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#1
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Emergency Brake Light in Cold Weather
Every time the outside temperature dips below freezing, (which has been most of the time over the recent weeks) the red emergency break light on my dash comes on as soon as the car is started without engaging the break! It remains illuminated (as long as the car is on) until the outside temperature goes back above freezing. Does anyone else have this strange issue? Is there anything "real" to it? What I mean is this: does the break somehow become partially engaged or does ice build up on the cable/mechanism, thereby triggering the light?
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#2
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Open your hood....dust off the brake fluid resevoir cap....open the cap and then close it again. The light should go off. Check your fluid level also to see if its fine. This happened to my SVX also when it was cold and I didn't even have the parking brake on. I did was i suggested above and everything was fine. It seems like a common issue.
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1993 25th Anniversary Edition # 156 of 301 ~ 121, 488 miles ( SOLD TO svxfiles 8/6/06) 2006 Subaru Impreza 2.5i....5spd - My daily driver 2006 Subaru Legacy 2.5i -7k miles..Mom's daily driver 2,543 Member of the SVX World Network |
#3
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It doesn't take much drop in the level of the brake fluid to make the light come on. Sometimes all it takes is for it to warm up from the warmth of the engine heat for it to go off. Open the resevoir cap and make sure the diaphram is up inside the cap. If the fluid is down, add some and it should be fine again. Good luck.
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. Earl .... ... .... ><SVX(*> Subaru Ambassador [COLOR=”silver”]1992 Tri Color L[/COLOR] ~45K (06/91) #2430 1992 Dark Teal LS-L ~184K (05/91) #0739 1992 Claret LS-L ~196K (05/91) #0831 1992 Pearl LS-L ~103K (06/91) #1680 1992 Pearl LS-L ~151K (06/91) #2229 1992 Dark Teal LS ~150K (07/91) #3098 (parts car) 1992 White LS-L ~139K (08/92) #6913 1993 25th AE ~98K (02/93) #164 1993 25th AE ~58K (02/93) #176 1993 25th AE ~107K (02/93) #215 1993 25th AE ~162K (02/93) #223 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~124K (1/94) #2408 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~144K (10/93) #1484 1994 Laguna Blue Pearl LSi ~68K (10/93) #1525 1994 Barcelona Red LSi ~46K (02/94) #2624 1994 Pearl LSi ~41K (12/93) #1961 1995 Bordeaux Pearl LSi ~70K (02/95) #855 1996 Polo Green LSi ~95K (03/96) #872 1997 Bordeaux Pearl LSi ~55K (08/96) #097 2003 Brilliant Red LS1 Convertible ~29K (04/03) #8951 1999 Magnetic Red LS1 Coupe ~33K (04/99) #6420 My Email | Old Locker | New Locker | Picture of 15 of the 19 |
#4
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O.K. I'll try that. It got above freezing today, so this afternoon the light was off. Thanks for the tip!
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#5
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I was just starting to have this problem with mine before the front diff died. I never got around to looking at it, But I know the fluid was full and so on as I did check the fluid and cap and so on. Let us all know what you find out.
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#6
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#7
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Thanks! That first picture is what mine looks like. That's obviously what ensteel meant, but it took the 2 photos of the right and wrong positions for me to understand. My fluid level is only a millimeter or 2 below the "full" line, which means it's way far above the "low" line. I haven't had the light come back on anyhow since the temperature has remained above freezing. I'll push the diaphram thing back to its collapsed position, and wait to see what happens when the weather gets colder again.
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#8
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The light has not come back on again, even though I've driven the car when the tempurature is below freezing.
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#9
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My brake light came on yesterday so I swung by my friends shop (he has a Euro car repair business). I thought I'd show off my new found knowledge from the forum. As I put the vice grips on the hood strut to keep it open he, without saying anything, unscrewed the brake fluid reservoir cap and popped the diaphram back into the cap. Other cars must have the same set up.
Gene
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Gene and Ben 1992 SVX LS AWD 110K - Liquid Silver 1994 SVX LSi AWD 128K - White Pearl (daily driver) 1994 SVX LSi AWD 95K - Emerald Pearl (sold) 1992 SVX LS-L AWD 115K - Dark Teal 4.44 swap (sold) |
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