baccaruda Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 So when the car's turned off.. stepping on the brake pedal makes the dashboard lighting and the headlights come on halfway... I'm in the market for an FSM but without one, I'd prefer to get some other people's feedback before I dive in. Any thoughts, anyone? One of the dash lights is a little red "!" in a circle, under the car-shaped readout for the doors and such. I don't have an owner's manual but I might guess that it's the brake fluid sensor? Thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 So when the car's turned off..stepping on the brake pedal makes the dashboard lighting and the headlights come on halfway... I'm in the market for an FSM but without one, I'd prefer to get some other people's feedback before I dive in. Any thoughts, anyone? One of the dash lights is a little red "!" in a circle, under the car-shaped readout for the doors and such. I don't have an owner's manual but I might guess that it's the brake fluid sensor? Thanks... The headlights come on halfway? That needs to be clarified some:confused: I would suspect a frayed wire somewhere around the brake pedal/dash area. Have you checked the brake fluid yet?. Make sure the e-brake is all the way down also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted December 17, 2006 Author Share Posted December 17, 2006 Tomorrow will be my first really good day to go over the car. I want to attend to this problem soon! Rob, thanks for the suggestions. I will inspect the car with those in mind and I welcome other suggestions as well. I think it smells like a wiring repair so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeshoup Posted December 17, 2006 Share Posted December 17, 2006 If you want an FSM, SOA still sells them for 1984. I got mine for about $48 from subarugenuineparts.com MSA118 is the part number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted December 17, 2006 Author Share Posted December 17, 2006 I heard about that! I'm strongly considering it. Meaning that if a used one doesn't surface for less soon (soon = when I need an FSM to fix my car) I will probably get one .. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carfreak85 Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Check your grounds. I find that when odd stuff starts happening to your electronics, loose, corroded or missing grounds can usually be the culprit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 19, 2006 Share Posted December 19, 2006 Press the little switch on the pedal by hand and see if it's related to the switch, or the movement of the pedal itself. Probably the switch that turns on the brakelights. The ! thing is the brake lamp warning indicator telling you that a bulb is out back there..... brake lights always have power, so it sounds like there's a problem in the circuit somewhere. Maybe the brake lamp checker is shotsky. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 well, this problem is not occurring now.. This progressed from the above symptoms to: dash/shifter illumination only on with the brake pedal depressed, to: no dash/shifter illumination at all. What could it have been? demons in the master cylinder? gremlins in the brake pedal switch? Hobbits in the digidash? ... The fuse which these all share was burnt.. I changed the fuse a week ago and the cockpit illumination is working properly now. I'm checking the fuse every day or two to see if it starts to progressively degrade as the other one apparently did, so far so good. (Both brake lights were fine BTW) But... what's the red light of the circled exclamation point for? Under the tell-tale diagram of the car? It isn't on at all anymore now that the fuse has been changed, and the digidash isn't explored at all in the FSM... thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 well, this problem is not occurring now.. This progressed from the above symptoms to: dash/shifter illumination only on with the brake pedal depressed, to: no dash/shifter illumination at all. What could it have been? demons in the master cylinder? gremlins in the brake pedal switch? Hobbits in the digidash? ... The fuse which these all share was burnt.. I changed the fuse a week ago and the cockpit illumination is working properly now. I'm checking the fuse every day or two to see if it starts to progressively degrade as the other one apparently did, so far so good. (Both brake lights were fine BTW) But... what's the red light of the circled exclamation point for? Under the tell-tale diagram of the car? It isn't on at all anymore now that the fuse has been changed, and the digidash isn't explored at all in the FSM... thanks! It is the stoplamp checker.You had a faulty brake light circuit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbone Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Yup. Have you recently filled the brake master cylinder? This can sometimes cause the light to come on if its low on fluid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 But... what's the red light of the circled exclamation point for? Under the tell-tale diagram of the car? It isn't on at all anymore now that the fuse has been changed, and the digidash isn't explored at all in the FSM... It's the brake lamp checker. There's a device in the brake lamp circuits that will trip that indicator if the bulb fails. Corrosion in the bulb socket can also cause intermittant illumination of the indicator. The checker's themselves rarely fail. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 I know I checked the brake fluid, don't recall if I had to top it off. ... wait, I did. Another case of fixing several things at the same time having confused the diagnosis. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 That indicator has nothing to do with the fluid. That's a seperate indicator. The "!" with a circle means a bulb is out. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 OK thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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