Check Brakes Light

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Rick - 30 Jun 2004 15:53 GMT

Girlfriend has a 1999 Accord V6. Just had the 15,000 maint done,
including inspection of brakes. (yes, it is a very low mileage vehicle)

The "check brakes" light comes on & she goes to the dealer. Since
her brakes are ok, they tell her it is a lamp getting ready to go bad.
Huh? Never heard such a thing. Anyone else ever hear this?

Now the "check brakes" light is out, and all seems fine.

Thanks,

Rick

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motsco_ _ - 30 Jun 2004 16:59 GMT

> Girlfriend has a 1999 Accord V6. Just had the 15,000 maint done,
> including inspection of brakes. (yes, it is a very low mileage vehicle)
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> Rick
> =================

Dealer is smoking illegal substances. NO CAR HAS A SYSTEM THAT WILL TELL
YOU WHEN A LAMP IS 'GETTING READY TO GO BAD'.

The OWNER'S MANUAL tells you that the dash light will come on when you
do the 'LAMP TEST', when the park brake is on, when the brake fluid is
low, and when there's a malfunction in the brake circuit. Try topping up
the brake fluid.

P.S. Send a letter to Honda and tell them about this dealer of yours...

'Curly'

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w_tom - 30 Jun 2004 18:06 GMT

She probably misinterpreted what he said. IOW if one of the
brake light bulbs is failing, then it draws less current.
Unlike most cars, the Accord detects too little current drawn
by the light bulb and notifies the dashboard. Was it the
brake light, or was it the light bulb monitoring circuit? Big
difference which is why humans must be very careful to use
exact words.

> Girlfriend has a 1999 Accord V6. Just had the 15,000 maint done,
> including inspection of brakes. (yes, it is a very low mileage
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> Rick

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Rick - 30 Jun 2004 19:08 GMT

That seems more believable. Nevertheless, she often does get
things mixed up and probably did misunderstand the guy. I will
check all her lamps, but she called a little while ago and said she has
not seen the "brake light" come back on again. The dealer is one of
the most reputable in the Southeast, Ed Voyles Honda.

Rick

> She probably misinterpreted what he said. IOW if one of the
> brake light bulbs is failing, then it draws less current.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> difference which is why humans must be very careful to use
> exact words.

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w_tom - 01 Jul 2004 14:51 GMT

No reason to check her brake lights. If any brake light
bulb goes bad, then a dashboard warning panel reports that
failure as explained in the owner's manual. Ask her which
indicator light illuminated on the dash board. Warning light
for "brake system failure" is completely different from the
warning for a "failing brake light bulb". This warning system
that reports failing brake light bulbs has been a standard
function even on pre-1980 Accords.

> That seems more believable. Nevertheless, she often does get
> things mixed up and probably did misunderstand the guy. I will
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>> difference which is why humans must be very careful to use
>> exact words.

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Keefer 29365 - 01 Jul 2004 04:48 GMT

my brake light was on the other day but all the lights were working, i
think the bulb was just lose, after i took it out and put it back in the
light went off and has not came back on so far

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motsco_ _ - 01 Jul 2004 14:13 GMT

> my brake light was on the other day but all the lights were working, i
> think the bulb was just lose, after i took it out and put it back in the
> light went off and has not came back on so far

=======================

If the bulb comes loose, or if you've put it back in crooked, it will
never come on again. Your manual tells you how to test ALL your dash
lamps at the same time. Read my previous post, and your manual for
continued safety.

'Curly'

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w_tom - 01 Jul 2004 15:05 GMT

Did you check each rear brake light bulb for darkened
interior glass - including the center brake light? Filament
vaporized onto inside of glass indicates that bulb is about to
fail; a condition detected by the dash board warning system.
Bulb has not yet failed but the warning system detects a
future failure; warns driver of the impending bulb burnout.

