Emergency brake light came on last night...

[KTOOLNIN]

Last night my emergency brake light came on in my '92 Corrado. So I'm driving it home and the pedal starts to loose its initial bite, taking longer for the brakes to actually work. I get home (safely) and check the fluid. It's actually over the max!?!? And it wasn't like that before. After checking for leaks (don't know why when there was extra fluid) and letting it cool down a bit, I removed the excess fluid. Then I took it for a short ride just accelerating and braking. The light stayed on, but the pedal feel was normal and the car stopped flawlessly. Check for leaks again and nothing. Check the fluid and it looks the same. Drove the car to work this morning and everything's the same; breaking normal, fluid normal, but the light is still on.

What is going on?
Did she know I just received new stainless lines and new pads?

[apolloglx]

did u figure this out yet, i just searched because im having the exact same problem in my 98 jetta vr6. the brake light stays on like 75% of the time, sometimes if i turn the car off and start it again it goes off, but sometimes ill push the brakes and they grab like normal but then it feels like they let loose and feels like the brakes are sliding or grinding, wondering if i need new pads, maybe there is some kind of sensor in the brakes to indicate a problem, but ive nver heard of this... any luck??

[KTOOLNIN]

Wow, a response! No, the light still persists, but I've had no more braking problems. I already have stainless lines and new pads ready to go on (as well as many other things), and will be looking into it when I've got my Mk1 Jetta back on the road. Hopefully the Corrado will go under the knife in 2 weeks. I'll post here as soon as I figure it out.

[apolloglx]

Update: my CEL came on yesteday, which is usually normal for vw's but my car is in good shape and this is the first time ive seen the cel since ive owned it, im thinking its tied to the brake thing. my aim is wllrdvanbskrke get back to me if you figure this out it would save me time and money if we happen to have the same problem. love it when people like us find eachothers threads, its like it was meant to be. ha

[redzone98]

bump for u man, i have the same issue, no CEL, just an ever present "BRAKE" light on the dash

[apolloglx]

have you noticed any weird things going on with your normal brakes?

oh and i just noticed im out of washer fluid, will that trigger the CEL in a 98?? just a thought
EDIT:^ never mind im an idiot


Modified by apolloglx at 12:34 PM 7-24-2006

[phatvw]

Quote, originally posted by redzone98 »

bump for u man, i have the same issue, no CEL, just an ever present "BRAKE" light on the dash

What happens to the "brake" light if you engage the emergency/parking brake?
I am not so familiar with the Mk2/Mk3 cars, but on MkIV cars, "brake" on the console means the parking brake is engaged or that the switch which detects its posiition is busted, or the wiring.

How are the rear brakes looking? If you jack up the car, can you spin them by hand? Make sure the parking brake isn't partically enaged. If it is, you may be fading out the rear brakes.

Modified by phatvw at 11:55 PM 7-23-2006


Modified by phatvw at 11:57 PM 7-23-2006

[CruiseVW]

my BRAKE light has recently come on too. It wasn't until I moved some vacuum lines to put in brake fluild after a flush. Then I noticed this rip in a vacuum line.

That seemed to fix it for a few hours. Then it would come on and off. I notice my pedal was ever so slightly softer when the brake light was on, but when off was rock hard. That would mean to me there is a vacuum leak somewhere. I took that valve off and tried to blow through it. NOTHING. I replaced it with one from the dealer ($20) and not only did the BRAKE light go away my recirc air button started working again (works on vacuum).

3 days later the light came back on, but I believe its cuz the hoses keep slightly slipping. I will have to zip tie them down good and see if that keeps it from happening again.

[phatvw]

Whoa all this caused by a $20 check valve for the brake booster? Hmmm I might try swapping mine out - wonder if that can cause a mushy pedal.

[tigerdwn]

I live in Greenville as well, and guess what, the same thing is happening to me on my '92 Corrado. This is extremely odd. My ebrake used to freeze when I lived up north, therefore, I am attributing it to my rear calipers needing to be replaced. Now that your mentioning the check valve, I am going to look into it. If this is the problem, I will be extremely happy. i will let you know, as soon as I take a look. BTW, my car just felt like it froze after I had the car parked for a week with the ebrake on.

[CruiseVW]

Quote, originally posted by tigerdwn »

I live in Greenville as well, and guess what, the same thing is happening to me on my '92 Corrado. This is extremely odd. My ebrake used to freeze when I lived up north, therefore, I am attributing it to my rear calipers needing to be replaced. Now that your mentioning the check valve, I am going to look into it. If this is the problem, I will be extremely happy. i will let you know, as soon as I take a look. BTW, my car just felt like it froze after I had the car parked for a week with the ebrake on.

Well, if you rear calipers or carriers go bad there is nothing that will tell the BRAKE light to come on. There are no sensors or anything to say there is a caliper/carrier malfunction. The light comes on when a specific component sensor reports a problem. And a vacuum leak or lack of vacuum with the check valve could cause that.

