Low Brake Fluid Warning Light
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,260
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From: Houston TX
Low Brake Fluid Warning Light
I've tried searching but haven't found much on this issue. My car has a random "Low Brake Fluid" light that will occur after a few minutes of driving, or at startup. This warning causes the service traction system warning as well as others which leaves traction control disabled until the car is restarted. This is extremely annoying and I'm not sure what's causing it. I tried replacing the sensor under the brake fluid reservoir but the problem came back after a few days. I've noticed messing with the harness for a bit can cause the warning to go away for a few days but it always seems to come back. Has anyone else had this problem before? If so, what is the fix to correct this issue?
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2008
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From: Howell Michigan
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11
I've tried searching but haven't found much on this issue. My car has a random "Low Brake Fluid" light that will occur after a few minutes of driving, or at startup. This warning causes the service traction system warning as well as others which leaves traction control disabled until the car is restarted. This is extremely annoying and I'm not sure what's causing it. I tried replacing the sensor under the brake fluid reservoir but the problem came back after a few days. I've noticed messing with the harness for a bit can cause the warning to go away for a few days but it always seems to come back. Has anyone else had this problem before? If so, what is the fix to correct this issue?
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,260
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From: Houston TX
I have EBCM related codes which I can pull again at lunch and post. I wonder if this is related or if it is a different issue altogether. Seems to go away after messing with the wiring so could it be a bad ground or a bad connection somewhere?
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 2,843
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From: Howell Michigan
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11
I'm hoping one of the electrical experts will chime in on your thread. You maybe correct that it is a ground issue. If you haven't done so, you may want to read through this great thread by Bill Curlee. LINK It covers all the ground connections that can cause you this type of issue.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,260
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From: Houston TX
Checked all the grounds and messed around with some of the wires. Light stayed off for about 45 minutes until I made a sharp left hand u-turn. Now it's back to exactly how it was before. Has to be something electrical. The weird thing is that the brake light on the dash is only about half as bright as when you have the e-brake on and then it gradually gets brighter and brighter until the "Low Brake Fluid" light comes back on and shuts everything down. Any ideas? I'm stumped.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,260
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From: Houston TX
I examined all of the wiring today and everything looks good from what I can tell. No broken wires under the harness for as far as I could see. I could only trace them to as far as around the radiator coolant hose. I tried unplugging the brake reservoir sensor and the problem is still there. The light will come on mostly when you tap the brakes and sometimes will get dimmer or go away when accelerating.
Any ideas on what to try now? The harness that hooks into the brake reservoir sensor looks a little suspect but I couldn't tell how to take it apart. Does anyone know how to do that?
I haven't bled the brakes recently but I have a feeling the previous owner probably did. I've owned the car for about a year and it has done it the entire time I've had it. I was originally told by the PO that it was just a sensor but replacing it didn't help.
Any ideas on what to try now? The harness that hooks into the brake reservoir sensor looks a little suspect but I couldn't tell how to take it apart. Does anyone know how to do that?
I haven't bled the brakes recently but I have a feeling the previous owner probably did. I've owned the car for about a year and it has done it the entire time I've had it. I was originally told by the PO that it was just a sensor but replacing it didn't help.
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Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
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From: Houston TX
Here is a video of driving around a little bit and how the light goes on and off. When it looks orange the light is very bright and when it looks red it is barely illuminated. Sometimes it kind of flickers around a little bit, especially while braking or accelerating. Sorry for the horrible quality vid, hard to hold the phone, drive, and shift 
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
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From: Houston TX
No input?
Should I try flushing the brake fluid or something else? I've noticed it seems to do fine once on the highway but stop and go traffic seems to make the warning appear quite often.
Should I try flushing the brake fluid or something else? I've noticed it seems to do fine once on the highway but stop and go traffic seems to make the warning appear quite often.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,260
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From: Houston TX
Can't find any evidence of bad wiring but have noticed that this goes away for an hour or so after washing the car or letting it sit in the rain.
I'm going to go ahead and flush the brake fluid and bleed the brakes but I'm still thinking it is an electrical gremlin.
I'm going to go ahead and flush the brake fluid and bleed the brakes but I'm still thinking it is an electrical gremlin.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,260
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From: Houston TX
My logic is that a few posts have said brakes recently serviced and not bled properly can cause this issue. I don't think it's the case but it needs to be done anyway so it can't hurt.
The switch is installed properly; however, the problem occurs if it's unplugged as well. Thanks for that link, haven't come across that post while searching.
The switch is installed properly; however, the problem occurs if it's unplugged as well. Thanks for that link, haven't come across that post while searching.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,260
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From: Houston TX
Thanks. Considering I have no idea of the history of this car, I see no issue with changing out dirty looking brake fluid 
If I could get this issue fixed, I'll be pretty happy with the car. I will have to try the wire test from the other thread as soon as I can.
If I could get this issue fixed, I'll be pretty happy with the car. I will have to try the wire test from the other thread as soon as I can.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,260
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From: Houston TX
Update, I washed the car again and the light stayed off for some time. I decided to look at where the water runs and I'm thinking the problem is related to where the battery is located. I moved around a lot of the wires and the light stayed off for 30 minutes. When it came back on I messed with the wires again and it immediately went back off. Tomorrow I am going to take the battery out and look for frayed or damaged wires. Hopefully I can get this fixed as it really makes the car annoying to drive.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
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From: Houston TX
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2010
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From: Seattle WA
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 4,260
Likes: 429
From: Houston TX