Emergency Break lights will not turn off

I have a 1986 4-door Camry with an odd issue concerning the ebrake. Even if it's off, and drives like it's off, the light will remain on quite a bit of the driving time, preventing me from using cruise control. My college commute is over 500 miles, so I almost cheer when I see the light turn off because I know I can use the cruise control again. I've checked the brake fluid levels and that seems to be OK. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Reply to
ceralor
Loading thread data ...

There is a switch and an adjustment under the e-brake handle. Try adjusting the switch so it makes proper contact, or, as a test, put something between the handle and the switch to make sure it is depressed far enough. If the light stays on, you either need a new switch, or you have bigger fish to fry...

Reply to
Hachiroku

When I reached in and pushed the switch down all the way, it did the same thing that happened when the handle is down from being up -- the light merely dims. It gets brighter when the switch is disengaged, IE the e-brake being pulled. I guess I should get a new switch? Where could I get one, and how much would it cost and/or how would I replace it? I'm assuming that housing lifts off.

Reply to
ceralor

Check that the cable to the brakes is free in its guide.

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

Reply to
Stubby

My Mom's car!

I can give you a better answer in a couple days, but drawing from memory, open the console, remove whatever you have stuffed into it and look on the bottom. You should see 2 screws, maybe three. Loosen these. Also, from near the seat back, look at the sides of the console. There should be one screw on each side. Move the seats forward and fold them forward and they should be easily accessible. Now, there may be a couple more, I can't recall right now. Gently lift up; if you feel resistance, there may be two screws further forward, or on the sides of the front. The console should lift out and forwad, exposing the brake mechanism. You should be able to see the switch. I can't remember if Closed is light off, or Open is licht off. Remove the connector and see what happens. I believe the light should be on. Shove a piece of wire or a paper clip into it and try again. One way or another, the light should be fully OFF. If not, then there is a problem with the wiring...

or the brake system. My best advice is, during testing, if the light does NOT go COMPLETELY OFF, take it to a dealer! Hopefully it's wiring, and not a brake system going kablooey!

BTW, check for pinched wiring. If part of the wire is exposed and grounding gainst something it's not supposed to, this could cause your problem.

Good luck!

Reply to
Hachiroku

There was another thought I had. The problem may be in the brake drum. When was the last time you had the rear brakes serviced?

When you pull up on the brake handle, you're pulling against springs in the drum. If one spring has broken or just loosened to where it's lost it's 'springyness', the cable will shift to the other drum where the slack will be taken up, and won't pull the handle all the way down inside the car.

If you can do your own brake work, it won't be too bad. If you don't, investigate the switch first (investigate the switch first anyway...it's a lot easier!) If that doesn't solve the problem, get a look inside the drum. Another possibility is that either the main cable, or the cable at the rear is stretching or fraying. I had this happen on a Corolla 1200 I had back in 1980, but it was the clutch cable that was stretching. Come to think of it, that was the first repair I ever did on a car!

Good Luck!

Reply to
Hachiroku

Check the brake fluid level. There is a switch inside the resivoir that will turn that light on when the fluid evaporates and gets low, as it will periodically. Much easier to check before ripping the center console apart to get to the brake cable.

Reply to
qslim

He did that, Q...

Reply to
Hachiroku

Oopsy. Carry on then.

Reply to
qslim

Turns out we didn't check it properly! Fixed the issue after filling it up to the right mark, as we'd misread it before. Thanks for the help anyway!!

Eric

Reply to
ceralor

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.