Brake Warning Light

[azeL_Inc]

Hello all,I wonder the brake warning light indicates the need to replace brake pad or disc itself?i meant the sensor is for the brake pad or disc?Thanks

 

[rssid]

pads, no sensor on disc

 

[azeL_Inc]

tot so too..so if i juz changed my pads with new one and the indicator somehow turned on (again) after few hours of changing the pad, what can be the problem?

 

[jarance]

Azel how long did you delay changing the brake pad when the light first came on.

 

[simonso]

According to my mechanic, usually when the light turns on you gotta change the sensor as well.. RM38.00 if im not mistaken..

 

[azeL_Inc]

jarance: delay is about one week, which then i travel to KL to change the pad coz when first warning come out, i was in Terengganu!
haha..

simonso: got sensor ek? i tot the sensor comes with the brake pad..haha


owh...btw the warning light somehow already turned off by itself today... '-_-

 

[jarance]

jarance: delay is about one week, which then i travel to KL to change the pad coz when first warning come out, i was in Terengganu!
haha..

simonso: got sensor ek? i tot the sensor comes with the brake pad..haha


owh...btw the warning light somehow already turned off by itself today... '-_-

One week is not too long to damage the sensors prior to changing the brake pads.

BTW, there are 2 brake pad sensors. One for the front and another one in the rear side.

If you use the brake after the light have come on, you might risk damaging the sensor if you continue to use the brake. This is because the surface of the sensor will start to touch the surface of the brake disc as the brake pad wear down further.

If the light goes off, chances are that the connector are loose when the mechanic change the brake pads, he did not fixed back the sensor cable properly. or your rear brake pads is also wearing out and need to be change as well.

 

[azeL_Inc]

Jarance,

Thanks for the useful info.
actually i changed both, front and rear..but i noticed the rear disc also worn out..that y i am asking whether the worn out disc can cause the warning light to come out..so maybe u are right about the loose connector..i ll see whether the warning light will come out again or not..i guess the loose connector will do no harm to my car, neither to me right? it just affect the warning indicator. so no urgency for me to fix this i guess.

Thanks

 

[jarance]

azel, worn out disc will not cause warning light. Only the braking efficiency is affected but not much. Sometime you might experience slight vibration on the steering wheel during heavy braking.

The warning light is to tell you the brake pads is worn out and remind you to replace. That all.

 

[azeL_Inc]

ok i m pissed off now.haha. the indicator has turned on again!
So if the culprit is the sensor itself, can i juz go n replace only the sensor? I am now assuming the sensor comes separately...

 

[astroboy]

The amber light is your brake pad warning light.. pardon me for the over size photo..

The fitting diagram is here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AY72&mospid=47632&btnr=34_0757&hg=34&fg=05

.. and this is the sensor.. front I think..

.. and rear.. thinking again..

.. this where u plug it in..

 

[azeL_Inc]

oo so that is the sensor! haha..i did saw it when he s installing my new brake pad! haha...ok2..thanks for the very informative photo astroboy! then i m quite certain that the sensor did gave false alarm. i guess no worries now. juz take my time to rectify it later..thanks guys, esp Jarance & astroboy for giving me a peace of mind!

 

[astroboy]

The sensor is basically an earth feedback wire wrap in a glass capsule. Once brake pad becoming too thin, the glass capsule will grind onto the brake disc rotor and break, allowing the wire to touch the rotor (earth), thus illuminates the warning indicator on the dash. Once break, can throw lio. If you replace your pad before the capsule break, save a jug of beer lor.. Your foreman should know what he was doing.. very inexperience le.. its the same with E36.

 

[azeL_Inc]

are u saying that once the indicator has turned on, the sensor MUST be replaced? sensor is not reuseable?

 

[astroboy]

are u saying that once the indicator has turned on, the sensor MUST be replaced? sensor is not reuseable?

Well, if u know how to fabricate glasses and fabricate a glass capsule to enclose the wires from sticking out, make sure upon the next contact to the brake disc rotor, your own fabricate glass capsule can shatter to allow the wire to stick out again for grounding, then can recycle the sensor lor.. it used to be pretty cheap because its a consumable.

I normally conduct visual check on the pad and replace them before breaking the sensor, then u save the sensor lor.. by that definition, u can re-use it because it's not broken ma..

 

[jarance]

Brake pads sensor are relatively cheap.. If damaged, just change it. Do waste your time to repair it.

 

[astroboy]

Brake pads sensor are relatively cheap.. If damaged, just change it. Do waste your time to repair it.

Our friend was saying RM38.. for the brake pad sensor, I thought I bought them for more than half of that price.. loooooonnng ago.

What's the price now?

 

[jarance]

See posting #48 where the sensor for front and rear brake pad sensors changed at AB Segambut.

http://www.bmwclubmalaysia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13918&page=5

 

[azeL_Inc]

why the mechanic never mention to me about changing the sensor... '-_-