[ThisGuy]

i recently purchased a 89' 245. it is in pretty good shape, but the brakes were in need of a replacement. i bought pads, clips and shims from a local volvo dealer and proceeded to do the installation at a friend's house. the replacement was quite easy. he has an electric lift in his garage so it made the whole job go much easier and there were not as many headaches as usual. now here is my problem.<BR>after they were installed the "Brake Failure" light came on and would not go off. we wound up draining all of the brake fluid from the lines and putting new fluid in. after bleeding all of the lines the light was still on. we were able to get it to go off by "reseting" the rear passanger side hydraulic thing.<BR>it is now about 3 weeks later and the light came on again. it stops the same way as before and there are no new brake noises(but i do have a mysterious thud that happens when i turn the wheel sometimes, but that is another post). do any of you know what may be causing this? is there any fix that i can try? do you know of any Volvo mechanics in the Evanston, IL area?<P>Thanks in advance.<P>Matt

 

[11110000]

First, make absolutely certain that you don't have a real brake problem. <P>The brake failure light is triggered by a 'balance' switch in the brake distribution block, located way down on the inside of the driver's side fender in the engine bay. The switch is a plastic assembly with a tiny reed switch mechanism inside, that screws into the block.<P>If you see any brake fluid weeping from the distribution block, the block is toast and you'll need to replace it. If the block is clean and dry, the switch itself is the most likely culprit. The plastic housing, and the little rubber donut gasket, would seem like they would prevent water intrusion, but they don't. Water and grit eventually work their way in there and corrode the switch parts. Replacing it is a little tricky, but I did mine successfully using a replacement from alloemvolvoparts.com.<P>Good luck. <P>

 

[devalmyth]

ahhh...just bled the brakes hey....it will be the master cylinder.this always seems to happen. because all the oil is depleted from the area of the caliper, when you bleed the brakes you pump the pedal right to the floor sveral times. the master cylinder has never had its piston pushed right in, for a good couple of years and it hast been used quickly over that long distance. cos the seals are brital over this time they "chip" and therefore looseing presure. this is were you get the imbalance on both cercuts.it is not hard to pull the master cylinder out and check these seals, but i am 95% sure that this the prob.i have had it done to me a couple of times. the pedal may feel fine but even a slight presure diferance can cause the light to go on. dont push the pedal down when the master cylinder is off.also check for leaks on all of the calipers. good luck. P.S seals are cheap may as well replace them if there ok (they will b old)wile you have it apart..

 

[brickhead]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by ThisGuy:<BR><B>i recently purchased a 89' 245. it is in pretty good shape, but the brakes were in need of a replacement. i bought pads, clips and shims from a local volvo dealer and proceeded to do the installation at a friend's house. the replacement was quite easy. he has an electric lift in his garage so it made the whole job go much easier and there were not as many headaches as usual. now here is my problem.<BR>after they were installed the "Brake Failure" light came on and would not go off. we wound up draining all of the brake fluid from the lines and putting new fluid in. after bleeding all of the lines the light was still on. we were able to get it to go off by "reseting" the rear passanger side hydraulic thing.<BR>it is now about 3 weeks later and the light came on again. it stops the same way as before and there are no new brake noises(but i do have a mysterious thud that happens when i turn the wheel sometimes, but that is another post). do any of you know what may be causing this? is there any fix that i can try? do you know of any Volvo mechanics in the Evanston, IL area?<P>Thanks in advance.<P>Matt</B><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>