(E) Brake Warning light on - reasons?
 

Hello all,

Recently my car's brake warning light has been coming on during hard braking, and over the past 2 days or so it has been coming on more frequently and on regular braking pressures.

Checked the fluid levels - it's sitting in the middle so that should be fine.
Braking sometimes has some squealing, so I checked my brake pads, rear seems to be OK, but front seems to be pretty worn out.

At home I would just crack open my tools and change the pads, but I don't have ANY tools here other than a hammer, a set of screwdrivers and a spanner.

Before I go out and a) get the tools and change it myself, or b) get someone to change it. I just want to know if the brake pads worn down alone would cause the light to turn on, or will there be another nasty surprise after that?

TIA!

EDIT: Car is a '97 Mazda Eunos 500 (it's like a 626 or a Millenia but smaller). It does have ABS but the ABS warning light has no issues

Does it feel like you're losing braking power when this happens?

nope, definitely not spongy brakes

It's usually just an indication that your reservoir is getting low and/or your pads are wearing thin (typically both at the same time, obviously).

hydraulic pressure has been lost in one side of the brake system

It's probably your low front pads, swap em and your fluid level goes back up.

Thanks for all the replies

Just ripped the wheels off one by one and checked the pads more thoroughly.
Turns out it's my rear pads, the inner pads especially are down to pretty much the thickness of a loonie. Went out and bought myself a ratchet set, a C clamp, rear pads, brake cleaner, and some anti-squel stuff for just under 80 dollars.

Best quote I could get from a shop was 200 dollars :fuckthatshit:

The rear brakes may need a special tool to retract the piston because of the e-brake

Most Mazdas use a screw-type rear caliper piston, mb_ might be right on that, and it's a bit of a bitch to find one that can fit proper. Better hit up that there Supercheap Auto.

Was just gonna offer to lend you my specialty tool but then remembered you're out on poison desert island. Nevermind. :lol

Servicing is effing insane here in Aus!
I'm back in Vancouver for a month in July and the first thing I'll be doing is shipping a crate of supplies and tools back here
(and tires, oil filters, brakes stuff, air filters)

For mazda it's usually just low brake fluid

Thanks for the tip on the special tool - I guess I'll be making another trip to supercheap before I start the job.

$250 for a brake job for just the one axle is insane..

^^ Like !Kodamu mentioned. Check the brake fluid before doing all the work.

My EF's E-brake light would turn on sometimes, just meant low brake fluid. :thumbsup:

I would change the pads before topping up the system, especially since you don't have your own spot to do it. If the reservoir is full of fluid and you go to compress the calipers, it's all gonna puke out and make a mess. Once you get your new pads in, check/fill the fluid.

^Take what he says seriously.. my first brake job ended up being a mess LOL.

Forgot to remove some fluid from the reservoir and overflowed when I was working on the 3rd corner. :fuuuuu:

Take off the rear wheels, soap up the calipers etc and hit it with a pressure washer.

Then power up the car to see if warning is still there.

If the warning is still there, take out replace the sensor.

If not get a IR thermometer etc to see if the brakes get super hot when you drive around , the caliper might be sticking.

Oh you have the annual MOT is a pain in the ass in Australia.. it will make you miss Canada and Richmond RCMP VIs.

Yup, it's sitting around half full right now which I think will go back up to full once I change the pads. Thanks for the reminder!

The warning goes off pretty much right after the car comes to a full stop, or my foot off the brake (whichever comes first).

Luckily in South Australia they got rid of the MOT early-2012 (before I got here). Leaving in half a year anyways, not gonna buy new expensive tools haha

use long needle nose pliers and just twist the ebrake cam. it works for me

So i ran into a problem...
I've never changed brakes before so forgive me if it's a stupid question.

Most calipers have two bolts to remove? Well, my caliper only has one, and the other one looks like a weird pivoting point or something. I didn't want to go and break anything so I just took a pictures and thought I'd ask some of the more experienced members before I go and apply brute force to it to rip the caliper out (I tried to wiggle it a bit but it seemed to be stuck to the rotor?)
the top bolt I removed already (it was easy to spot, it had a black dustcap on it)... but if you look on the bottom of the caliper where the bolts usually are, it's just a big hunk of metal.

I think most cars would have the service bolts hidden in dust boots (instead of having them exposed).. it looks like the calliper swings out for servicing.. I am not sure you are supposed to remove the whole assembly.

Yup, looks like it's just a swing out unit.

BTW:

Mazda Miata MX-5 Eunos Roadster 1. 8: Enthuasiast's Shop Manual - Rod Grainger, Pete Shoemark - Google Books

Thanks man,
does it take a bit of wiggling to get out? I tried to yank on it to no avail... didn't pry it or anything though.

Some youtube videos said to stick a screwdriver in the inspection hole and give it a gentle nudge?

and I just realized... my handbrake was on...
I guess that'll make a big difference *facepalm*

It's dark now I'll try again tomorrow lol


ps: sorry for making Revscene a car forum again

Yes, your e-brake being on will slightly impede your ability to move the caliper... :p

This.

You'll probably have them partially open to to reach the notches. Problem is, once in awhile, you'll close the pliers....on your finger. You'll understand what I mean when this happens. Find something that fits in the pliers, that keeps it open enough to reach the notches, then tie a rubberband around the handle so it stays in that position.