Honda Car Forum

Hi group,
My 91 Accord EX suddenly has the hand brake light on. I never use the
handbrake. When I parked the car today I set the handbrake , released it and
turned on the car but the light did not go off. Can't figure out what the
problem could be.

I got the wheels rotated yesterday...can that cause anything wrong to turn
on the light ??

Please help.

TIA
HondaNewbie

Check the fluid level in the brake fluid reservoir. The hand brake
indicator doubles as the low brake fluid indicator.

USC wrote:
>
> Hi group,
> My 91 Accord EX suddenly has the hand brake light on. I never use the
> handbrake. When I parked the car today I set the handbrake , released it and
> turned on the car but the light did not go off. Can't figure out what the
> problem could be.
>
> I got the wheels rotated yesterday...can that cause anything wrong to turn
> on the light ??
>
> Please help.
>
> TIA
> HondaNewbie

USC wrote:
> Hi group,
> My 91 Accord EX suddenly has the hand brake light on. I never use the
> handbrake. When I parked the car today I set the handbrake , released it and
> turned on the car but the light did not go off. Can't figure out what the
> problem could be.
>
> I got the wheels rotated yesterday...can that cause anything wrong to turn
> on the light ??
>
> Please help.
>
> TIA
> HondaNewbie


++++++++++++++++++++

Check your brake (and clutch) fluid first, and use your park brake
regularly anyhow. It keeps your (back drum, if you have them) brakes
adjusted, and they will last longer.

Read the fine owner's manual. Both of these solutions are in there.

If you dont' have a manual, your Honda dealer can get one in.
'Curly'

Thank you Randolph and motsco__

Both of you were right, it was the brake fluid. I have the Chilton manual
for my Accord and it suggests to check the brake fluid level every few
weeks. I had never checked it since I owned this car.

Thanks a lot guys.

HN

"Randolph" <trash@junkmail.com> wrote in message
news:40AEF9A7.7FB6642F@junkmail.com...
> Check the fluid level in the brake fluid reservoir. The hand brake
> indicator doubles as the low brake fluid indicator.
>
> USC wrote:
> >
> > Hi group,
> > My 91 Accord EX suddenly has the hand brake light on. I never use the
> > handbrake. When I parked the car today I set the handbrake , released it
and
> > turned on the car but the light did not go off. Can't figure out what
the
> > problem could be.
> >
> > I got the wheels rotated yesterday...can that cause anything wrong to
turn
> > on the light ??
> >
> > Please help.
> >
> > TIA
> > HondaNewbie

The HondaNewbie wrote:
>
> Thank you Randolph and motsco__
>
> Both of you were right, it was the brake fluid. I have the Chilton
> manual for my Accord and it suggests to check the brake fluid level
> every few weeks. I had never checked it since I owned this car.
>

You may want to inspect the thickness of your brake linings. In the case
that you don't have a leak in the hydraulic system, one of the only reasons
for your brake fluid to get low enough for the warning indicator to come on
is reduced lining thickness.

Eric

Eric

I would like to know Where/how to inspect brake linings... I am a total
newbie and just following the manual and the postings from the Honda forum.
:-)

Thank you.
HN.

"Eric" <say.no@spam.now> wrote in message news:40B53C39.85AA4686@spam.now...
> The HondaNewbie wrote:
> >
> > Thank you Randolph and motsco__
> >
> > Both of you were right, it was the brake fluid. I have the Chilton
> > manual for my Accord and it suggests to check the brake fluid level
> > every few weeks. I had never checked it since I owned this car.
> >
>
> You may want to inspect the thickness of your brake linings. In the case
> that you don't have a leak in the hydraulic system, one of the only
reasons
> for your brake fluid to get low enough for the warning indicator to come
on
> is reduced lining thickness.
>
> Eric

HondaNewbie wrote:
>
> I would like to know Where/how to inspect brake linings... I am a total
> newbie and just following the manual and the postings from the Honda
> forum.
>

In brief, you'll need to jack up the car, set it on jack stands, and remove
the wheels. For the front brakes, you'll need to remove the pads from the
calipers in order to get an accurate measurement of the remaining pad
thickness (do not interchange the inner and outer pads and avoid touching
the pad and rotor friction surface). For the rear brakes, you'll need to
remove the brake drum if your car is so equipped in order to inspect the
brake shoes (avoid breathing ANY brake dust). The original Honda brake pads
have metal wear indicators which will contact the rotors and make a high
pitch screeching noise whenever the wheels turn thereby letting you know
that it's time to replace the brakes. However, many after market pads don't
have these wear indicators and considering the age of your Accord, it would
not be wise to go on the assumption that your pads have wear indicators.
The minimum lining thickness is 2.0 mm for the front pads as well as the
rear shoes.

For further information, a copy of the factory service manual can be found
at http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/AccordManual/index.html.

Eric

Hi all
The problem seems to be something rather then the drop of brake Fluid level.
It seems that there is some leak in my Master Brake Cylinder Fluid level.
Even though the level does not fall drastically but whenever the brake light
comes on, I insert very little brake fluid and the light goes off for a day
or two and then again it comes on. I did this two times and the same thing
happens.
Reading Eric's post (below), I still have to inspect the brakes. However, I
hear no screeching noise from any of the brakes while driving.
There is something wrong with the brakes, as I feel they are little slow in
action.

