# Brake Light comes on when going downhill? fiat



## dc6947 (Aug 29, 2011)

Fiat Ducato 2008 , done 57k miles

When i go downhill for long stretches, the (!) brake warning light comes on, then goes off again when i go uphill or level out. The hill doesn't need to be particularly steep, it happens more when it is pointing at the downward angle for more than a minute or two, and happens even when parked up. The brakes seem to be working perfectly fine and i always drive properly down hills using my gears, etc and it happens when parked anyway so it's nothing to do with brake fade. 
Any ideas?


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## cooljules (Aug 29, 2011)

low fluid so sets the senser off?


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## Deleted member 3802 (Aug 29, 2011)

:ditto: check fluid level :wave:


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## dc6947 (Aug 29, 2011)

Fluid level is OK, but i could top it up a bit and see if that solves the problem... worth a try!


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## shortcircuit (Aug 29, 2011)

Have you checked the brake pads?  On my Fiat it is the nearside that has the sensor wire.


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## Miz (Aug 29, 2011)

Before topping the fluid up, check the wear on your brake pads/shoes, also check the system for any signs of leaks.


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## dc6947 (Aug 29, 2011)

Might take it to a garage to get someone to look at it for me as i'm not 100% sure what i'm looking at. Do i have to take it somewhere special for vans or will car garages deal with it? Or if anyone just happens to be able to recommend anyone in worcestershire that'd be even better but the chances of that are slim


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## dc6947 (Aug 29, 2011)

I forgot to let off the handbrake once on an automatic i was driving when i was in the USA... it was the first time i'd ever driven an automatic and people kept telling me not to use the handbrake but to put it in park only. Which felt wrong somehow. Anyway my habits got all messed up and i found myself unable to drive above 30 mph one day with my foot to the floor and i thought "wtf is going on?" - took me 20 minutes to see it was the handbrake! Now that makes me look like a right idiot i know!

Back to this problem then...The light that is on is the red brake light which is the one that comes on when the handbrake is on and looks like this (!) an exclamation mark in brackets/circle. I assumed it was to do with both handbrake and brakes in general?


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## neckie (Aug 29, 2011)

*Brake light warning*

I had this problem on my Talbot - microswitch on the handbrake was the issue - check it out - it was intermittent obviously.

Good luck


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## BwB (Aug 30, 2011)

I'm no expert but I think you'll find that this is "normal" on long downhill stretches. Phone up a main dealer (for the van part not the motorhome conversion) and have a chat with a mechanic. They will tell you that this apparent problem is within specification. On my Citroen van of the same age it's even stated in the manual.


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## Tony Lee (Sep 2, 2011)

Different vehicle but on mine the light with the exclamation mark was telling me (once I got the English translation of the German manual) that the brake fluid reservoir was low.

And it was.


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## justdoitviv (Sep 5, 2011)

i had this problem for about 6 months .... after exhausting all possibilities it turned out to be the hand break. something about the tension/spring. works fine now


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