Re: Brake Warning Light

[Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.pl>]

At 11:35 29.11.98 -0600, Bruce G Plante wrote:

>I am currently the original owner of a 87 5kSQ with 160k on it.  Lately, I
>have experienced two problems:
>
>1)Brake Warning Light (the red triangle! from the auto check system) comes
>on temporailly during some brake applications at low RPMs and then goes off.
>Dealer said it was common for older pumps "temporary reduction in pressure".
>The warning sound is bother some however and I would like to disconnect if
>possible.  Removing the connection from the hydraulic expansion tank and/or
>brake fluid reservoir does not do it.  Any thoughts?  Does any one know how
>to disconnect this sensor?

So, you have a problem and you should fix it rather than disconnect the
sensor and pretend there's nothing wrong. I can think of two possible
causes of this problem:
a) The brake pressure accumulator (aka "the bomb") is worn. If the bomb has
never been replaced in the past, this is pretty much sure that on 11 years
old cars it's dead.
b) The dealer is right and the pump is not generating enough pressure. The
pumps usually start to leak long before they lose output, but again, when
discussing the hydraulic system on an old 5K, almost every failure is
possible. 

>2)Driver side power mirror works to tilt mirror left to right but not front
>to back.  When pushed to move front to back it still moves only left to
>right.  Diagnosis and prescription?

There's a single motor used for adjusting the mirror and a magnetic clutch
selects if it tilts vertically or horizontally. The default position is
horizontally, so either the clutch is broken or there's a fault in the
wiring preventing the clutch from being energized. I have the very same
problem on my 5KT and so far I found the clutch and the door switch to be OK.

Aleksander Mierzwa
Warsaw, Poland
mailto:alex@matrix.pl
87 Audi 5000CS turbo (mine)
88 Renault Medallion wagon (mom's)
91 mountain bike (just in case both cars broke at the same time :-)