Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) Dash brake light stuck on

[SEmerson]

on my 97 the dash brake light is stuck on. Brake seem to work normal. Where should I look first? No ABS on the truck.

 

[JFaughn]

Did you take the ABS off , my 94 has ABS to the rear brakes , look around the hole truck with a flash lite , look for leaks , there is a valve that if your lose a wheel cylinder or caliper , the valve shuts off to the leaking part , giving you some braking to other wheels .
Try a hard panic stop on a clear road with some one watching the wheels to see that they all work .

 

[SEmerson]

I didn't remove anything. If it has abs on the rear it is news to me. I have no leaks and have not lost any fluid. It stops straight and seems normal.

 

[Joe G.]

All of these trucks came with at least RWAL (Rear Wheel Anti Lock) systems. Usually the symptom is because there is a sensor problem. On my '95 the sensor is on the rear diff. It may be somewhere else on a '97.

 

[tp0d]

I had the dash lite stuck on, my parking brake lever wasnt releasing all the way and keeping the light on. . A little lithium grease, and some exercising, and the problem is gone. Might want to give that a try, its pretty painless. .

good luck

-j

 

[KCloward]

My brake light was stuck on when I first bought my truck. The previous owner said that it was due to an electrical problem so I thought I'd have to rerun some wires but all I had to do was use my parking brake a few times and then I noticed the light went off, maybe this could be the fix for you?



Bryce

 

[MMeier]

When my ol' 97 did this, it was the speed sensor on top of the differential. IIRC, there was a TSB for that and replacing the harness it plugs into.

 

[SEmerson]

It is not the parking brake. But still not sure what

 

[john colgan]

I'm guessing that the 97 model is the same as the first gen's and the 94 model with only rear ABS. The is a vacuum switch located under the hood, drivers side under the hood hinge. It is used to alert you of a loss of vacuum. If the vacuum line gets damaged or the switch becomes defective it will cause the brake light in the dash to come on. Hope this helps.



John

 

[K.L.Schumacher]

Check at the back axle, the sensor is located on the upper front half of the diff. Pull it out and check if it has fine metel on it. Clean and try it. If it works then thats your problem. Also the senser on a 96 3500 is the same as a 96/97 1500 series . The rear sensor and the wire at rear are the easy spots to check first. Please note that if metel on the sensor is the problem then you may have a more serious one to deal with in the diff.

 

[DieselDoghouse]

FWIW couple notes:

1. the '97 don't have a vacuum sensor switch - They're hydraulic boost.

2. F. L. Shumackers' right - pull the diff sensor and check for contamination

3. Also I've had several ground problems (left front fender) one which lit the brake light due to an ABS diagnostic mis-test.



Hope this helps

 

[SRath]

It sounds too simple, and probably is, but have you checked to see if your parking brake switch wire has fallen off and might be touching metal (ground)? It has no insulation over the connector if it is like my '96. The little contact switch could also be malfunctioning (it's not a real good design), so even if the wire is still hooked up, try disconnecting it for a minute to see if your light goes out.



tp0d and KCloward: You need to try my parking brake fix and you won't ever have that parking brake pedal problem again.

 

[SEmerson]

I checked the parking brake lever switch... ... ... ... . it is ok

I removed and cleaned the abs rear end sensor... ... ... looked ok no metal on it

I checked all abs plugs at the master cylinder... ... . ok

I checked fuses ... ... ... ... . ok



And thing else I can try before I need to buy parts?

 

[SRath]

On my old Chevy trucks there is a small rubber-booted valve on the brake distribution valve that needs to be depressed when bleeding the brakes. It resets the brake pressure switch which comes on if there is an imbalance in the front or rear brake system. I don't know if these Dodges have something similar, but they may.