Emergency Brake Light

Hello everyone,
I have a 2000 Buick Century and the emergency light is staying on after I have had the car turned on for a while (instead of shutting off, like it's suppose to). The e-brake wasn't holding, so I have tighten it (underneath, at the rear of the car) and checked both rear tires (tighten if needed). Neither rear tire will turn, if the e-brake is engaged. At this point, if I engage the e-brake, I can not go foward or backwards (great). Now, I'm wondering what I need to do to get the light to turn off. Also, the anti-lock brake light stays on, but that's another story, lol.
Oh yeah, I took it to AutoZone, to have it scanned, but they only scan for, "service engine soon", issues. Thanks for any help!

Also, the BRAKE light can be caused by low brake fluid level in the reservoir so check that. Sounds like you need to loosen up the parking brake cable at the turnbuckle adjuster behind the gas tank if it is too tight. Do not overtighten or you will get drag.

Autozone cannot scan for ABS related codes. You need an ABS capable scan tool.

As I recall, the brake light illuminates either because the parking brake is still on or there is a pressure differential between the front and rear brakes.

As noted above, check the brake fluid level. If it's low, fill it up and see if the light goes off.
If the level was VERY low:
-you may also have to bleed the brake lines after filling, to purge the system of trapped air and get the light to go out.
-you would want to carefully inspect the brake lines to see if there are any brake fluid leaks.

Finally, sometimes the parking brake light switch can get stuck on. This is on the parking brake pedal assembly and may be worth a look if everything else checks out.

i agree your brake is still on. your booster may be going bad loosing vaccum on the brake light deal.but the e-brake is still on no matter what.

Ok, thanks a lot for the comments/suggestions. It was something simple. I checked the brake fluid, and it was a little low. I put more fluid in it and now the light is off. Thanks again everybody.

yes but something made it go low. look behind master cyl. and see if its wet. if not check wheel cyls. or rear breaks are needing ajusted or front pads are wore.

scrapper1

Thanks for the reply. My wife and I changed the brake pads about 2 weeks ago, and I think I just didn't put enough fluid in when we bled the brakes. I don't see any leakage. Thanks again.





yes but something made it go low. look behind master cyl. and see if its wet. if not check wheel cyls. or rear breaks are needing ajusted or front pads are wore.

scrapper1

Thanks for the feedback. I see you posted the ABS issue.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=919865

FYI, I took the buick in to get it inspected today and it passed. Thanks for all the advice.