Handbrake light wont turn off.....

[Cavaturbo]

hi my car drives perfectly but the handbrake light doesnt turn off when i release it. It only shuts off after i drive for 15min or so. Onces the car warms up completely, the handbrake light works as it should. What do you think the problem is?

[shorod]

Assuming you are referring to the red brake light and your car is not some odd vehicle that has a discrete handbrake light, the light is shared with the master cylinder fluid level switch. So if your master cylinder level is low, the same light is likely to illuminate.

I would suggest you open the hood and check the brake fluid level in the master cylinder. If the level is low that means you either have a leak or your brake pads/shoes are sufficiently worn and need to be replaced. Please don't just top off the master cylinder, watch the light go out, and assume everything's fine. If the level is low, it's low for a reason.

-Rod

[IsuzuFire]

Shorods right. Do what he said, and check it out. Like he said if the fluids low it's low for a reason. If that's not it another cause is if any brake work was recently done before hethe problem started it could be a slight issue with the hand brake cable. This happened with my pops Lincoln mark seven after he replaced his calipers and didn't set the handbrake right. Unlikely, but just another thing to check.

[MagicRat]

Originally Posted by shorod

Assuming you are referring to the red brake light and your car is not some odd vehicle that has a discrete handbrake light, the light is shared with the master cylinder fluid level switch. So if your master cylinder level is low, the same light is likely to illuminate.

In most older cars, this light is shared with the hand brake and a brake system pressure warning, not a 'low fluid level' warning.

If your car is older, chances are, you may have an imbalance in the hydraulic pressure between the fron and rear baking systems. This is caused by trapped air in the system, a brake fluid leak somewhere or a lack of fluid caused by a low mater cylinder fluid level.

[Cavaturbo]

thanks for the reply. Should i be worried about this? will it damage the car if i dont fix this? the car drives fine to me. thanks again

[danielsatur]

What's the year, make, and mileage?
Doe' this car have ABS?

[shorod]

Originally Posted by Cavaturbo

thanks for the reply. Should i be worried about this? will it damage the car if i dont fix this? the car drives fine to me. thanks again

Have you checked the fluid level in the master cylinder yet? Is it low? If low, then yes, you should address the issue before it becomes very expensive.

-Rod