I have been enjoying my super six conversion on my 76 volare so much that I decided to do some brake work to help deal with the extra power.

The brake light on the dash of the car has been on for a few months now.
The brakes were squeaking a bit and so I decided to do a full brake job on the front of the car.

I replaced: master cyl., front hoses, front rotors, front pads, front wheel bearings. I bled the master cyl once on the car and bled the brakes in the proper order. The brakes seem to be working fine, I have had to do a few extra rounds of bleeding to get the pedal nice and firm but things seem to be working well. Pedal still gets a tad mushy once in awhile but the brakes seem to work fine. This is a non power brake car.

I am a bit baffled though because even after all of this, I cant get the brake light on the dash to go off. I noticed that the light is hooked up to the porportioning valve. I am assuming that it is signaling something is not right inside this valve. Maybe even some air trapped in it?

I am sure I am not the only one to face this issue and I am sure there is a fix for it.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Dr Wheelie.

_________________
Dr Wheelie

You've done the front; now, Check the rear of the car.

If the brake light comes on, that means the proportioning valve piston has bottomed out on one end or the other. This happens when either the front or back brakes use too much fluid volume. Could be the result of a leak, broken components, worn shoes/pads, etc.

BTW, safety tip: next time the light comes on, don't wait "a few months" It means the brakes aren't right; and, brakes on a car are kind of important.

_________________
My truck is a Frankenstein creation
Built from the dead carcasses of others
And brought BACK TO LIFE!

Thanks for the info
Yes I havent really done anything to check the rears.
I bled them and they bled fine i.e., fluid is getting to them.

I have monitored the fluid level in the MC since the brake light came on and it seems to be fine and has remained at the proper level. So, I dont think that I have any leaky wheel cyls. Also, the rears seem to work ok and they dont make any noise.

Will even slightly worn shoes cause enough of a pressure diff to flip the light on? Arent shoes on these cars self adjusting?

Anyway, thanks for the advice, perhaps it is time to look at the rears more carefully. I just dont have much experience with drums so I have been avoiding them!

-DW

_________________
Dr Wheelie

No, slightly worn shoes won't cause it. They are supposed to be self adjusting.

However, if the adjuster is stuck or installed wrong, it won't work. As the shoes wear, the pistons will push the shoes out (they'll do their job); and, the springs will pull them all the way back in each time. Eventually, in some cars, the total movement will become enough to activate the brake light. This is only true if the adjuster is messed up.

It's a good idea to pull the drums and check, at least you'll get a warm and fuzzy feeling that their OK.

Some proportioning valves (I'm not sure about yours) have a reset button on them. You have to depress a pin on the valve body to get the thing to reset. (It holds the piston at whatever end it's in until the problems fixed)

Another possibility is that the proportioning valve is stuck. there's a piston inside that might be jammed all the way in one direction of travel -- you could try tapping on it with a hammer (not too hard) and stomping on the brakes a few times to see if it frees up.

good luck

_________________
My truck is a Frankenstein creation
Built from the dead carcasses of others
And brought BACK TO LIFE!

Porportioning valve reset button-those are the words I wanted to hear.
I was hoping there was such an animal. I have both the chiltons and the mopar factory manual for the car so I can do a bit more research to see if mine has the reset button on it.

I am assuming the piston ends are the things under the protective rubber boots at the fore and aft of the porport. valve.

Anyway-thanks for the info I am sure I will nail the problem soon enough

-DW

_________________
Dr Wheelie