Intermittent brakes

[blackdeath231]

I have been having intermittent power assist brakes for about two days and can not find the problem. The brake light will come on and off with the problem but I have run through most of the quick checks and can not find the problem. I at first thought it might be the accumulator but I was under the impression that you would get a soft brake pedal. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks

 

[Ormand]

My experience with an accumulator running low on charge is hard pedal, not soft pedal. Pressure gets low, you have no boost, red light comes on. Sooner or later, the light won't go off, and the pump will not stop running. At that point, if you're lucky, the fuse will blow. If not, the pump will burn up.

 

[jimmymopower]

Probably the powermaster unit going out. Or more specifically the elec motor failing . Save yourself some headaches (and money) and convert it to vacum. Night and day difference. The car will stop much better than with the factory setup

 

[Turbo Brian]

Better than a 90% chance that the problem is either the accumulator ball or pressure switch. Maybe you can borrow a known good ball and pressure switch to substitute in one at a time.

When you remove the ball, if the accumulator is bad, it will probably shoot fluid all over, so cover the threads with a shop rag.

 

[Lee_Burough]

You can look HERE for troubleshooting guidance on the powermaste brake system.

You can look on the Brake Page for more info on brakes.

Your brake light might be the signal for a bad accumulator ball, it sounds similar to when it happened to my 87 TR LTD.