Hey everyone, I've been having problems with my hand brake light coming on and staying on even when the handle is all the way down. I dont know why it's doing this and would just like to know if anyone else has this problem. I've heard of some people's light coming on in cold weather but it's not cold here. It doesn't do it all the time just every now and then. I'm not really sure what could've caused it to do this in the first place. I know in my old Eclipse, this light would come on if the brake fluid was low or the brakes were about gone, but I'm not sure with the 8. Any info would be great. I plan on taking it to the dealer as soon as I put my CAT back on. I dont think my mods have anything to do with it but they include : K&N intake, UR Pullies, 4 ga grounding kit, Red top Optima, 3.5" header back Magnaflow Exhaust, and that's about it. Please help me out here it's just confusing me.

Thanks,
Jamie

 

it's uasually the other way around in the sense that the cars brake doesn't hold...call your mazda dealer and ask them. they should be able to tell you...

 

I've had that happen, usually in cold weather. Seems like you barely have to lift the handle a fraction of an inch before the light comes on. If I push down on it, the light goes off, then when I take my hand off it the light comes back on. Does yours go off if you push down on the handle?

Tom

 

That wretched plastic shield under the e-brake handle is a poor design or choice of material used. If you follow tpschar's suggestion and find it to be true, then welcome to the e-brake handle club.. although this would be the first time I've heard of that piece of plastic screwing with the e-brake's operation in warm weather. My guess is that it is worn out and not gliding as smoothly as before, thus giving some resistance to the handle from settling down completely.

 

Well it's about 80+ outside and it's still coming on when the brake handle appears to be all the way down. I can push down on it and it stays on. I dont know, I plan on taking it to the Mazda place here, but It's not really a "mod-friendly" dealer.

Thanks,
Jamie

 

I had an eclipse that did that too. I believe the 8 does the same thing, I think I read that in the manual. How many miles do you have? Could you need brakes?

I have had my ebrake stick a tiny bit and cause the light to stay on, but I was able to push down on it further and turn the light off. If its staying on still I would definatley ask the dealer.

 

Just thought I'd let everyone know that the problem was that the brake/clutch fluid was low and topping off with good old dot 3 did the job. It also took the check engine light off that I thought was caused by the fact that I have no Cat. So far so good, It's been 4 days and no lights as of yet. I'll let you know if anything else happens.

Thanks,
Jamie

 

Where did the brake fluid go ?

 

This is normal for disc brake systems--assuming there is no leak. As the pads wear the brake line-caliper volume increases and more of the fluid is contained in the lines-calipers volume. When new pads are installed, the fluid will be forced back into the reservoir to, mor or less, the level it was when the pads were new.

HINT: If you add brake fluid to make up for the lower level as the pads wear, make sure you remove some fluid from the reservoir before installing new pads. Otherwise, when installing the new pads, the fluid may overflow when it is forced back into the reservoir. Either do that or wrap a large rag around the top of the reservoir to catch any possible overflow before installing the pads.

 

I'm going to dump the whole system to install stainless brake and clutch lines when I change my pads anyways. Thanks for the ideas everyone.

Jamie

 

It's not normal at all for the low brake fluid light to come on with the wear of the pads.
Even if the pads where worn out there is more than enough in the reservoir to stop the light coming on . You need to find out if you have a leak on the braking system or the clutch system.
I'm thinking of fitting s/s lines as well, As they really improve the pedal feel.

 

I was in there working on the lighter socket, noticed the switch/lever setup, and fixed it.

To stop the light being on, I added a little pad of rubber between the metal of the handle and its switch. Puts the light out sooner in the lever's travel.

It is fairly obvious, once you lift the shifter surround.

S