new 78 300D owner....; help!

[deferr]

i just bought a 78 300D that had sat in a garage for 4-5 years being driven a couple times a year. I thought i should flush the fluids and replace them since they were probably pretty old. I bled the brake lines and the brake fluid was very dark colored. I test drove it and noticed the brake light is now on, however my braking ability has improved substantially since i bled the lines. Any help with this problem would be great. Also the transmission fluid is murky in color..... does this indicate it needs to be changed and if so is that something i could do myself????

[Jorn]

The light is warning you to replace the brake pads.

[fahrgewehr2]

Which brake light? There are 2. One indicates front pad wear, the other (which is red) indicated hydraulic problems.

I would change the trans fluid and filter if it looked funny.
I haven't done it on my 300D (was done right before I bought it) but on my SE it was easy.

[Jorn]

Where is the second light from the front brake pads warning light?

[deferr]

it is the red light that is on....... if it's a hydraulic problem could there be a problem and me just not be able the tell (the pedal response is much better than is was prior to bleeding). If is is a problem that i just haven't noticed yet what can i do to fix it?

[TonyFromWestOz]

When you bled the brakes, did you top up the reservior?
Low Fluid will cause the Brake Light to come on. Check the fluid in both chambers of the master cylinder reservoir.

[deferr]

fluid is topped off and light is still on........... i was thinking maybe whatever mechanism 'causes the light to turn on got stuck in the on position when the fluid got lower when i bled the brakes. then when i topped the resevoir off if may just have stuck in the on position?????

[michael cole]

reset the fluid low switch on the master cylinder reservoir.take a look at the sensor it has a reset pin.i know it sounds strange but i did have one of thses on a 76 300d

[Rick Miley]

Are you absolutely sure that both chambers of the reservoir are full? On some of these the fill point for the rear chamber is a tiny hole at the bottom of the reservoir neck. So you have to actually get the fluid level up into the neck to fill the rear chamber.

The red light is for either low fluid or parking brake set. So just for kicks, you might want to check the parking brake.

[leathermang]

Does he have a wire going to an actual brake pad ?
Where is that light if yes...?

[Rick Miley]

It should have pad wear sensors on the front. The warning light for pad wear is amber and looks like (O). The one I mentioned above is red and looks like "BRAKE".

[jcd]

Hit the reset button. There is one on the master cylinder if I remember right. It is next to where the wire contact and there is a little rubber "nipple" covering the button.

This always happens to me after bleeding or replacing fluid. This is, of course, after confirming that you have proper brake fluid level.

Also check the parking brake as Rick suggests.

JCD

[deferr]

i just pushed that hidden little button on the master cylinder and that did the trick thank you very much now my annoyance is gone. and i have a little better peace of mind

[jcd]

Score one for the village idiot.

JCD