What Causes the Brake Light on the Dashboard to Illuminate During Emergency Braking?
2 Answers
Emergency braking causing the dashboard brake light to illuminate may indicate issues with the car's brake discs, such as excessive wear, which affects the dashboard light. This indicator is mostly used to show the wear condition of the brake discs and is usually off. It could also be due to insufficient brake fluid triggering the fault light or a short circuit in the brake warning light circuit. Solutions: 1. Severely worn brake pads—when the car's brake pads reach their limit, an alarm will activate. Regularly inspect the tire brake pads; if they are significantly worn, replace them immediately. 2. During braking, brake fluid is compressed into the pipelines and brake calipers. Regularly check the brake fluid reservoir for low levels and top up the brake fluid promptly. 3. A circuit break may cause the dashboard light to alert. Use a multimeter to test the car's brake pad alarm circuit, brake fluid level alarm circuit, and handbrake switch circuit to check for any wiring issues.
I've been driving for almost twenty years, and it's not uncommon to see the brake light on the dashboard come on during sudden braking. Usually, it's because the brake fluid is low, and during hard braking, the fluid sloshes around violently. If the level is too low, the sensor will trigger a warning. It could also be a false alarm from the ABS system when it activates during high-speed braking. I'm someone who pays extra attention to maintenance. Whenever this happens, I immediately pull over to check if the brake fluid level is between the Min and Max marks on the reservoir. If it's low, I top it up with dedicated brake fluid. If the light stays on, I head straight to the repair shop for a full inspection of the brake pads and wiring—better safe than sorry. Looking back, there was one time I ignored this, and my brakes nearly failed—scary stuff. That’s why now, every few months, I have a technician test the system. Safety is no small matter, and prevention is far better than patching things up later.
