brake light illuminated on dash board instrument panel

[smithy5271]

hi can anyone offer me some advice on my 2000 berlingo multispace i have the red illuminated brake light symbol lighting up sometimes when braking, is this to tell me my brake pads need changing ??

and would this be on the front wheels ?? i guess it has brake shoes on the rear.

ty paul

[Andre]

Is it the exclamation mark in the red circle? It could be your shoes, or something wrong with your handbrake. Is it noisy when you brake? Does the handbrake apply correctly, with not too much travel?

[smithy5271]

hi thanks for replying,

yes the explmation mark is light under braking and i can hear like a grinding noise.

the hand brke is a little high but holds well when at traffic lights

do you no if the pads are simple enough for a novice such as myself to change, spare cash is low at this time of year.

ty paul

[Andre]

I have only done the front pads myself, and they are a doddle really.

Remove the front tyre
One bolt holds the caliper 'shut', undo it to get access to the pads.
two large bolts on the back of the hub hold the caliper onto the hub, undo them and rest the caliper on something (as it has the brake hose attached to it and you must be careful not to pierce it.)
Two small bolts on the front of the hub hold the disk onto the hub, get them off and your disk is free for change.

Sorry the description isn't great, and i don't think this will be relevant for you, but the information is there if you ever want to change the front pads. I can help further if you ever do change the front pads/disks and have any trouble.

I hope someone else with experience changing the rear shoes can shed some light for you, it sounds like they are just very worn and need replacing soon.

[smithy5271]

thanks for your advise, i have replaced brake pads before but was many yrs ago now, i will have a look at them soon to hopefuly see what condition they are in and go from there.

as for brake shoes i tihnk they are not so straight forward so will phone around localy for some prices.

thanks for your time.

paul

[pk7478]

Don't forget to check a level of a brake fluid.

[smithy5271]

thanks guys for your advice, its got to go into the garage to have new brake shoes fitted, it just scares me to think of the costs the garage will charge :-(

[smithy5271]

car went into my local garage, on inspection the shoes was fine but had alot of dedbry inside the drums, the rear cylinders were weaping, the front pads and discs were shot, the mechanic kept the old ones back to show me, and they were as he said in awful cond.

total cost £203
labour charge was £25 per hour which i thought was good.
i now have one more problem, my wiper linkage !! seems as if it needs a clip of some sort, see my new posting if you feel you may be able to offer some advice.
ty paul