Flickering Brake Light
- Thread starter eadmr04
- Start date
clive P62
Active Member
Hi,
Have repaired many reservoir caps for this fault,as harvey said the cork float over time soaks up the fluid.
I made new floats out of old wine/champagne corks.
Once little washer is removed at bottom float can be removed.
Also while float is removed you can pull out the centre of the cap to clean level contacts, have seen these with verdigris and this can cause short/bad connections and warning lamp faults.
Pop on new cork and i solder on the washer.
Use a multimeter on terminals to check continuity by turning cap upside down then right way up.
Pop wires back on and check light operation, if brake fluid level is ok if you unscrew cap and lift about 1 inch light should come on. Cheers
Clive..
Have repaired many reservoir caps for this fault,as harvey said the cork float over time soaks up the fluid.
I made new floats out of old wine/champagne corks.
Once little washer is removed at bottom float can be removed.
Also while float is removed you can pull out the centre of the cap to clean level contacts, have seen these with verdigris and this can cause short/bad connections and warning lamp faults.
Pop on new cork and i solder on the washer.
Use a multimeter on terminals to check continuity by turning cap upside down then right way up.
Pop wires back on and check light operation, if brake fluid level is ok if you unscrew cap and lift about 1 inch light should come on. Cheers
Clive..
eadmr04
Member
Just a quick update, took the reservoir cap off and cleaned all the terminals. Visited the local home brew shop and purchased a bag of corks for 75p, replaced the cork and it works perfectly. As suggested the cork that was in there had become heavy over a while because it had absorbed some of the fluid. I could really notice the weight difference when I held the new one in one hand and the old one in the other. Thanks for the help guys
Good Morning all.
My first post after joining and it too concerns the flickering brake light.
I read through the previous threads yesterday and felt confident enough to "have a go".
Clive mentioned removing the small ( very small !) washer on the underside of the cork float but the shaft has a spade type end and the washer won't clear this.
I had thought of cutting the washer off and then crimping it back on once the new cork was in place. I don't own a soldering iron but may have to buy one if that's the only reliable way to reassemble.
Any comments?
Thanks in advance
Rowan
My first post after joining and it too concerns the flickering brake light.
I read through the previous threads yesterday and felt confident enough to "have a go".
Clive mentioned removing the small ( very small !) washer on the underside of the cork float but the shaft has a spade type end and the washer won't clear this.
I had thought of cutting the washer off and then crimping it back on once the new cork was in place. I don't own a soldering iron but may have to buy one if that's the only reliable way to reassemble.
Any comments?
Thanks in advance
Rowan
Hi Rowan,
Welcome to the forum I am pleased that you find the posts helpful. We have a great community here, so I know that you will enjoy the time that you spend here
Do your brake pads have the wear indicator sensors? If they do, and you have a pad that is worn down to the point where the wire allows for the circuit to be closed, then your warning light will also flicker. Does it stay on if you apply the brakes hard? Doing so will almost certainly indicate the wire, but not doing so does not preclude it either.
Ron.
Welcome to the forum
I am pleased that you find the posts helpful. We have a great community here, so I know that you will enjoy the time that you spend here Do your brake pads have the wear indicator sensors? If they do, and you have a pad that is worn down to the point where the wire allows for the circuit to be closed, then your warning light will also flicker. Does it stay on if you apply the brakes hard? Doing so will almost certainly indicate the wire, but not doing so does not preclude it either.
Ron.
Phil Robson
Well-Known Member
Hi Rowan,
I did exactly that! I cut the 'spade' off just above it & then once reassembled, clamped the extreme lower end in the vice & squashed it. Just like the original, but about 3mm shorter!
Evening Ron/Phil
Many thanks for your comments.
Ron: brake pads are fine and checked so thanks for the tip.
Phil: sometimes the most obvious answer is the one that you dismiss as being too obvious!
I did as you did and reassembled once all the contacts had been cleaned up - I did replace the spade connectors to the top of the cap, as the old ones were past their best. Took out for a good shake down run this afternoon and flickering light is no more - brilliant! Even checked as Clive suggested, removed the cap and lifted about an inch whilst parked up and the light came on, so all appears to be well.
Once again thanks both
Cheers
Rowan
Many thanks for your comments.
Ron: brake pads are fine and checked so thanks for the tip.
Phil: sometimes the most obvious answer is the one that you dismiss as being too obvious!
