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Old 08-24-2006, 08:06 AM   #1
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Brake Wear light occasionally on

I've got my Brake Wear light coming on now and again. It did that earlier in the year and I replace the fronts along with new sensors for each. The rear brakes looked fine.

The light is now on occasionally now. I haven't checked the brakes yet, but I thought I'd ask if the light is supposed to turn off by itself. That is, I thought the light is supposed to come on if one of the sensor wires wears through. And if so, it should STAY on, shouldn't it?

I'm wondering if I have a loose connection somewhere. Anyone else have experience with their brake wear light coming on and then going out by itself now and again. Is this a normal behaviour as one or more pads gets low?

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Old 08-24-2006, 08:23 AM   #2
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The light goes on. Then off. For apparently no reason. Some people think it is associated with water, such as washing the car. All the senors are replaced, then it happens again.

I have see this type of report more than a few times over the years. Never been able to figure it out. I asked the shop foreman a few years ago if he had a clue, but he had not see this complaint. Hope to figure out what is going on one of these days.
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Old 08-24-2006, 08:45 AM   #3
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socratic, if you find that the pads and sensor check out fine, just take the bulb out of the dash and be done with it. You'll never have that annoying lamp coming on again, I assure you.
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Old 08-24-2006, 10:00 AM   #4
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Mine does this when my brakes are begining to touch the sensor...Dealer expalined that the light only goes on when the sensor touches the rotor and "grounds" the cable. Once the pad is completely worn the light will stay on until you change the pads and sensors. Nothing unusual from what I'm told. Just wait until the light is constantly on and change your brakes.
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Old 12-27-2011, 07:22 AM   #5
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I too have a problem with my "Brake Wear Indicator" it is on solid and I have checked all my brakes and all is well (over 50% ) I have also unplugged each "wear sensor" and each one has ohmed thru (less than 3 ohms each) I have looked at the wiring diagram and see that a single wire arrives at Plug 1 (blue) at the dash at terminal 23 and the second wire arrives on Plug 3,terminal 13. Both wires are Brown/Black. What I can't find is where the four pairs of brake sense wires join to become the two listed above that go into the Instrument Cluster. I see reference to the connections in the circuit diagram but nothing on location. Has anyone worked on this type of problem before? can anyone offer any suggestions on what I might try next. Somewhere in the Instrument Cluster I would assume is a relay that is normally held up by +12vdc at the coil and - 12volts (Grd) getting to the negative side of the coil by running thru all the brake sensors and then bac to the coil. Brake Sensor goes bad, coil losed -12volts (grd) and the relay drops which in turn closes siruit to light bulb? I would guess this is how it works but I can not find the relay or circuit diagram for such a beast. Thanks in advance to anyone that can help
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Old 12-27-2011, 08:47 AM   #6
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+1 TriGem2k. The brake sensor light will be intermittant when the sensor is starting to wear and then come on solid when worn through. If the pads are ok, then just replace the sensors which can occasionally be faulty.
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Old 01-02-2012, 05:08 AM   #7
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I too have a problem with my "Brake Wear Indicator" it is on solid and I have checked all my brakes and all is well (over 50% ) I have also unplugged each "wear sensor" and each one has ohmed thru (less than 3 ohms each)

The brakes will appear to have quite a lot of friction material left on them even when they just start to show the first flashes. The sensor hole is about 5.5 MM in diameter and 1 MM of material still is between the back side of the hole and the brake pad backing. The sensor starts to short and there still is just under 1/4' of friction material left on the pad. The sensor itself is not a sensor at all it is just a wire so it would not be uncommon for it to read 1 ohm when tested.

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