E-Brake light...

[SammySJ99]

So i'm driving down the street and the e brake light turns on... THe e brake os off but I shake it just to be safe and the light stopped flashing... Anyone have this issue and is there a way to fix it?

[CalAltaDubber]

So i'm driving down the street and the e brake light turns on... THe e brake os off but I shake it just to be safe and the light stopped flashing... Anyone have this issue and is there a way to fix it?

OK, It could be a couple of things. The warning light is used to warn of a fault in the break system as well as an indication the the parking break is on. You mentioned that the light was flashing, if so you might want to check the owner's manual to see what that might mean. Generally it should be on solid.

Let's look at the simple stuff first. The parking brake. There is a simple switch under the parking breake handle that applies a "ground" when the brake is applied.

If the parking brake handle is sloppy it is possable for it to move enough to allow the switch to activate.

I had this problem a couple of years back. What happened is the handle, over time simply wore out the shaft that it rotates on.

A trip to the local auto wrecker provided a new handle and shaft, and a spring clip was purchased from the local dealer. It took about an hour to remove and replace the handle including the time to readjust the parking brakes.

Total cost tof the repair was under $10.

A simple test is: with the car running in neutral and the parking brake applied reach down and find the switch under the handle. Press the switch and the brake light should go out. Releas the parking brake and wiggle it from side to side. If there is any noticable lateral movement the shaft is probably worn out.

Having said all that, if it is not the brake handle, you might have a serious issue with the braking system. Since you said the light went out when you wiggled the brake handle I would guess that it is just the parking brake handle.

[sixsracing]

Shorter quicker repair is to just bend the bracket that the switch is on so that the cable hits it better.

I have also found that this can be an indication of a parking brake cable about to expire.

Good advice from Cal above.

[Calimus]

an last but not least, the light can also mean that you are low on brake fluid. There is a sensor and a float built into the brake resivoir cap, check level/top off.

However, what you are describing, it could be the switch under the E-brake handle, have a go at that, but just eye ball the fluid level for general purposes.

[theonlychuck]

happened to me once, it would come on sometimes, go off sometimes, if i dumped the clutch fast it would go off, if i took a turn funny it would come on, etc. for some strange reason when i changed my oil pump it went back to working as normal, no idea why.

[CalAltaDubber]

Shorter quicker repair is to just bend the bracket that the switch is on so that the cable hits it better.

I have also found that this can be an indication of a parking brake cable about to expire.

Good advice from Cal above.

The only problem I have with just bending the bracket (I was tempted to do that) is while the shaft was worn out and the shift was causing the brake handle assy to rub on the one of the brake cables. Luckily the cable wasn't worn out, but the handle assy had worn and was quite sharp. That's why I changed it out.