E-brake light on?....why

[Brent-e30]

Hey guys, been reading on this forum for a long time and decided to join just resently, also just purchased my first 4th gen (3 weeks ago) after having two 2ond gens and one 3ed gen. all were great!

I have been looking though threads and serching and can't figure it out so here it goes.

My problem is a few days ago out of the blue my Ebrake light came on and then for a day or two it was just coming on and off as it pleased, and now it is on constantly.

E-brake works (not great but it does, have to pull it apart when it's warmer out) and braking seems to be normal. Now I figuer there is a sensor at the brake peddle for when it's on and off, and when the light was coming on and off it was for long periods (not flickering) but seemed to go or off when I went over bumps or came to a stop. Now it's on all the time. Hope this helps, any suggestions on what is causing the light to stay on?
Thanks guys

 

[fdbyrne]

Most likely you are low on brake fluid for some reason. Topping it off should fix the intermittent light but you will need to find out where the fluid went. It should be a closed system so if fluid is missing you have a leak somewhere.

 

[T4Rillhouse]

I'd suggest just reaching down and pulling the e-brake pedal up and seeing if the light turns off. If it stays on, you're most likely dealing with a fluid issue.

 

[Brent-e30]

I'd suggest just reaching down and pulling the e-brake pedal up and seeing if the light turns off. If it stays on, you're most likely dealing with a fluid issue.

Thanks guys, I'll check the level, I did play with the brake pedal lots and engage/disengage it. So I don't think that's the issue unless the sensor is bad or there is a bad connection, but I would think that would cause more of a flickering that the symptoms I had with the light.
Thanks for the replys, hopefully it's nothing huge. Brake booster or master cylinder.... :nono:

 

[TechWrench]

Thanks guys, I'll check the level, I did play with the brake pedal lots and engage/disengage it. So I don't think that's the issue unless the sensor is bad or there is a bad connection, but I would think that would cause more of a flickering that the symptoms I had with the light.
Thanks for the replys, hopefully it's nothing huge. Brake booster or master cylinder.... :nono:

If your fluid level is low in the master cylinder, there are only two reasons for it. You have a leak in the system, which needs to be found and fixed. Or your brake pads are worn down and need to be replaced. The fluid level sensor in the master cylinder is calibrated to help indicate excessive pad wear. As the brake pads wear down and the caliper pistons extend, brake fluid fills the additional space in the caliper. This extra fluid travels down from the master cylinder, which causes the fluid level in the master cylinder to drop. When enough of the fluid has traveled down to the calipers to cause the level sensor to trip, it means it is time to check and replace the pads. If you just add fluid to the master cylinder, you still have a pad problem, and when you do replace them, and push the pistons back into the caliper, the excess fluid will travel back up the lines to the master cylinder, causing the level to overflow.

So, check the pad wear before adding fluid to make the warning light go away.

 

[Brent-e30]

Thanks for the reply techwrench, I figured that's why they would put a level sensor there, honestly I don't think it is a leak, but i will investigate ferther on the weekend, the level is just below turning the sensor on, and I just purchased this 4th gen about a month ago, looks to me like pads are low and not that it matters to much as I know from the factory there very thin but it looks like the rotors are very warn too, braking seems normal in the truck, they just might be at the end of there life like you said. I feel dumb for posting but after searching for a wile I couldn't find an answer. Thanks for the replys

 

[nevada]

Thanks for the reply techwrench, I figured that's why they would put a level sensor there, honestly I don't think it is a leak, but i will investigate ferther on the weekend, the level is just below turning the sensor on, and I just purchased this 4th gen about a month ago, looks to me like pads are low and not that it matters to much as I know from the factory there very thin but it looks like the rotors are very warn too, braking seems normal in the truck, they just might be at the end of there life like you said. I feel dumb for posting but after searching for a wile I couldn't find an answer. Thanks for the replys

not true. they will be the same thickness regardless of where they come from. usually very close to 1/2". once they get down to the thickness of the backing plate, its time to replace them.

 

[Sporin]

Most likely you are low on brake fluid for some reason. Topping it off should fix the intermittent light but you will need to find out where the fluid went. It should be a closed system so if fluid is missing you have a leak somewhere.

Yup, this happened to me. I topped it up and the light went away but came back a month later. Because of this wet winter I couldn't tell that I had a very slow leak from a bad caliper.

 

[Brent-e30]

not true. they will be the same thickness regardless of where they come from. usually very close to 1/2". once they get down to the thickness of the backing plate, its time to replace them.

I just ment that these T4r rotors are not the thickest rotors even brand new, I always check my rotors when doing pads or any time I have the wheel off, I was just looking through my rims at them because it was -27c that day. I do not think it's a leak now after doing more investigation, just replacement time for pads soon it looks like. Thanks for the help, I would not have though there would be a level sensor in the brake fluid reservoir, so thanks for the info, my mind went to E-brake problem right away. Thanks for the help

 

[grantdunk]

I'm also having the same issue. It's not the brake fluid, ive already checked and it's topped off. There's a switch with a button that seems to indicate whether the parking brake is on or not and I tried playing with it to see if it does anything. It didn't. I'm wondering if that switch is bad?