my brake warning light wont come off

[trinidon2k]

recently my brake warning light came on on my dash.....the one that kind of looks like a red spider....if you dont know what i'm talking about i'll take a pic...but anyway....i changed the front brakes (with BMW brakes from the dealer) but the light didnt go off...the guy who changed the breaks for me (not the dealer)...said that the back breaks still have about 1000 miles left on them....so how do i make the light go off?

[007ben]

replace the sensor.

[kuchifungus]

just replace the back lights. only 1000 miles

[Fadec40]

Once the pad light comes on, the sensor has to be replaced. If you change the brake pads before it illuminates, it can be reused.

PS: Don't buy the sensor from the dealer. They charge 2 1/2 times the online price. The same with the pads, the stealership charges $20-30 more than online purchase.

[Furious]

you dont always have to replace the sensor, the dealerships do it to get the extra cash, most of the time they are ok, however its a good idea to change them just incase you had over worn them, in which case you should replace them for sure.... the reason that they are ok most of the time, is because most drivers get the brakes done right away once the light goes on, even though they really have about another 1000-2000kilometers left on the pads.

[BMWJNKY]

Originally posted by Furious@Jun 22 2004, 07:50 PM
you dont always have to replace the sensor, the dealerships do it to get the extra cash, most of the time they are ok, however its a good idea to change them just incase you had over worn them, in which case you should replace them for sure.... the reason that they are ok most of the time, is because most drivers get the brakes done right away once the light goes on, even though they really have about another 1000-2000kilometers left on the pads.

The way a BMW brake sensor works is like this. There is a piece of wire that make a U in the sensor part and the other open ends plug into the car making a complet circuit. Once the U gets worn through it makes the circuit open tripping the light in the dash. Once the sensor has been worn through tripping the light it is done and will not work properly again. The only time a sensor can be reused is when it has not been worn through. The price of the new sensor is under $20 for an E36, if someone wants to charge you more for it look elsewhere.