Flashing Brake Light??

[Tom Christiansen]

Hi,

>Brake light
>warning came on when I turned it on this morning and I'm not too sure if
>this is an indication that I need new brakes or just need more or new brake
>fluid. I pulled out the Hayes manual so I could locate the brake fluid
>resevior and added some more fluid. From what I could see inside, it seemed
>like there was fluid in there.

There are two brake warning lights. One is red and has an exclamation point
on it. The other is yellow and indicates brake pad wear.

It's quite common for the brake pad warning (the yellow warning) to come on
during driving. It may be an indication that the front brake pads are
wearing beyond the limit (4mm if I recall correctly). But often the warning
comes on because of a bad connection or broken wire in the brake pad sensor
circuit.

The red brake warning is more serious. It indicates that the brake fluid
level is low. Fill the reservoir to the max mark. If that doesn't shut the
warning up, then the sensor in the brake fluid reservoir is probably broken
(or faulty connection). Get a new/used one from a junk yard. If you loose
brake fluid to the point where you need to top off frequently (several
times per year) I'd suggest that you have the system inspected for leaks.


Tom