Parking Brake Fault please help

[dilun]

Had the elussive PARKING BRAKE FAULT the other day,first thing I tried was disconnecting the battery,but the fault is still there.I then moved on to ckecking the fuses and found that there was a melted fuse in drivers side compartment,I think it is fuse number 31 which is meant to be 20A but was fitted with a 30A,I have replaced it with the correct 20A fuse but it didn't blow.
I then called on a friend to come and plug his Bosch diagnostic tool in and it showed " left hand parcking brake motor open circuit".
Now I have checked resistance at the plug of the motor and im getting
0 ohms, which is the same as on the right hand side,and I have put a meter on the motor and i'm getting 0 ohms here aswel.
Any advise would be greatfully received to try and get the wifes car mobile again as it is stuck on the drive!!!

[martin1810]

Sorry I don't understand. Are the epb on or off. If they are stuck on you can mechanically release them to move the car. See my site for instructions.

[dilun]

Hi Martin,thanx for the reply,I must say that I am very impressed with your site,the amount of information u put there is amazing.
After reading over my post I see that I have left out some details.
The left hand motor is stuck on (no noise to be heared from it at all) but right hand seems to be working fine which makes me think that it can't be a fault with the switch/button.I am now also thinking that the fuse issue is a seperate matter.
From looking at your site i noticed that the motor casing on mine is also cracked,I have removed the motor unit off the calliper,can u tell me weather I should be able to turn the drive gear by hand or is it a braked motor or is it the gearing alone which is the resistance as I am unable to turn it.
Could u also tell me, if a new motor is fitted,will it have to be programmed or setup in any way.
Many thanks!

[newb1e]

i have experienced this twice now.

The first time it automatically went off after i switched the car off and wait for a little bit. The second time i ignored the fault and didnt press the parking brake button and just use clutch and accelerator to release it and drove with the light lit. and it went off by the time i got home (50 miles later).

[Chrisman]

Hi Martin,thanx for the reply,I must say that I am very impressed with your site,the amount of information u put there is amazing.
After reading over my post I see that I have left out some details.
The left hand motor is stuck on (no noise to be heared from it at all) but right hand seems to be working fine which makes me think that it can't be a fault with the switch/button.I am now also thinking that the fuse issue is a seperate matter.
From looking at your site i noticed that the motor casing on mine is also cracked,I have removed the motor unit off the calliper,can u tell me weather I should be able to turn the drive gear by hand or is it a braked motor or is it the gearing alone which is the resistance as I am unable to turn it.
Could u also tell me, if a new motor is fitted,will it have to be programmed or setup in any way.
Many thanks!

Hi Mate, I'm certain Martin will get back to you when he can but in the meantime I'll share my recent experience that may be of some help.

My caliper motor did exactly the same as yours when my wife was at traffic lights! LOL, she was not assumed.
(As it happens it was my motor Martin took apart on his brilliant site. (;o)
Anyway, when I took off the motor I could see that the cracked casing was letting in water which told me it was time for a change. Turns out Martin got it running again after a severe service so might be worth taking yours apart if you can.

I decided not to go for the new motor option but went for a second hand caliper with motor for £90 inc post. (Wondering now how long it'll last)
It's worth noting I retracted the caliper fully by turning the torx socket by hand clockwise(If memory serves) and used VCDS to retract the other one fully so they were both in sync. Not 100% if this was needed but put my mind at ease a little more.
When I tried the setting on VCDS to reset the calipers but this function refused to work. I then tried pressing the epb button but it kept flashing whether or not I pressed the brake etc.
I finally decided simply to take it for a quick run to see if applying my brakes would sort it out and hey presto it stopped flashing and worked fine.


p.s What like is your other motor casing?
Mine were both cracked although one of them was still operational which is now sealed up with epoxy and self amalgamating tape.

[martin1810]

Hi Martin,thanx for the reply,I must say that I am very impressed with your site,the amount of information u put there is amazing.
After reading over my post I see that I have left out some details.
The left hand motor is stuck on (no noise to be heared from it at all) but right hand seems to be working fine which makes me think that it can't be a fault with the switch/button.I am now also thinking that the fuse issue is a seperate matter.
From looking at your site i noticed that the motor casing on mine is also cracked,I have removed the motor unit off the calliper,can u tell me weather I should be able to turn the drive gear by hand or is it a braked motor or is it the gearing alone which is the resistance as I am unable to turn it.
Could u also tell me, if a new motor is fitted,will it have to be programmed or setup in any way.
Many thanks!

As Chris says. Use a torx T45 to wind the caliper input clockwise two whole turns. That will release the caliper. You can drive the car like that and still use the epb on the other wheel. The dash will give you warnings but you can ignore them. You can't turn the drive in the plastic motor housing because of the 150:1 gearing and it may be seized. Squirt lots of wd40 over the gearing and then try sticking 12v onto the motor terminals. It may spring back to life. OR gently tap the end cover off the motor casing and free the gear cluster by hand. Then grease it. The gear casing crack can be fixed with epoxy or a hot soldering iron. Pics are on my site for most of this.

[martin1810]

i have experienced this twice now.

The first time it automatically went off after i switched the car off and wait for a little bit. The second time i ignored the fault and didnt press the parking brake button and just use clutch and accelerator to release it and drove with the light lit. and it went off by the time i got home (50 miles later).

That's a different problem. When the motor gets stuck you can't drive 'cos the wheel won't turn.

[dilun]

just a word to let u know that i have sorted the parking brake fault.Turned out to be corroded pins in the connection,a phew scrapes with a pointy tool to the pins on the motor and the connector block and some contact cleaner.Jobs a good un?????. We'll see how long it lasts.