hydraulic stop light flashing on.

tim · Post by **tim** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:13 pm

I'm resubmitting this as a separate item cos I was told it might well have been not noticed in my last posting. When you stamp hard on the brakes the hydraulic light flashes on, this is when stationary. A quick road test (the beast is completely illegal until the MOT in a weeks time) shows nothing wrong. The brakes work fine and the red light won't come on.When raising the wagon into the 'high' position the light will flash on and off quite a bit and takes some time to settle down. Could it be the regulator. if not, how do I sort this out...yes, if it ever stops raining I will try pulling the wire of the security valve to see what happens. The beast has done 119.000 and has been standing for three or four years - it has also seemingly been use as a towing wagon due to second fan, big towbar and two trailer plugs. Anything likely to have suffered from that? Yes, the LHM is full and the ball is moving up and down OK. I have tried bleeding the system, but may not for long enough? Help! I have just read about the belt tension at the pump but it SEEMS ok, don't think it's actually slipping anyway.

ken newbold · Post by **ken newbold** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 6:43 pm

Are you sure it's not just the brake pad warning light that's coming on, to tell you your pads are down

Dollywobbler · Post by **Dollywobbler** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 7:06 pm

Could be as Ken says, but how are you checking the LHM level? With the car on High setting?

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 8:20 pm

Brake pad warning is orange and does not cause the STOP light to come on.

I also go with the LHM Reservoir not being at the correct level and being misread by the operator(you) as being full.

Sometimes simplist fixs are the most obvious and we chooose to overlook, Fill up the reservoir with another 500ml (1/2 litre) and then see it the same thing occurs. my guess is you may need a full litre of lhm to fix this because it is not a problem.

MULLEY · Post by **MULLEY** » Fri Sep 24, 2010 10:23 pm

Tim, do you know how to check the lhm level in the reservoir?

tim · Post by **tim** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 10:35 am

Yes, fluid level is OK. I have plenty of practice with the wife's BX! If it wasn't, there would probably be an occasional flickering light on the normal ride setting as I was going down the road. I deliberately mentioned the fact that the ball is moving because I found an old thread from someone who was fooled into thinking his tank was full because his level ball was stuck. I'm going to try unplugging the sensor this a.m. (sunshine - wow) If anything the fluid level is overhigh so no probs there - I just did the spheres so the system has been bled and topped up as well (and no, the problem was there before I did that so it's unlikely to be relevant). I am still learning my way round the BX system - does hitting the brake pedal and the fact that the light then comes on anything to DO with the brakes? (and raising to 'high' doesn't of course, which is where the problem shows up again). I'm hoping you guys can point me in the right direction as to which component is the likely culprit. I'm also going to take the lh front wheel off and have a good eyeball inside. I'll keep you posted! Thanks for all the input so far, it's been invaluable. I suspect a fluid leak may be a MOT failure, the warning light probably not as long as the brakes measure up on the tester.

Post by **Defender110** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 11:24 am

I know you have tried to impress strongly that your LHM level is ok but forgive me for suggesting that the level sensor is a little sensitive and topping up a little higher may well cure this without any risk of damage. i.e nothing to loose by trying.
Kev

tim · Post by **tim** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 12:18 pm

No - it really is full up! No question. You can see clearly both by sight gauge and looking through the cap. Sigh.... if only it was just that! I still think we are looking at 'component failure' somewhere but I'm not experienced enough to know which component to zero in on. Either something is giving a false reading or something is giving up the ghost.Perhaps I should rephrase the question.... what could it NOT be? There is plenty of fluid, the brakes work fine, it isnt pissing out anywhere (except for my puddlette which is elusive but not major and won't even show itself this morning). i looked at the pump having read about how tight the belt has to be; I slackened it right off to test the pulleys, it has started squeaking and there is a certain amount of slop on the pump pulley wheel before it starts working the innards - but even if the pump is dying it would presumably still pump OK until the final cardiac moment. Over to you, experts!

Gibbo2286 · Post by **Gibbo2286** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 12:27 pm

Check the rear light/stop light bulbs, a backfeed through the circuits could be your problem. Gibbo.

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Sat Sep 25, 2010 9:16 pm

Throw another one into the "Coul it be" circle

FDV blockage with a bit of crud.

After overhauling my FDV I had this problem with the STOP light which was a result of me putting a filter in the FDV the wrong way around. Then there was a problem with gung in another BX.

Heres the way out obvious thing to do!

Clean out the reservoir and change your LHM to new stuff or some of that hydrwotsit stuff to help cleans the systems dirt.