I did as you did and reassembled once all the contacts had been cleaned up - I did replace the spade connectors to the top of the cap, as the old ones were past their best. Took out for a good shake down run this afternoon and flickering light is no more - brilliant! Even checked as Clive suggested, removed the cap and lifted about an inch whilst parked up and the light came on, so all appears to be well.
Once again thanks both
Cheers
Rowan
cobraboy
Well-Known Member
What an opportunity missed !
I'd have gone straight to the local wine merchant and bought a selection of bottles and worked my way through them to find the perfect cork.
j_radcliffe
Active Member
The problem in Australia is that most of the wine goes under Stelvin screw caps these days. Not much under cork. USA still uses corks a lot. I do not know about U.K.
cobraboy
Well-Known Member
Well I am prepared to sniff them out, it wont be easy and the going will be tough, but hey someone has to do it.
unstable load
Well-Known Member
Go imported.
Some very good South African wines should be available dunnunda, some will still be corked and thus, both enjoyable and useful.
Some very good South African wines should be available dunnunda, some will still be corked and thus, both enjoyable and useful.
GRTV8
Well-Known Member
Just remember after you've found the perfect cork , having disposed of the contents of the bottles , you may find it easier to roll the car over to check if the contacts on the brake fluid cap opens and shuts properly now. Just sayin.
eadmr04
Member
Thob, I changed my cork for one I bought from a home brew shop, it was really surprising how much heavier the old saturated one was and was obvioulsy too heavy to float and give a true reading. I've not got any pictures and I am no way a mechanic but it was very simple to do if you follow what Clive P62 suggests. Just disconnect the cap, unscrew it and then remove it. the clean it up and carefully take it apart and clean it up. Take the old cork with you when buying another one so you can get roughly the right size. The cork is retained on the spindle by a small washer and then the spindle is flattened which holds it in position. I cut the flattened bit off to allow the washer to be removed and then the cork. This obviously makes the spindle a couple of mm shorter when reassembling so I just cut the new cork down a couple of mm so it sat on the spindle and left enough to fit the washer and then flatten the end to hold it in position once again.
Hope this all makes sense and I'm sure once you had the cap off and had a good look at it, everything should be a bit clearer.
Good luck.
ButterFingers
Active Member
hi there,
having just read this post with interest because my brake light is now permanently on , I ventured into the engine bay.
I wiggled the contacts and the light goes on and off.
I removed the cap and turned it upside down and the light goes off in that position. So...
looking at the tube to the cap cant see any cork thing, how do I access the washer inside the tube, my 20 lb sledge is at a neighbors house..
Peter
having just read this post with interest because my brake light is now permanently on , I ventured into the engine bay.
I wiggled the contacts and the light goes on and off.
I removed the cap and turned it upside down and the light goes off in that position. So...
looking at the tube to the cap cant see any cork thing, how do I access the washer inside the tube, my 20 lb sledge is at a neighbors house..
Peter
ButterFingers
Active Member
Today I tackled the flickering brake light problem and with advice from others on here , managed to fixed it.
I removed the lid and grasped it firmly, then firmly twisted the aluminum cylinder off the stubby base inside the lid and this is what I found......
The cork was saturated with brake fluid and was too heavy to rise up the tube to make contact with the electrical terminals at the top.
I then carefully cut the end of the shaft off , it had been squashed at the very tip and that was what held the cork and tiny washer on.
I found a champagne cork and cut the humps off its sides, then ground it to a perfect round that fitted the cylinder with clearance to allow for possible swelling.
I used the same method of fixing it onto the cork as the factory used, I squashed the tip in a vice to retain the washer and cork thus.....
then pushed the aluminum cylinder back onto the stub , it was a tight fit anyway , and replaced the lid to the brake reservoir . The brake light did not come on .....job done.
I hope that this will be of help to others , if this proves to be the problem..
Peter
I removed the lid and grasped it firmly, then firmly twisted the aluminum cylinder off the stubby base inside the lid and this is what I found......
The cork was saturated with brake fluid and was too heavy to rise up the tube to make contact with the electrical terminals at the top.
I then carefully cut the end of the shaft off , it had been squashed at the very tip and that was what held the cork and tiny washer on.
I found a champagne cork and cut the humps off its sides, then ground it to a perfect round that fitted the cylinder with clearance to allow for possible swelling.
I used the same method of fixing it onto the cork as the factory used, I squashed the tip in a vice to retain the washer and cork thus.....
then pushed the aluminum cylinder back onto the stub , it was a tight fit anyway , and replaced the lid to the brake reservoir . The brake light did not come on .....job done.
I hope that this will be of help to others , if this proves to be the problem..
Peter