Brake Light ON

I had my car inspected for NYS about 2 months ago. It's a 92 wrangler 6 cyl. Anyway, my brake fluid was dry as a bone which would probably explain why my brakes weren't working right..duhh. Anyway, they were working fine after adding the fluid. 2 days ago I noticed the brake light was on and would not go off even after making sure the emergency brake was off and everything. The manual says consult the dealer immediately. The brakes feel fine by the way. Does anyone have any idea on how to assess this....do I really need to go to the dealer etc. Any feedback is appreciated.

abe

if your fluid was dry you have a serious problem, I would freak out and not drive it if it were down 1/2"! You have a wheel cylinder or something leaking. If there is any loss in pressure the brake warning light will come on. Better check it out soon.

That e-brake light will stay on when the brake fluid is low. You have to have a leak somewhere. Your jeep is not safe to drive until the leak is repaired. I would start by check the wheel cyl. in the rear brakes and then trace the line along your frame rail to see if it's leaking there. Last check the rubber lines and fittings to the front brakes. Do not drive that jeep until you get the problem fixed!

How much will it cost if I just get the leak fixed considering its just a brake line or something?

It will really depend on where the leak is. A wheel cyl. is cheap and so are brake lines, but if it's the master cyl. they're a little more expensive. Have the vehicle towed to any reliable mechanic and they should be able to locate the leak and repair it.

Just out of curosity, have you tried pulling the brake pedal all the way up to see if the light goes out? This happens with my dad's truck. Every now and then, the pedal will not go all the way back up enough to release the switch for the brake light.

This is assuming that your talking about the brake/tail lights, not the brake light on your instrument panel.

Just trying to think outside the box here.

As the others have said, if your resivor was "bone dry" you have a serious problem that needs addressed.

"thinking out of the box" LOL, put down the doobie and read the post.

Thanks everyone. As it turns out the master cylinder needed to be replaced. Evidently the jeep was only using front brakes to stop before and only the front chamber was bone dry (the rear brake chamber). Anyway, thanks alot for your inputs. Now I am ready for another snowy winter in NYC. Later.

so where did you loose all your fluid? Was the master cylinder leaking???

likely the back seal was leaking and the fluid was sucked out thru the power brake booster. If it wasn't that, then the back brake cylinders will need attention soon.

JD