Need some help with PowerMaster Brakes

[BlackBuickBeast]

Hey guy's I'm having my first problem with the PowerMaster Brakes. I'm at work right now so I can't look at the brakes until tomorrow.

Ok, a little history on the brakes. I was told by the orginial owner that the brake recall was done. NO other problems have happened so far. The fluid has never been touched to my knowledge, And I didn't want to mess up a working system. Front brakes have been done once, backs have never been opened.

The problem is very minor right now, but I'm afriad not for long. The Brake light is allways on. But the brakes seem to work fine. The only thing that I have noticed is the e-brake is hard to push down and acts like the cable is caught on something. Or maybe a bad accumalator. How can I check to see if that works.

Like I said this just started yesterday mourning and I didn't get home until late, So I couldn't check it out. I'm just wanting some opinions on where to check first and troubleshooting.

I'm thinking that the fluid is low or the Switch on top is the problem. I dont' think that the brake light is connected to the e-brake or anyother rear brake parts.

Thanks in advance, I'll fill in more detials tomorrow if I can.
Jason

 

[MeanBuicks]

If the accumulator (black ball on side of master cyl.) has never been replaced, chances are that could be your problem. They usually only last 5-7 years.

 

[Red Regal T]

OPEN THE MONEY PIT OR TIME TO CHANGE OVER TO VACUUM AND NEVER LOOK BACK !!

 

[BlackBuickBeast]

Yes, I am going to convert soon to vacuum brakes but I just need my car working right now.

Is their a place that I can ajust e-brake somewhere back near the rear brakes.

 

[Dan Thompson]

If memory service me correct the brake recall was for the switch on the powermaster unit. On top where the connector is. I believe it should be gray in color. It's on the same area as the accululator.

 

[GNX548]

As far as the e-brake goes that's normally the cable. how many miles do you have on the car? does your accululator bowl have writing on the side of it?

 

[BlackBuickBeast]

the car has 75k. I am probably going to buy an accululator tomorrow and test that out, but I would rather know for sure that it will fix it.

The weird thing is that as soon as the brake light came on, the e-brake started acting up? I don't know what they have in common but hopefully someone has had experiance with that.

Just 10min ago I checked the brake level the promper way, made sure the pump wasn't pumping too much(it wasn't), and I looked for the fuse for the powermaster but couldn't find it? It is half dark though.

Thanks again,
Jason

 

[BlackBuickBeast]

Am I missing something? Where is the powermaster fuse, I can't seem to find it in the fuse panel.

Also, where is the cheapest place for an accululator, I assume that the ones at an autochain work as good as a GM one.

 

[TurboDave]

Ok, now that the fear mongers have you scared into switching to vacuum brakes, let me tell you what it may very well be. Since the light is always on, and the brakes seem to be working just fine, EXCEPT for the E brake, you'll need to crawl down on the floor board, get the hush panel off so you can see up in there.

Up near the top of the e-brake mounting hardware, you'll see a very crude mechanical switch with a single wire connector connected to it.
Take a close look, and my guess would be you'll see that that switch's metal arm has gotten bent and is interfering with the movement of the pedal's mechanisms.

Has happened to me twice already. I believe there's only one screw that holds it in place, and a tiny plastic pin helps with alignment. Remove the screw and pull the switch down out of the way to see if that frees up the e-brake mechanism. If that's the problem, a new switch can be gotten from the dealership.

 

[MeanBuicks]

Come to think of it...

I think Dave's on to something there.

 

[BlackBuickBeast]

Many thanks to you TurboDave. That is the exact problem. I knew that it was an easy fix somewhere because I was not having any brake problems.

So, I saw where it was binding and I just unscrewed it and let it hang. But if you could try to explain where that metal piece fits on the e-brake so I could just fix this one. It looks like all it does is set the brake light on when you engage the e-brake. Does that metal piece sit on top of the e-brake and "ride" the metal piece with the teeth on the top.

Again thanks,
Jason