Brake Pad Warning Light Problem

A

allanbra

Member
Hi,
Some time ago my brake pad warning light started to come on. It started intermitent usually when the nearside wheel went over a bump and eventually became permanent after turning on the ignition.
The pads were checked and changed- light remains on.
I was advised to bridge the 2 pins at the connector behind the wheel - light remains on.
Brake fluid level is fine. (In saying that I believe the warning light for brake fluid and handbrake is different anyway).
Does anyone have any ideas what to check next or even if someone has a wiring diagram I could look at?
Thanks
Allan
 
There's nothing to check really - you've basically said what the problem is - the wiring loom and/or connector to the pad wear indicator is damaged and needs replacing.

The loom costs around £35 and if you've the necessary skills, you can solder it in yourself.

Cheers,

Mike
 
I presume you mean the short section of wiring from the pad connector that passes through the chassis and joins into the main loom? If so I would have to suspect something going wrong inside the sealed block where the ABS wire and brake wires merge. The rest of the wiring should be fine as it is not exposed to any corrosion or cable flex. I managed to get some switch cleaning fluid to run through this block in the hope that it might sort any corrosion/ connection problems.
The connector to the pads has been opened up and bridged so I dont see any issue with this part.
Thanks
Allan
 
Hard wired components such as the loom in question do not generally suffer from random failure unless there's been some physical damage and this is exactly what you describe here.

No matter how careful you've been with the contact cleaner and solder, I still suspect the loom.

Cheers

Mike
 
Hi Allan,

I would go with Mike's response. Had the same problem with mine, no matter how well I soldered on a new plug (inside the wheel arch, after the mounting block that clips into the brake caliper brakcet) the "beep" and (O) signal would appear. It seems that the wire needs to flex quite a bit when cornering, so the join becomes the weakest link and can't take the strain!
The only option is to buy the new harness as suggested, since this joint is up thru the wheel arch, in the engine bay, branching off the main loom. My local VAG indy garage did this for me (~£65) in total. and after 9 months no problems!

Cheers,

David
 
Thanks guys I really appreciate it. I will buy the harness and see what happens. Hopefully should be a straghforward solder job to install.

-Allan
 
As long as you're pretty adept with an iron, it's not too tricky a job.

Please ensure you use heatshrink (pref. Adhesive lined for waterproofing) fir a long-lasting fix.

Cheers

mike
 
You guys are pure class. Had a close look at the wiring tonight. Opened the outer cable, one of the wires withing the loom had broken away from the connector. Joined the 2 and the light went out.

Thanks again. This one had been bothering me.

-Allan
 
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