Are you saying you removed brake light warning bulb from
dash board because it was on? Why? If bulb is loose, then it
would not be on contantly. That bulb is on constant because
something is wrong with the rear brake lights. Does not
matter if you see all brake lights on. What matters is the
warning system detects the problem and you have not yet found
it. Now you may have also damaged the brake light warning
bulb in dash board - if that is the bulb you removed. Cannot
be exactly sure which bulb you have described due to
insufficient wording.

> my brake light was on the other day but all the lights were
> working, i think the bulb was just lose, after i took it out
> and put it back in the light went off and has not came back
> on so far

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Chip Stein - 02 Jul 2004 02:34 GMT

> Did you check each rear brake light bulb for darkened
> interior glass - including the center brake light? Filament
> vaporized onto inside of glass indicates that bulb is about to
> fail; a condition detected by the dash board warning system.
> Bulb has not yet failed but the warning system detects a
> future failure; warns driver of the impending bulb burnout.

try asking about the service bulletin on the brake light on, it
describes replacing the master cylinder strainer and float. ed voyles
should know about this.
Chip

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Rick - 02 Jul 2004 14:35 GMT

Thanks for all the feedback, appreciate it very much. Finally got
girlfriend's car on her day off and went over it. Appears all it was is
the level in her brake fluid reservoir (I hope). Filled it to the max.
line,
and she says, so far, the brake light has stayed off. The fluid level
was almost down to the min. line, but not quite. Probably the movement
of the car while driving caused the light to go on & off. I am going to
monitor the fluid level for any possible leaks in her brake system.

Rick

> Girlfriend has a 1999 Accord V6. Just had the 15,000 maint done,
> including inspection of brakes. (yes, it is a very low mileage vehicle)
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Rick

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curly12 - 02 Jul 2004 15:22 GMT

the most usual cause of the reservoir being low is the brake pads and or
shoes are worn out.

The dealer claims the breakes are ok, but a quick check of the pads might be
in order. with 15000 miles, I would suspect 20-30% remaining on the front
pads.

But I could be wrong.

> Thanks for all the feedback, appreciate it very much. Finally got
> girlfriend's car on her day off and went over it. Appears all it was is
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> >
> > Rick

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Brian Smith - 03 Jul 2004 06:43 GMT

> the most usual cause of the reservoir being low is the brake pads and or
> shoes are worn out.
>
> The dealer claims the breakes are ok, but a quick check of the pads might be
> in order. with 15000 miles, I would suspect 20-30% remaining on the front
> pads.

That would be pretty hard use, to have that percentage remaining after that
small amount of mileage. I just replaced my original front pads on my '01
Accord V6, Automatic with 113,800 km (70,556 miles), mostly city driving.
They were down to 30 % remaining.

Signature

Brian

Junk is something you've kept for years and
throw away three weeks before you need it.

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motsco_ _ - 02 Jul 2004 18:43 GMT

> Thanks for all the feedback, appreciate it very much. Finally got
> girlfriend's car on her day off and went over it. Appears all it was is
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
> Rick

=====================

Rick,

Over the years, as the brake pads are 'consumed', the level of the fluid
slowly goes down . . If nobody checks the level, it suddenly looks as
if there's a leak. No, just normal usage. That's why it's a good thing
there's an 'idiot light' to warn the owner before air would get sucked
into the system. Oil change places are supposed to check this kind of stuff.

The pads will announce when they're shot too. Metal tabs will start
scraping on the disks when the pads are reaching the end of thier lives.
It's not an excuse to never get things inspected, but it's a good
back-up plan for people who don't. :-)

'Curly'

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STS - 03 Jul 2004 01:08 GMT

I had a similar problem in my car , an older model ,
there was water getting inside the break lights connector trough a gap .
This problem occurred when it was raining and continued like that for days
in a row
after the rain.Dealer replaced the bulb but didn't check the connectors.

> Girlfriend has a 1999 Accord V6. Just had the 15,000 maint done,
> including inspection of brakes. (yes, it is a very low mileage vehicle)
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Rick

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