TheSamba.com :: View topic - Strange brake issue.. Check engine light comes on

Mon Apr 09, 2012 1:52 pm

Ok so this seems weird.. At least to me...

Fri night coming home I noticed that each time I hit the brake pedal the "check engine light" in the dash would flash. It does not remain on when say stopped at a light but will sometimes flicker then.

Since it was a holiday weekend there was not much I could do then. I drove to work and called my mechanic after checking the brake resevoir to make sure it wasn't empty. In the daylight I notice the brake fluid was a bluish color. I opened it to smell it and noticed the little protective mesh filter was broken... Like with a funnel. I don't use one to fill.

Anyways I looked in the bottle of brake fluid I was using to fill and it's a regular clear color.

I checked with the auto detailer who did my car maybe 3 weeks ago and he (and others in my office who use him corroborated) said he only washes and vaccums etc and does not fill fluids ever.

No one else has touched my car to my knowledge. Basically my instinct says it looks like someone put wiper fluid in the brake reservoir but ive no idea who would have done it. I do leave my car open and unlocked as I don't want someone cutting my soft top to get inside.

Any other thoughts on the blue fluid?

I'm concerned because I just replaced the master cylinder with a pricey german repro in the last few months. Also had switches replaced as the originals gave out.

Mon Apr 09, 2012 2:48 pm

i would suck all the fluid out of the resivore fill it with new brake fluid and suck out the rest of the lines so the blue fluid doesn't ruin anything. it does sound like a blue washer fluid.

Mon Apr 09, 2012 7:51 pm

No check engine light!!

More must know info @

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/archives/manuals/8_72ghia.php

Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:17 pm

Hah well that's what I was told it was :p mine is just a socket with a bulb.. The identifying plastic cover was not there when I got the car.

Anyways I just went and had one of the two shops I use bleed the brakes thoroughly to flush out all traces of the blue substance. The mechanic says he's not sure what it was but is pretty sure it wasn't wiper fluid. He said it would have been traces of suds if it was. Anyways now flushed the light no longer comes on when I brake so I'm happy.

Tue Apr 10, 2012 6:17 am

Good to hear you have it fixed for now. Might be good to check at least once a week to see if it changes again.

Tue Apr 10, 2012 9:18 am

FYI, some brake fluids (e.g., DOT 5 or high-performance DOT 4) are blue or purple in color. You can't mix DOT 5 with DOT 3 or DOT 4, so flushing the system was the right thing to do.

Tue Apr 10, 2012 11:12 am

sactojesse wrote: FYI, some brake fluids (e.g., DOT 5 or high-performance DOT 4) are blue or purple in color. You can't mix DOT 5 with DOT 3 or DOT 4, so flushing the system was the right thing to do.

Yup, the Dot 5 I have in my T-34 is purple. I went with it, so I didn't have to flush the brake fluid very often (supposedly every 2 years). It's also easier on the metal parts of the system, as it prevents rust (regular brake fluid is hydroscopic, meaning it draws in moisture, that causes rust).

From what I've been told, IF the brake warning light comes on, there's usually a problem in the system, or a switch getting ready to fail.

Tue Apr 10, 2012 1:31 pm

Yeah he replaced both switches again just to be on the safe side. He'd put new ones in less than 4 months ago but I'd rather be overly cautious when it comes to brake stuff.