Help! E-brake light and beep,beep,beep

Started my 01 TDI this morning and my e brake light stayed on. Shortly after a consistent beep-------beep------beep that won't shut off. I checked my brake fluid, coolant, oil, and washer fluid. I don't use my e-brake very often.

Anybody know what's goin on?

Thanks

The handle is pulled up a knotch or so. Push it back down.

The beeping is saying, "Hey! You! You're burning up my rear brakes!" Or something to that effect.

Tried that

didn't do anything. I drove the car around the block, put it in neutral and coasted. I'm sure the brake isn't on.

Anything else to check? The local dealer says "it could be one of many things, we'll need it for the day" translation- "bend over pal".

Brake wear indicator

Do you have access to VAGCOM? A scan should help narrow down where the problem is. It could be the pad wear sensor, the fluid level sensor, the e-brake sensor, or a wheel speed sensor.

How many miles do you have on the brake pads?

It could be the wear indicator has worn through and is telling you you need new brake pads.

If you take off your left front wheel you will see the brake caliper. There is a wire that goes to one of the two brake pads. When that pad is worn to the limit the wire imbedded in the pad wears through and opens the circuit. Your computer sees the open circuit and knows the brakes are worn.

If there is plenty of meat on the pad with the wire then it may be the wire is broken somewhere else or a different problem.

It shouldn't be too difficult to track this down and fix it. A scan will really help narrow the search.

Best of luck,

Jeff

yanny said:

I'm sure the brake isn't on.

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Famous last words. I remember sitting on the middle of a railroad crossing once with the air brakes locked up. I insisted the key was on. Don't tell that story often.

No VAG-COM for that light. Brake wear indicator has it's own light.

Three things can turn it on; 1) brake handle not fully released (or the switch damaged), 2) brake fluid level low (or sensor damaged), 3) Major ABS fault (ABS light will be on as well).

The fused source of power for that circut also feeds the "AC" button on your HVAC controls. I have had a short in a neighboring circut blow the fuse and keep the light on. The cluster does not know the difference - it just has signal on the park brake wire. Had a girl come in with no ac and brake warning beeping away the whole time see's driving it. The fan control module was causing a short back up the wire to the "AC" button and blowing the fuse.

Check under the brake handle, as the switch may be stuck or have corroded contacts.

Jason

Now we might be getting somewhere

Yesterday was the first day I've used the a/c in months. I'll check my fuse panel and inspect the switches. There are no ABS lights on.

Thanks

I had a similar situation myself today. I didn't even have the car running and the light started blinking. Would that in any way be related to a power failure for the whole car? The reason I ask is because I was installing a new cd player in my car, and since I don't trust my neighborhood, i locked the doors, rolled the windows up and turned the fan on to keep ventilation. Eventually it drained the battery, but right before I realized what was happening, that brake light started flashing. When I jumped the car, it functioned as normal. Any ideas?

which fuse?

which fuse was blown, the a/c? My a/c switch lights up when i push it. i checked most of the fuses in the panel. the symbols that represent the fuses are very poor. it's hard to tell which fuses are for what.

yanny said:

didn't do anything. I drove the car around the block, put it in neutral and coasted. I'm sure the brake isn't on.

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That doesn't matter. One notch up will not engage the pads but will engage the light.

Walk around front and see if the DRLs are on...

The '01's were subject to a recall for faulty ABS controllers--I think the recall came out in '02. My '01 Golf never threw a code even though it was doing similar things to yours. Eventually every light on the dash came on.

Have a dealer check it for the recall.

I had the same thing happen a while back. Turns out, I had a rear caliper leaking slightly and the brake fluid reservoir was a tad low. Topping it up slighly may make the light go out, but it doesn't stop the issue of a leak somewhere in your brake system. Get it up on a hoist and have them check for leaks.

He said E-Brake light! E EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! The one that is controlled the the sensor under the handle that tells you when its up or not.

It causes the gauge cluster to beep at you if you have the E-brake on while the vehicle ismoving. Everyone try it. Next time you need to brake just pull the E brake up lighty and hold it so it slows the car down. After like 5 seconds the car will start beeping at you.

To the OP, the switch under the E-Brake handle is probabily messed up.

same warning light....its the brake warning light. EEEEEEE or not, its still the brake light and a brake issue.


EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Yes, the the BEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEP while driving is a good indicator that the car thinks the E brake is on.

For a major ABS fault it doesnt continously beep.

I haven't had time...

to do much checking. My father has been in the hospital the last couple days with heart problems. I'll poke around with the switch under the EEEEEEE-brake when I get a chance. Does this switch complete a ground? Can I unhook it to see if the light will go off?

Thanks

Could it be the brake light switch

I haven't had the car that long, I haven't had a recall notice for the brake light switch. Could this be the problem? 2001 jetta TDI if you forgot.

If the E brake hasen't been used for a long time you might want to climb under the car and give the cable a tug as it might be sticking, just a thought.

The BLS won't cause this.

yanny said:

I haven't had the car that long, I haven't had a recall notice for the brake light switch.

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Don't hold your breath! Be prepared to search these thing out yourself.

Did some testing

I pull the e-brake all the way up and reach in and push the switch nipple down. The light stays on.

