This morning while driving into work the Amber brake wear indicator light came on. It came on solid, then started to flicker and eventually went out. Bulb's OK. I had the wheels off a couple of weeks ago to power flush the brake system and at that time checked the pads and all four wheels are fine. One front wheel made kind of a racket when being turned by hand. It seemed to be nothing more than loose rust and crap in back of the rotor. Using a screwdriver I basically knocked off some rotor edge rust and fiddled around to get loose pieces of rust from out in back of the rotor. All-in-all the rotors seemed pretty much OK. The wires for the brake wear indicators seem allright too. What am I seeing here? Are the brakes OK? They feel fine, no pull, no shake. Could this be just more loose rust floating around shorting the brake indicator wires? Brakes bled easily and fluid is at the right level without any dropping after the flush job. Thanks for any advice.

rmmagow

The sensors are pretty simple and robust. I would presume they are telling you the pads are worn and respond accordingly. At the worst you go through the trouble to find the problem is with the sensor resolve the issue and have a set of spare pads and sensors for the job later.

I have yet to have a bum indication from the pad wear sensors. I have had them tell me a few hundred miles early in wet weather that the pads needed replacement, as when it was dry after the first time they lit up the dash light, the light stayed off for a few days of daily use. But it came back on and I was prepared. Good luck, Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)

Yes, I would say that it is time for some new pads. When I did mine, it cost me more than I expected because I had some stuck calipers, but if you have flushed your brake system then don't worry about replacing the calipers...