on the handbrake lever?