mikeamondo Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 95 Impreza 2 door, auto... the brake light on the dash came on and stayed on the other day. Brake fluid was fine. Pulled the hand brake on and off hard a few times.... no change. After a day or so, it went off on it's own. A couple days later and it's back on again. Is there a switch in the center console, on the hand brake, that may be stuck? Would dirty / old fluid cause this? Or... is there some other sensor that can fire the brake warning light on the dash? No other warning light are on. Thanks! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porcupine73 Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Better check out your alternator. Some of the dash warning lamps get their ground through the alternator field circuit, so if the alt goes flaky, the brake and other lights might flicker or just stay on for no apparant reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afterbang Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 abs light or parking brake light? my legacy's parking brake light was doing something very similar when it was about time to change the brake pads. light turned off completely when i got around to doing it. i added brake fluid at first and that turned the light off for a bit but eventually it came back on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeamondo Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 Definately the parking brake light and not the ABS... Fluid was a little below MAX line.... didn't try adding any as it wasn't very low... and my daughter's driving the car, so my diagnosis was over the phone. The brake pad were changed not that long ago.... I think. With 4 old sube's in the family, plus one neat old Town Car, I can never remember for sure which car I did what to when. :-\ Thanks! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 my wife's 97 avalon has a warning light for brake light bulbs being out, but i've never heard of that for a subaru. maybe the hand brake is still on one click, too much college? stuff in the way. or maybe a bad sensor in the master cylinder fluid tank. or maybe low fluid, i know, she just checked it. or if the ABS light was on as well, it would be the alternator, but that light isn't on. so..... she probably should have someone check the brakes just to be safe. good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeamondo Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 Typical college kid, the car is a pig sty. Seriously.... I found a piglet once under a pile of fast food bags and empty energy drink bottles in the back floorboard. A couple times, the last one being a couple weeks ago, I've had to take apart the console, remove the shifter and clean the brake pedal/shifter release switch. It had become sticky from Coke drippings that came down from the brilliantly placed cup holders. So... maybe it's possible that the switch that turns on the brake light when the parking brake is pulled up is gunked up in a similar manner. Anyone know where that switch lives and if that's a possiblity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 (edited) Typical college kid, the car is a pig sty. Seriously.... I found a piglet once under a pile of fast food bags and empty energy drink bottles in the back floorboard. sound like my son's 95 lego, trash piled up in the fron passenger side above the level of the seat. only slightly better than throwing it out the window. wait until you have to clean out an apartment so you can get the security deposit back. So... maybe it's possible that the switch that turns on the brake light when the parking brake is pulled up is gunked up in a similar manner. Anyone know where that switch lives and if that's a possiblity? it has to be on the hand brake lever, anywhere else would be too expensive and exposed to the weather. i'll go look. yes, it's on the passenger side of the hand brake, down low mounted on the "hump". a small plunger switch on the hump and a tab sticking out from the brake lever to depress it. and a one wire connector which slides onto a spade on the plunger switch. that could have come loose. but the one time this happened to me it was "stuff" in the cubbyhole cutout for your fingers so you could grab the brake lever, too much stuff in there not letting the lever fully return. you can inspect the wire connector and maybe the switch by removing the 2 screws holding in the upper, rear most, console panel, the one around the hand brake. but to get to it to replace something you are going to have to remove the console. take a garbage bag with you when you go. Edited October 5, 2010 by johnceggleston Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeamondo Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 Thanks for the info! I'll dig into the console in the next day or so and see what it looks like. We gave our kids (all 3 at WVU right now) 2 rules for college.... 1. Keep your scholarships and 2. Don't get arrested. My oldest is in her senior year and so far has adhered to both rules.... so I guess I can't complain too much about the car! Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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