Brake Warning Light Stays On

[Stupot]

Hi All

My brake warning light came on yesterday and stayed on. To be clear which light we are talking about, I'm refering to the handbrake (parking brake) light AKA low fluid level light and not any of the message warnings that can appear on the trip computer.

Anyway, a quick check on this forum revealed many possibilities, some of which could be expensive and onerous and the least troublesome being a rear brake light bulb failure, which in this case, is all it was! It's now fixed and warning light extinguished. :P

I'm posting this beacuse I assumed it would be pads etc and had read a few threads here where people removed their wheels, changed pads etc just to discover it was a bulb that had failed!!! The bulb failure had not occured to me because being a MK4 I thought the trip computer would give me a lamp failure message which it did not and the owners handbook makes no reference to bulb failure with this warning light.

Had it not been for good old LOC forum I may have gone to a lot of trouble before discovering the culprit!

So check the bulbs first guys!

Thanks

Stu

[mike213735]

Stu,

That's good news.

I bet you're pleased that it was only the bulb :)

Mike

[Malc]

Can't believe a rear light bulb has gone so soon into the life of the car

Think my first, and only, bulb went on my earlier LS at 150k miles and maybe 13 years

Malc

[scudney]

Can't believe a rear light bulb has gone so soon into the life of the car

Think my first, and only, bulb went on my earlier LS at 150k miles and maybe 13 years

Malc

hi,whys that then?bulbs can and do fail at anytime just like your house bulbs do,moreover some do fit the cheapest bulbs they can find so no surprise really.

[Malc]

Probably original equipment

Built to last !

Malc

[Scribe]

Thanks for the advice. If my brake warning light comes on I won't immediately panic but check the bulbs.

[ambermarine]

Great tip, this saved me a load of hassle after a long trip yesterday went to start her this morning and visions of garage bills and investigations occured read the forum archives and bingo after 24 years the rear brake light had a bulb failure.

[Malc]

and I've too got one gone again .  and after only 27 years too ..........

Malc

[Cotswold Pete]

Crikey, I have had to replace the brake lights on mine twice in nine years, maybe the W (about 1/2 mile of 10-15%) burns them out as that is a lot of braking.

I wonder if the drives on Holland (or Norfolk) never have to repalce their brake lights??