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no handbrake warning light

Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 5:06 pm
by C 20 CCO
Can anyone please help me check the wiring for the handbrake warning circuit, low fluid level. At the moment the blue brown wire and the black wire from the handbrake warning light are connected via a single black wire which heads off back towards the steering column somewhere. This doesn't sit quite right with what the Haynes manual says.

When I check the wiring diagram pin 5 on section G is used. Looking at section G on my fuse box no wires are connected anywhere.

After looking for the end of the black wire going to the handbrake switch; I've discovered another connector just hanging around behind the fusebox. After gently pulling I find it runs back to the handbrake switch, hence it's not connected. This goes along way to explain why the light has never worked in 14 yrs.

The wire from the handbrake switch ends in a single connector but has a second black wire connected to the same spade connector.

According to the wiring diagram, the black wire from the h/b switch is supposed to connect to the green/grey and the black wire from the h/b warning light. Can anyone check if this connection has two black wires I mentioned above. If so then I need to reconfigure the wiring.
Now the single black wire which heads off back towards the steering column as I mentioned at the beginning; should this be connected to pin 5 in section G? Or is there another black wire i need to find. Unless I get info from a working setup I'm at a slight loss with this.

Since I took the dash off and looked at the wiring loom with plenty of scotch locks and taped up connections, I'm glad to be changing the loom. At some point something bazaar has happened by someone with a hatchet.

I have looked on this site and on the web, but cant find a solution if I have no wires connected.

If I can get this problem sorted then that's the last of my problems for now.

Cheers.

Re: no handbrake warning light

Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 5:59 am
by james butler
will take a look at my diagrams later today and will get back to you but its a simple earth circuit from memory down to the handbrake switch.

Re: no handbrake warning light

Posted: Mon Feb 05, 2018 9:45 am
by C 20 CCO
Thanks James,

I wouldn't mind but I've done the hard part of fitting a new loom. I had labeled up all previous connections and so it made it easier to reconnect stuff. This is a little different as the cable from the handbrake switch isn't connected to anything and never has been for some years. The connection from the handbrake switch has two black wires; where as the Haynes diagram seems to show just the one wire, unless I'm reading it wrong. This is why I'm hesitant as I don't want to get into a guessing game and ruin all my hard work.

I understand the concept is a switched live and an earth makes the switch complete, maybe I'm treading a little too carefully....

Thanks for looking into this though, really appreciate it.

Re: no handbrake warning light

Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 6:12 am
by Jack92
Looking back over my thread and from what I can remember mind is a single black wire running from the passenger door across just in front of the beam to the handbrake.
I may be wrong but that’s all I can see


Jack
South East

www.motorsportdiscounts.co.uk
Seat Leon 1.8T 20V - Track Car
VW Scirocco Scala 1.8 Inj - Toy
Ford Transit 2.0 - Work Horse

Re: no handbrake warning light

Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2018 7:47 am
by mr.brown
I have mk2 stuff in my mk1 and the handbrake wire definitely ends in a single connector with single spade. It could be that someone has added a connector at some point to provide another ignition switched live.

Re: no handbrake warning light

Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2018 10:24 pm
by C 20 CCO
I have definitely found the lead from the h/b switch this is now plugged into the connector for the warning light in the dash. The other small black wire with a male connector I mentioned earlier also professionally wired into the h/b wire runs through the bulkhead and is connected to the windscreen washers in the bonnet. The brown wire from the w/ washers goes straight to ground next to the fuse box.

So where on earth does the live for the h/brake warning light come from????? I've looked at the back of the fuse box and the wire A15 is in place (blue/brown). The diagram shows a black wire going to G5, is this an internal connection within the fuse box???

Re: no handbrake warning light

Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2018 7:15 am
by Jack92
My suggestion would be disconnect the battery and start continuity testing the runs to see which goes where,
I’d check hand brake to fuse box as this is what should happen, then also the washer jet cable just to be sure. I do have heated jets but it runs directly to the fuse box iirc.
If the handbrake cable is the one behind the fuse box you think it is connect it to the correct output and see if it works (disconnect whatever is in there)

Then it’s a case of finding out what the cable in there does. So start tracing that using the same method.


Jack
South East

www.motorsportdiscounts.co.uk
Seat Leon 1.8T 20V - Track Car
VW Scirocco Scala 1.8 Inj - Toy
Ford Transit 2.0 - Work Horse

Re: no handbrake warning light

Posted: Wed Feb 14, 2018 5:58 pm
by james butler
it would seem on the wiring diagram the 2 wires you speak of should go to a connector behind the dash and only one black wire runs down to the handbrake switch.
from the connector to the illumination light on the dash should be a grey/green wire, the other blue/brown wire from the same connector goes back to the fusebox in connector point A15.
hopefully that helps you bud.
this is the wiring on post 1984 models

Re: no handbrake warning light

Posted: Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:42 am
by C 20 CCO
Fixed.....

Well I've got a handbrake warning light now...... After looking at various posts and cross examining my train of thought I made a choice. There was one connector hanging loose (a black wire) from the main loom and I connected this to pin number 2 section G behind the fuse box. This was the ignition live I had been hunting for ha haaar.

Thanks to everyone for your input, it was very much appreciated. :yahoo:

Re: no handbrake warning light

Posted: Fri Feb 16, 2018 9:50 am
by Jack92
No worries mate glad it sorted!


Jack
South East

www.motorsportdiscounts.co.uk
Seat Leon 1.8T 20V - Track Car
VW Scirocco Scala 1.8 Inj - Toy
Ford Transit 2.0 - Work Horse