hand brake light flashing?!?!?

[sunny.s.]

sometimes randomly my hand brake light flashes beeps on the dashboard for just a few seconds then goes away

does anyone know what these means?

[Jay B7]

your handbrake isn't completely down. something may be blocking it or the wire attached to the e-brake might be grounding itself due to it being stripped or pinched.

[FORCE_FED_DUB]

is it during hard acceleration? could be the belt slipping on the alternator.

[NyteEscape]

or you could be low on brake fluid. mine did that after i switched to b5 s4 fronts.

[sunny.s.]

is it during hard acceleration? could be the belt slipping on the alternator.

hmm i havent noticed if it was during hard acceleration but ill look out for it next time

[sunny.s.]

your handbrake isn't completely down. something may be blocking it or the wire attached to the e-brake might be grounding itself due to it being stripped or pinched.

how would i check?

[Matt C]

or you could be low on brake fluid. mine did that after i switched to b5 s4 fronts.

*ding* or your sensor is going out in your brake reservoir.

[jbrown7815]

It's your brake fluid. I had this problem for months, just recently figured it out.

[sunny.s.]

ok cool ill check it....any recomendations on what brake fluid to buy?

[NyteEscape]

ok cool ill check it....any recomendations on what brake fluid to buy?

when i first did my brakes, i just bought some from the dealership. kinda needed it in a hurry cuz i was freaking out about the light.

after that, i flushed the system with motul rbf600.

[spyder101]

Wow....the brake fluid is low....top it off with OEM fluid. This also means that the brake pads are low. Check the pads

[NyteEscape]

Wow....the brake fluid is low....top it off with OEM fluid. This also means that the brake pads are low. Check the pads

if the pads are low, there is a specific warning that shows up in the DIS. i believe it looks like this:

(O)

or something along those lines.

[spyder101]

if the pads are low, there is a specific warning that shows up in the DIS. i believe it looks like this:

(O)

or something along those lines.

I know there is a Brake pad warning indicator but, when brake fluid gets low, it will also trip the "brake" light because as the pads wear down, the piston on the caliper opens which allows for more fluid to travel in the brake lines. This interns to the fluid emptying out from the reservoir and thus tripping the low fluid sensor.

[NyteEscape]

I know there is a Brake pad warning indicator but, when brake fluid gets low, it will also trip the "brake" light because as the pads wear down, the piston on the caliper opens which allows for more fluid to travel in the brake lines. This interns to the fluid emptying out from the reservoir and thus tripping the low fluid sensor.

ahhh, i see. good call.

[sunny.s.]

I know there is a Brake pad warning indicator but, when brake fluid gets low, it will also trip the "brake" light because as the pads wear down, the piston on the caliper opens which allows for more fluid to travel in the brake lines. This interns to the fluid emptying out from the reservoir and thus tripping the low fluid sensor.

yeah i kno my brake pad indicator hasnt come on yet but i believe i will be needing new pads soon cuz sometimes i hear the squeak when i stop

but i will definitely top off my brake fluid

thanks

[sunny.s.]

ok i got some new tires so i checked out my pads when the tires were off the car and my brake pads are fine

there was a leak above the passenger from tire by the tie rod tho

could that be a brake line? i do have a leak from my power steering rack so it could be that too

[Dan1969]

If you had a brake fluid lead you'll notice on the braking power and pedal feel as the brake system works under hight pressure. It might be your power steering rack, check all your fluids frequently and top them off as you need, also you might want to identify your leaks and try to repair them/replace the parts.

[schmally]

Wow....the brake fluid is low....top it off with OEM fluid. This also means that the brake pads are low. Check the pads

low brake fluid doesnt mean low pads. Its a mineral based fluid and at times will evaporate.

[schmally]

I think any DOT4 Fluid will work

[Tgr_Clw]

Blinker fluid is low. Add asap.

[[email protected]]

Blinker fluid is low. Add asap.

^ x2...

[sunny.s.]

whats the blinker fluid? location?

[Jay B7]

ohh that brake light. hahaha

[matt310]

is it during hard acceleration? could be the belt slipping on the alternator.

Sorry to resurrect this from 2009 but when I jumped onto the freeway tonight I got a flashing brake on the dash and four beeps. And I just had the serp belt changed. The parking brake was not applied.

Since I stabbed the gas I'd call it hard acceleration. But I've never before seen the brake sign or heard any beeps. My brake fluid appears to be fine. Why would the serp belt slip at all since it's brand new - and if it did, why would that trigger the brake light on the dash?

[achilleas101]

i don't know if this is the cause of your problem, but i'll add this to the thread for future search's sake. The fluid reservoir's filter could be pushed down too low. What do i mean? Open your brake fluid reservoir. You see a little filter at the top with a lip on it. That lip should be flush with the top of the reservoir. however, when filling fluid in and using a funnel, it's easy to push the filter down a bit. This pushes down the float which is attached to the sensor, trigerring the flashing BRAKE light thinking that the level of the fluid is too low. Happened to me the first time i did a brake bleed. Took forever to figure out the problem. all you need to do is to carefully pull it up using something like needle nose pliers.

This doesn't sound like your problem Matt, but like i said, in case anybody else runs into this and cant figure it out...

[waldo1324]

Blinker fluid is low. Add asap.

do you know of a DIY on this? im not sure if i need to remove my flux capacator to get to the resevoir