Warning Light..any ideas?

[harjsingh]

hey guys,

was driving this morning and mid way through driving (i went over a small bump in the road but was driving around 50 kmph) the following light (attached) flickered on for a few seconds..

i have tried googling it but not sure what it is and why it came on intermittently..

cheers!

[harjsingh]

^^ so apparently its the brake pads..

if it just switched on and off for a few seconds should i still go ahead and get them changed?

cheers

[AndrewBird]

Could just be a bad sensor or something. Pull the wheels and check how much pad material is left. Anything below 1/4", you need to change them soon. 1/8" or less, they need to be changed now.

[harjsingh]

^^ Cheers..will have a gander tonight

[oliver.r]

deathstar sensor

[jalopi]

Brake pads are usually measured in 32nds... 1/8", which is 4/32nds, is borderline but still acceptable on passenger cars. 2-3/32nds is when most shops will recommend a brake job.

Your brakes could be worn down though - a sudden jolt might've ground out the pad sensor for a hot second and made the light flicker on. Who knows? Pull the wheels and you'll find out.

[AndrewBird]

If the sensor is grounded, the light stays off. As the pads wear, they wear through the sensor cause it to "open", turning the light on. The wires are very small though and can break, resulting in the light turning on.

[jalopi]

Interesting... I assumed they ground out on the rotor or something. Guess I was wrong. Maybe I'm thinking of a different german manufacturer?

In any case, pull your wheels bro :D