John Moonan wrote:
>
> I have a 77 MGB and have a question about the brake light on the dash.
> The problem is that it stays on all the time. It is on as soon as you
> start the car and never goes off.
>
> I assume that this light is supposed to indicate when the hand brake is
> on or if there is a failure in the service brakes.
>
> I bought this car about 6 months ago and the PO said that the light had
> been on since he had the brakes overhauled. Only problems I've noticed
> are: 1) a sligh spongyness in the service brakes and 2) occassionaly, if
> you depress the brake pedal very slowly, it will go to the floor but
> under normal operation it works fine. The first indicates the brakes
> need to be bled and the second, I think, is that the master cylinder
> piston is a loose fit but expands under pressure.
>
> Any thoughts on this? Does this light need to be reset?
>
> Please reply directly to me as I only get the digest version.
> --
>
> THANX, JFM
John -
Sounds like the light is doing what it should be doing - warning you of
a brake system problem. There are two switches to light the light - the
handbrake you mentioned and the other is on the master cylinder. Your
car has a dual braking system (front/rear) and the switch on the MC
detects if one has lost its ability to provide proper pressure. Look at
the bottom on the MC, you should see a pair of wires on a connector
plugged into the switch. Remove the plug - if the warning light goes
out, you know where to look. The handbrake switch is mounted on the
passenger side of the tunnel - may be hard to see because of the
passenger seat. Mounted on a bracket, it has about 12 inches of wire
going to a plug under the carpet.
At any rate, sounds like you have leakdown in your master cylinder.
Something you should have rebuilt as soon as possible before you have a
catastrophic failure!!
--
Keep on keepin' on!
Wayne Kube wkube@iadfw.net
1979 MGB http://web2.airmail.net/wkube
Plano, TX
Texas MG Register http://www.tmgr.org
NAMGBR UK Site http://www.mgcars.org.uk/namgbr
NAMGBR US Site http://www.british-cars.org.uk/kimber/namgbr
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