[tigerdwn]

Well I found the vacuum leak. Off of the intake boot is a hose that ripped at the intake manifold. Is this part replaceable, or do I have to order a whole intake boot

[KTOOLNIN]

Hell, I started this thread, and haven't had the chance to check mine out yet. At least with the rest of you guys fixing your problems, I have a better idea of what to look for.

tigerdwn, do you drive the black Corrado I keep seeing around the Furman area? I live near Cherrydale and for the last year or so I've seen a black C about 5 times. It's the only one in Greenville that no one knows who drives it. By the way, most of the local dubbers meet on Friday nights @ Books-a-Million on Laurens Rd around 8-8:30.


Modified by KTOOLNIN at 8:51 AM 7-31-2006

[tigerdwn]

Mine is Hunter Green, but could definitely look like black. A lot of people have asked if I drive the black car so I guess I could be him. I live off of Haywood, but I will not be around for about 3 weeks. I will try and stop by though when I get back.

[KTOOLNIN]

Well I guess that makes 2 Corrado owners in the area that I haven't met. 'Cause now that I think of it, I'm sure the black one is a G60.

[tigerdwn]

Update: Replaced the hose but the brakes are still having problems. The hose from the stealership btw was approx $50. I cannot believe what they get away with. I have not checked the check valve because I don't know where it is. Does anyone have an engine shot of the valve so I can look for it? Thanks in advacne for any help.

[yingNyang]

Quote, originally posted by tigerdwn »

Well I found the vacuum leak. Off of the intake boot is a hose that ripped at the intake manifold. Is this part replaceable, or do I have to order a whole intake boot

Is this the part you just bought from the dealer?
Had I seen this sooner I would have sent you my extra at no charge.

For the OP, I would recommend changing your brake fluid when you put the new lines on, and then see what is what. If the "BRAKE" light comes on, it means that you are low on fluid OR that the sensor attached to the cap for the resevoir is shot. This is provided your Ebrake is not engaged at the time. From my experience, those are the only reasons for the light to be on.

[apolloglx]

I still cant find my problem, just changed out to some new side markers and calld it good.

[tigerdwn]

My brake fluid is rising just like the others are saying. I went to the dealer for the check valve and they said it wa $110 for the entire hose and check valve. My problem is that I can't even see where the hose with the check valve is. Any help is appreciated.

[KTOOLNIN]

Quote, originally posted by yingNyang »

For the OP, I would recommend changing your brake fluid when you put the new lines on, and then see what is what. If the "BRAKE" light comes on, it means that you are low on fluid OR that the sensor attached to the cap for the resevoir is shot. This is provided your Ebrake is not engaged at the time. From my experience, those are the only reasons for the light to be on.

Yeah, I'm completely flushing the system when I change lines/pads. I believe it's just old and I 'boiled' it. Now if I can keep my ass at home this week, I'll get it done. If that doesn't work I'll get a new sensor.

[tigerdwn]

Well VW found the issue. The ABS light and Emergency light came on at the same time. There was a wire going to the ABS Control Module and it was loose. They reconnected the wire and there you go. Everything works like a charm. I am just happy I don't have to go and buy another car. I hope this helps everyone

[ILOVEPHATCHICKS]

Quote, originally posted by tigerdwn »

Well VW found the issue. The ABS light and Emergency light came on at the same time. There was a wire going to the ABS Control Module and it was loose. They reconnected the wire and there you go. Everything works like a charm. I am just happy I don't have to go and buy another car. I hope this helps everyone

where is that module?

[tigerdwn]

I didn't fix the wire, but the tech took apart my steering column as well as the under dash panels. He simply noticed a loose wire down there which is where I am guessing the ABS control module is. Check the ABS Control Module Relays.

[yingNyang]

This is something I noticed myself too.
After hitting a bump, my ABS light came on, and I knew I had taken care of my ABS sensors a couple months prior. I planned to scan the car to see what was wrong.

However this weekend I went to bleed my brakes and noticed that one of the two terminals on the brake fluid resevoir was missing. Turns out it was hanging down. I replaced it, and low and behold, no ABS light.

These two plugs are on the ABS resevoir cap itself. I believe the black one sends signal to the BRAKE light and the white one sends signal to the ABS light.

[KTOOLNIN]

Thanks for all the info guys. Finally going to look her over this weekend. And now I have this thread to help look for issues!

[tigerdwn]

Damn, Do I get any reimubursement for my VW bill?

Well at least I helped a local out. Hope you fix your problem.

[KTOOLNIN]

Well, I figured my out my issue. As I was changing the brake lines and pads, I noticed that a wire routed over the rear beam was being flattened and burned by the crappy exhaust job someone did. Funny thing is, I've never heard or felt the exhaust hit the beam. Then again, I guess it can't until it completely severs the wire!

Thanks for all the help guys!

[EmergencyLight]

I have been having THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM. I looked around endlessly on the web for new emergency lights but could only find this type http://www.emergencylights.net

Can someone point me in the right direction please?!