[Squonker]

Hi all,

On my 2005 90 the light letting me know that the hand brake is on won't go out. I suspect it's a bad earth. Dumb question, but the one wire that leads from the hand brake switch out the back of the bulkhead...where does it go to? I want to find the other end of it, but I'm not sure whether that wire continues toward the back of the vehicle (underneath it, I assume), or whether it turns around and goes under the dash? Thank you.

 

[miktdish]

There is a micro switch on the handbrake that closes when you lift the handle up and opens when it is down.
If you lift the rubber you will see it.
There is 1 wire to the switch which is bolted to the handbrake bracket, which itself is an earth as its attached to the seatbox/chassis.

The wire goes up into the dash and is the earth for the indicator lamp.
Lift the handle and the NO switch changes to closed.
The switch will die after a while and stay closed so the lamp stays on, or the wire breaks off and touches the metal parts of the handbrake/seatbox.

The switch is part #EEP191L

EEP191L - Handbrake Switch on Land Rover Defender | LR Parts

www.lrparts.net

 

[Squonker]

There is a micro switch on the handbrake that closes when you lift the handle up and opens when it is down.
If you lift the rubber you will see it.
There is 1 wire to the switch which is bolted to the handbrake bracket, which itself is an earth as its attached to the seatbox/chassis.

The wire goes up into the dash and is the earth for the indicator lamp.
Lift the handle and the NO switch changes to closed.
The switch will die after a while and stay closed so the lamp stays on, or the wire breaks off and touches the metal parts of the handbrake/seatbox.

The switch is part #EEP191L

EEP191L - Handbrake Switch on Land Rover Defender | LR Parts

www.lrparts.net

That's great info, thanks. The wire appears to be fine, so perhaps it is the switch itself. That's an easy fix!

Cheers.

 

[Flossie]

Get yourself a multimeter, cheap enough and you can test the switch and know for sure. It's possible the switch is OK and the wire has chaffed through somewhere and is permently earthed. You can test that with the meter too. Useful kit for around a tenner.

 

[Brown]

Don't forget, that warning light also serves as a brake fluid level warning for the master cylinder reservoir. I've had that problem when one of the wires going to the master cylinder cap broke off. So it's worth checking that the master cylinder cap is all wired up and working correctly. Mine's a 2006 model, almost the same vintage as yours, so I assume it's similar.

 

[Squonker]

Thanks Brown. Yeah, I had checked out that side of things and ruled that out. I'll test the switch and the wire over the weekend. Cheers.

 

[miktdish]

Don't forget, that warning light also serves as a brake fluid level warning for the master cylinder reservoir. <snip>

Interesting ... I didn't know that (all of my cars have been 300tdi's or earlier).
I guess you could short out the two wires on the brake fluid res to see it that was the issue ... ?