HANDBRAKE LIGHT STUCK ON?

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Justin
Posts: 366
Joined: 31 Jul 2008 12:18 pm
Location: Plymouth

HANDBRAKE LIGHT STUCK ON?

Post by Justin » 11 Dec 2012 05:12 pm

My handbrake "on" light was showing on my dash yesterday even when my handbrake was fully off. I got frustrated and bent the small copper strip away/upwards from the top of the handbrake popping the top rivet that holds it on in the process! Now my handbrake light isnt registering at all...
Last edited by Justin on 13 Dec 2012 07:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
1988 340 1.4 DL

(I suffer with O.C.D. which makes me obsessed with fine detail)

(Diagrams or photos are far more helpful to me when it comes to cars)

Ride_on
Posts: 2262
Joined: 26 May 2009 05:34 pm
Location: Belfast, N. Ireland

Re: HANDBRAKE LIGHT STUCK ON?

Post by Ride_on » 11 Dec 2012 08:31 pm

Interesting story, you broke something, you know what to fix. I see a question mark but no question.

The copper strip is pushed up when the handbrake is off, disconnecting it from the chassis and breaking the circuit. The studs are plastic and I guess its insulated under the copper strip.
1980 345 DL_______1987 360 GLE (project car restored to GLT spec and B230FT'd)
1984 360 GLT______1987 360 GLT
1983 360 GLS______1989 360 GLE
1985 340 GL_______1986 340 1.4
1985 360 GLS______1995 940 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate (daily)
1987 340 GL 1.7

volvomania
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Joined: 09 Aug 2005 02:24 pm
Location: Antwerp, Belgium

Re: HANDBRAKE LIGHT STUCK ON?

Post by volvomania » 12 Dec 2012 08:44 am

The problem is ussualy not the actual handbrake lever and the copper strip but with my cars it has time and time again been the auto adjust mechanism and the lever coming from the cable into the drum.
The rivet that forms the hinge tends to start seizing after all these years and will pull the handbrake lever up.......and your light comes on.
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Justin
Posts: 366
Joined: 31 Jul 2008 12:18 pm
Location: Plymouth

Re: HANDBRAKE LIGHT STUCK ON?

Post by Justin » 13 Dec 2012 07:44 pm

volvomania wrote:The problem is ussualy not the actual handbrake lever and the copper strip but with my cars it has time and time again been the auto adjust mechanism and the lever coming from the cable into the drum.
The rivet that forms the hinge tends to start seizing after all these years and will pull the handbrake lever up.......and your light comes on.
Tell me about it, I had the same problem in January of this year; The handbrake hinge mechanisms inside both of my brake drums were seized solid and took some incredible pressure and gallons of WD40 to free. It's definately not them in this case as the handbrake is holding fine...

I was lucky enough to find an entire handbrake lever-mechanism at a local scrappy yesterday which I've now swapped over for the old one. My handbrake and handbrake light now work as they should; I did notice though that on the rear-end of the rubber-sheath that covers the handbrakes lever that there's a small rubber block. Im guessing that this should lock into place on the underside of the plastic housing that sits between the two front seats? It's possible that with my original handbrake lever that it wasnt connected thus putting weight on the top of the copper strip pushing it down so that when the handbrake lever was fully depressed the "on" light was still being activated?...
1988 340 1.4 DL

(I suffer with O.C.D. which makes me obsessed with fine detail)

(Diagrams or photos are far more helpful to me when it comes to cars)

Ride_on
Posts: 2262
Joined: 26 May 2009 05:34 pm
Location: Belfast, N. Ireland

Re: HANDBRAKE LIGHT STUCK ON?

Post by Ride_on » 13 Dec 2012 08:53 pm

Doubt it, in the off position the strip is forced up. Its not so much the stip moves up, its more it is stopped before the handbrake lever reaches the off position.

It must have been shorted, or the handbrake was not going all the way down.

Having another look at my dissassembled car I can see the lifter part is actually part of the ratched gear (fixed big metal part). This pushes at an insulated strip underneath the copper strip and raises it. This also insulates from the metal that the strip sits on. If the insulation had broken off from under the strip (under the open part) you would get that symptom. A couple of layers of sellotape would have fixed it (temporarily anyway).
1980 345 DL_______1987 360 GLE (project car restored to GLT spec and B230FT'd)
1984 360 GLT______1987 360 GLT
1983 360 GLS______1989 360 GLE
1985 340 GL_______1986 340 1.4
1985 360 GLS______1995 940 SE 2.3 Turbo Estate (daily)
1987 340 GL 1.7

Justin
Posts: 366
Joined: 31 Jul 2008 12:18 pm
Location: Plymouth

Re: HANDBRAKE LIGHT STUCK ON?

Post by Justin » 14 Dec 2012 05:39 pm

Thanks Ride-On. Thinking about it, when I removed the original handbrake assembly I noticed that one of the bolts that holds it on to the cars chassis was quite loose (this may have been the cause?). I replaced it anyway with the new/scrappy assembly which is working fine.

I guess I shouldnt have lost my temper with the original one as it was probably fixable before I yanked the copper strip right up busting one of its rivets...
1988 340 1.4 DL

(I suffer with O.C.D. which makes me obsessed with fine detail)

(Diagrams or photos are far more helpful to me when it comes to cars)

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