Any suggestions? Do I need complete new brakes ?
Please advise.

Thank you.
HN.

"Eric" <say.no@spam.now> wrote in message news:40B5EE68.AC8BA89F@spam.now...
> HondaNewbie wrote:
> >
> > I would like to know Where/how to inspect brake linings... I am a total
> > newbie and just following the manual and the postings from the Honda
> > forum.
> >
>
> In brief, you'll need to jack up the car, set it on jack stands, and
remove
> the wheels. For the front brakes, you'll need to remove the pads from the
> calipers in order to get an accurate measurement of the remaining pad
> thickness (do not interchange the inner and outer pads and avoid touching
> the pad and rotor friction surface). For the rear brakes, you'll need to
> remove the brake drum if your car is so equipped in order to inspect the
> brake shoes (avoid breathing ANY brake dust). The original Honda brake
pads
> have metal wear indicators which will contact the rotors and make a high
> pitch screeching noise whenever the wheels turn thereby letting you know
> that it's time to replace the brakes. However, many after market pads
don't
> have these wear indicators and considering the age of your Accord, it
would
> not be wise to go on the assumption that your pads have wear indicators.
> The minimum lining thickness is 2.0 mm for the front pads as well as the
> rear shoes.
>
> For further information, a copy of the factory service manual can be found
> at http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/AccordManual/index.html.
>
> Eric

HondaNewbie wrote:

<snip>

> I still have to inspect the brakes. However, I
> hear no screeching noise from any of the brakes while driving.
> There is something wrong with the brakes, as I feel they are little slow in
> action.

Some brake pads come with wear indicators (a metal clip that touches the
rotor when the pads are worn down to where they need to be replaced),
but not all pads have this. If there is no wear indicator, you may not
hear any unusual sounds even if the brake lining is worn completely off.
(I helped a friend replace pads and rotors last weekend, lining
completely gone on one pad but no unusual sound).

> Any suggestions? Do I need complete new brakes ?

Brake work is not very difficult, but it is kind of important that it is
done right... If you want to tackle it yourself, start by getting at
least a Haynes manual or even better the one from
http://www.helminc.com. No shame in taking it to a shop for brake
service either.

If this is happening fairly often, I would say you have a serious leak.
Look at the back of the master cylinder and if it is wet with brake fluid or
the paint is flaking off the power booster, your master cylinder is going
bad and you should replace it. If the master cylinder checks out, then look
for leaks by the wheels.

If the light comes on before the level in the master cylinder reaches the
"min" mark, but goes off with the addition of fluid, it could be the low
fluid sensor is stuck or is going bad.

If you are describing a one-time occurrence, then look for worn down brake
linings.


On 5/30/04 11:41 AM, in article c9d2s9$gvp$1@gist.usc.edu, "HondaNewbie"
<klutulu@softhome.net> wrote:

> Hi all
> The problem seems to be something rather then the drop of brake Fluid level.
> It seems that there is some leak in my Master Brake Cylinder Fluid level.
> Even though the level does not fall drastically but whenever the brake light
> comes on, I insert very little brake fluid and the light goes off for a day
> or two and then again it comes on. I did this two times and the same thing
> happens.
> Reading Eric's post (below), I still have to inspect the brakes. However, I
> hear no screeching noise from any of the brakes while driving.
> There is something wrong with the brakes, as I feel they are little slow in
> action.
>
> Any suggestions? Do I need complete new brakes ?
> Please advise.
>
> Thank you.
> HN.
>
> "Eric" <say.no@spam.now> wrote in message news:40B5EE68.AC8BA89F@spam.now...
>> HondaNewbie wrote:
>>>
>>> I would like to know Where/how to inspect brake linings... I am a total
>>> newbie and just following the manual and the postings from the Honda
>>> forum.
>>>
>>
>> In brief, you'll need to jack up the car, set it on jack stands, and
> remove
>> the wheels. For the front brakes, you'll need to remove the pads from the
>> calipers in order to get an accurate measurement of the remaining pad
>> thickness (do not interchange the inner and outer pads and avoid touching
>> the pad and rotor friction surface). For the rear brakes, you'll need to
>> remove the brake drum if your car is so equipped in order to inspect the
>> brake shoes (avoid breathing ANY brake dust). The original Honda brake
> pads
>> have metal wear indicators which will contact the rotors and make a high
>> pitch screeching noise whenever the wheels turn thereby letting you know
>> that it's time to replace the brakes. However, many after market pads
> don't
>> have these wear indicators and considering the age of your Accord, it
> would
>> not be wise to go on the assumption that your pads have wear indicators.
>> The minimum lining thickness is 2.0 mm for the front pads as well as the
>> rear shoes.
>>
>> For further information, a copy of the factory service manual can be found
>> at http://www.honda.co.uk/owner/AccordManual/index.html.
>>
>> Eric
>
>