Brake warning light on dash not going out

**wagonist** · 31-05-2011, 08:27 PM

I've got a problem (not on the Dina luckily) whereby the brake fluid/handbrake warning light on the dash won't go out.

The switch on the handbrake works.
The switch on the fluid reservoir works.

I've noticed that the light goes dimmer when the car is on & the handbrake is released.

Does this suggest a short in the wiring somewhere that I'm going to need to find?

**Jonny Rochester** · 31-05-2011, 10:14 PM

If it is a newer Toyota (like with electronic ABS or some sort of stability control) then the light may indicate there is a fault code stored in the ECU, and you need Inteligence Tester II or similar to view and delete it. I know the ABS light will come on like this if a wheel speed sensor is not working, or any component is unpluged.

If it is a old sort of system, with just lights and switches, then try and look at a wiring diagram (for any Toyota, logic should follow the same). There would be a short somewhere.

**wagonist** · 31-05-2011, 10:19 PM

Think cheaply made car from 15 years ago. Only thing electronic in it is the EFI ECU. Nothing else is electronically assisted.
I just changed the wiring loom because of the EFI not working...
I really hate trying to find problems in wiring...

**thechuckster** · 01-06-2011, 01:23 AM

disconnect the fluid level sensor at the master cyl,
if light still remains on, disconnect the pressure sensor on the bias valve (if there is one there)
if light remains on, fuck about for several hours removing the centre console and then disconnect the handbrake switch
if light remains on, take it to an auto-sparkie or locate a chassis wiring diagram and get friendly with a mutimeter.

**oldcorollas** · 01-06-2011, 11:08 AM

it's a "Cool-1", i mean, bad earth.

soemthing in your dash earth system is probably rooted, so is partially earthing back thru that globe.
pull dahs, clean plugs, clean earthing points on chassis, or run a wire between them and back to battery

**wagonist** · 11-01-2012, 10:41 PM

Just in case anyone happened to what to know, this problem got solved.
The brake reservoir has a brown part on it for the electrical plug to fit on.
Nearby is a same part on the charcoal canister line which is black.

There are 2 plugs on the loom, one black, one brown.

Of course the black plug goes on the brake (brown) part & the brown plug goes on the charcoal canister (black) one.

This is obviously not on a Japanese car...