Intermittent Park Brake Light - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

jcakers · #1 02-11-2011, 08:49 PM

I just replaced the vacuum valve on the ignition switch and now the park brake light comes on and goes off with seeming impunity. Did I get something hooked up wrong behind the instrument panel, or is it totally unrelated?

Jim H · #2 02-11-2011, 10:16 PM

When the light comes on, can you make it go off by lifting up on the pedal with your foot? If the cable is sticking it may not return all the way, and if it drops down just enough the light will come on.

It is also possible you bumped the switch, or pulled it when you moved wires to replace the vacuum valve.

Good luck.

winmutt · #3 02-11-2011, 10:18 PM

Brake pad wear light in the wrong spot is my bet.

vstech · #4 02-11-2011, 11:18 PM

sounds like you got the alternator and break lights switched putting the cluster back together.
check your alternator, and check the locations of the lights in your cluster!

Yak · #5 02-12-2011, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

sounds like you got the alternator and break lights switched putting the cluster back together.
check your alternator, and check the locations of the lights in your cluster!

Assuming the 300D.

I don't think you can swap the lights/light bulbs. The high beam/battery/pad wear/brake lights are fixed on the cluster and use the traces on the cluster for power. The plastic strip is also fixed, so you can't put the wrong symbol in place. The glow plug and the seat belt light are loose wires on the other side of the cluster, I could see getting those mixed up.

<> But the brake light is directly underneath the oil pressure tube. You may want to double check that is correctly tightened and not cracked or leaking. That would be bad - and messy.

You can also double check the brake light by applying/releasing your parking brake. On and off normally? Or depressing the fluid level "buttons" on the reservoir, maybe with an assistant. Do they come on?

The brake light is next to the rheostat in the pic.

chuckr · #6 02-12-2011, 07:17 PM

May I piggyback on here? My park brake light also lights intermittently, mostly when I accelerate, and when i back off it goes off (suggesting a loose or grounding wire?) I will check behind my cluster. It also works the way it's supposed to. My question is: is there a switch near the arm under the dash that can go bad? I pulled my panel and looked and couldn't really see anything. wiggling the brake arm doesn't do anything.

thanks chuck

Yak · #7 02-12-2011, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chuckr

May I piggyback on here? My park brake light also lights intermittently, mostly when I accelerate, and when i back off it goes off (suggesting a loose or grounding wire?) I will check behind my cluster. It also works the way it's supposed to. My question is: is there a switch near the arm under the dash that can go bad? I pulled my panel and looked and couldn't really see anything. wiggling the brake arm doesn't do anything.

thanks chuck

Fluid level low and moving around trips the low fluid sensor?

vstech · #8 02-12-2011, 08:30 PM

yuup. that makes sense.
although, I thought the fluid level sensor needed to be reset when it tripped.
good point about the wear sensor being fixed in place...

chuckr · #9 02-13-2011, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vstech

yuup. that makes sense.
although, I thought the fluid level sensor needed to be reset when it tripped.
good point about the wear sensor being fixed in place...

I think i didn't understand that light then. I thought it was ONLY the parking brake light not the fluid check-level light as well. thanks chuck

Gheuett · #10 01-31-2015, 12:43 PM

Again this forum solves a problem for me.

I have had the intermittent dash brake light flash that started out only occasionally but became a lot more frequent. After reading this thread I topped off the brake fluid and problem solved!!

Thanks!
Gib