I drove my friends 2001 gas Jetta with the e-brake on. The light came on but the car wasn't beeping. He said he had a leaky brake line at one time that would cause the light and beeping when the reservoir was low. I have topped it up to the max line and it still persists. I cleaned my battery posts that were fine. I still can't stop the beeping and the (!) light.

Can anybody tell me how to test the sensor on the brake fluid reservoir cap?

Someone already suggested... If your DRLs are still activated (ie. not disabled on purpose), they should come on when the ECU gets the signal that the EEEEEEEEE-(LOL, got to love that)brake switch is in the fully release position. So park your car right up against a wall (front of car to the wall...) and let us know if the DRLs come on when you release the hand brake. If they do not, it is likely the switch. If they do, the switch is functioning and the source of your alarm is elsewhere.

Mine had a flakey alarm...the ABS light and Brake light (I myself don't have the much covetted EEEEEEEEEEE-brake light...) would flash momentarily (until I caught the moment it was just random mystery beeping...). Showed circuit 30 voltage inplausible. Of the many theories floated, the fault cleared up after I discovered that my battery leads were loose. Tightening these also fixed my CD ejecting whenever I would start the car w/ a CD playing in the player... At the time I tightened the leads I also checked the grounds under the battery. I found NO corrosion, but removed and reassembled with silicone grease as a protectant. I think the origin of both faults was the poor connection to the battery. Mine would happen at random times and frequencies. Would usually only beep 3x...not continuously.

On my list of to-do's, had the fault not conveniently disappeared, were: 1. Check wheel speed sensors rings for corrosion/buildup, 2. check wheel speed sensors for dirt/grime build up. and 3. flush the brake fluid. Hopefully the Daytime Running Light check will give you a direction in which to go.

Now I'm confused...

I pulled the EEEEEEEbrake and started the car. The DRL's came on right away. I released the EEEEBrake and they stayed on

What's goin on. My friends gas Jetta beeped and showed the (!) light when his brake fluid reservoir was low do to a leaky brake line. I've topped up the reservoir to the max line and still no luck.

I'm going to take the car to the car wash tonight and make sure the rear wheels are very clean. There has been a lot of dirt and water on the roads up here lately with all the melting snow....

getting tired of this yet? I am!

I borrowed a OBD II scan tool from a friend. plugged it in and got a code 1556. This code does not show up in the scanner's guide or in my hanes manual. If I had to guess I would say it is for an overboost condition that nobody can seem to fix. I've had it to 3 shops and even replaced the turbo but the problem persists.


Anyway, I took the car for a spin around the block. The (!) light comes on as soon as I start the car and so do the DRL's. The car does not beep until I drive. It beep--------beep-------beep's at me continuously until I stop. The second I stop so does the beeping. Does the same thing in reverse...

Anybody experience this or tell me what to check next. This started completely out of the blue on a wet day upon start-up. I used the AC that day which had not been used since August. Help

Could this be the coolant migration problem?

If you start the car with the E-brake set and the DRLs come on then the ECU is not seeing that the E-brake is set.

Here is a link to the fix for coolant migration. The failures people were seeing were in the instrument cluster but others have reported failures at other bizzar parts of the car. Read through to the second page where a poster links to the TSB regarding this issue.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=3091&page=2&highlight=coolant+migration

Finding someone with VAGCOM will help figure out what the problem is. It would be worth the trip. If you are aggrivated enough yet then spring for the $250 and buy it yourself. I did and it has saved me the purchase price once over already.

I sure hope it's not Coolant Migration

I will check the plug and harness at lunch. I was planning on changing the brake fluid. If this doesn't change anything, I was going to try switching brake fluid caps with my buddy to see if it turns the brake light off and the chime. Is there any way to disable the chime for the time being?

yanny said:

I pulled the EEEEEEEbrake and started the car. The DRL's came on right away. I released the EEEEBrake and they stayed on

What's goin on. My friends gas Jetta beeped and showed the (!) light when his brake fluid reservoir was low do to a leaky brake line. I've topped up the reservoir to the max line and still no luck.

I'm going to take the car to the car wash tonight and make sure the rear wheels are very clean. There has been a lot of dirt and water on the roads up here lately with all the melting snow....

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That was what happened to the lady I was talking about that had the blown fuse. DRL are on (park brake off?) but the (!) is on and beeps when you start moving (park brake on?). Also had a problem in her A/C system. The systems have a couple common circuts.

I think you have something a little more involved broken than a simple stuck switch on the brake handle. Sounds like one of the wiring circuts has a problem in it. Could be coolant migration screwing up a connection, or something else. Either way, it sounds like a missing signal to the cluster/DRL change over relay from the parking brake switch.

Jason

Jason,

Can you alaborate any further. I checked my AC and it seems to be working. I've checked all the fuses in the entire fuse panel and nothing is blown. Are there any relays or something I can check?

The cluster thinks it's ON. The DRL relay thinks it's OFF.

short in the circuit somewhere...

This sucks. I don't want to take it to the dealer or repair shop and get bent over again. I'm not sure where to start looking and this car has cost me a fortune already. Anybody want an 01 Jetta TDI with a rebuilt engine, new turbo, and a really good brake light and warning chime???