brake lining check light,,WTF?

[trumpetr]

Ok,,,I need some advice on this one. My question is two fold,,,,in that,, the brake lining check light came on, immeadiately after starting the 95 525,,after the left front wheel was taken off (and placed back on, by the speedy, but otherwise unwashed tire guys at 'Les Slobs *Les Schwabs*),,,,my brakes are at 60+ percent,,,never a warning light before,,,,,but,,,,after listening to a bunch of BS,,,that a set of rims made for a 3 series will 'fit just fine' on my e34, and me telling them that a 43 mm offset just wont do,,,,has to be 20mm, that and the GD hub size is different, (they proved it to themselves when the put the wheel up to the hub, and it wouldnt even clear the strut),,now im left with a check light that i cant turn off.

So,,,how critical is the offset,(looking at 17 or 18's),,,,they even had wheels they said would fit with a 25mm offset,,,and some with 13 mm offset,,,,,,i know a lil bit of offset difference is ok,,,but,,,from what i read,,,ya want 20 mm ET,,,,and hubcentric, or youre gonna be sorry. Ok then.

So then,,,on my way home, gnashing my teeth,,,I stop by a bmw savvy mechanic,,,,who tells me,,,,"nope,,cant reset the check light,,,,untill you replace the brake pads,,,, must be a coincidence that it came on after one wheel was taken off and replaced. Yeah, right. (BTW,,,car is at 75k miles, and previously VERY well maintained ,,ive put on only 2k miles.)

So then,,,,since my pads are no where near worn out,,,,,how do you reset the GD check light,that cant be canceled out by the dash button? Or should I just slap on new front brakes? Or should I slap the Les Slob guy?

Any thougnts are welcome,,,,,thanks in advance,,,,,,

Art.

[Scott H]

sensor on the left front and right rear wheels and making sure it's plugged in, also make sure the sensor is not worn through. Then go from there.

[calmloki]

Yup - Just like Scott said - especially since Les Swabbies swapped the wrong size wheel onto your left front - pull the LF wheel and splice the wear sensor wire back together - or just join the engine side leads together to take that sensor out of the system - 'course then you have to actually be aware of your brake wear... BTW - your BMW savvy mech must have needed to make his rent payment if you gave him the same info you gave here. Did this patch on my '93 touring when the PO got the snow chains involved in the wire. Oregon also?
Tom

[Phatty5BMW]

Check the pad wear sensor on it, most likely the wires are cut or broken. Shouldn't be too much of a hassle.
Pat

[clhorton]

Yeah, my brake linings warning is on on the dash also. Like said before it is probably either unplugged or a broken wire. You can also just buy new sensors. They are very cheap and not too much of a hassle to install.


Check the pad wear sensor on it, most likely the wires are cut or broken. Shouldn't be too much of a hassle.
Pat

[rot535i]

My warning light went away when I replaced this worn sensor wire that moved and touched the inside of the wheel. It happened to be longer than the one I replaced it with.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e331/resyt/DSC00034.jpg

[trumpetr]

Thanks for the info--- Glad its an easy fix. Nope, not Oregon, I live in Skagit County, WA.

[Phatty5BMW]

Hey rot, my mirrors look exactly like yours :) damn the mirrors

[rot535i]

Hey rot, my mirrors look exactly like yours :) damn the mirrors
Do you mean faded? I'd like to get the whole car re-painted. To clean up some peeling clear coat areas. Some day!

[trumpetr]

Thanks for the help, all,,,,,,,I went to Schwabs this AM,,,put it on the lifrt and pulled the LF wheel,,,and sure as hell,,,the sensor wires had been rubbing on the inside lip of the wheel,,,rubbed all the insulation of off of one side of the wire (a round wire has a side??), thru the wire itself,,so,,,butt spliced the wires back together,,and problem solved. Should hold up till the pads need replacing.
Ill have a little chat with that 'bmw savvy mechanic', who wanted to do a brake job to cure the check light issue.
Thanks again to all,,,for the info/advice.

Art.

[calmloki]

Thanks for the help, all,,,,,,,I went to Schwabs this AM,,,put it on the lifrt and pulled the LF wheel,,,and sure as hell,,,the sensor wires had been rubbing on the inside lip of the wheel,,,rubbed all the insulation of off of one side of the wire (a round wire has a side??), thru the wire itself,,so,,,butt spliced the wires back together,,and problem solved. Should hold up till the pads need replacing.
Ill have a little chat with that 'bmw savvy mechanic', who wanted to do a brake job to cure the check light issue.
Thanks again to all,,,for the info/advice.

Art.

Hey Art,
I might have been a little flip in suggesting that the mech had rent payments to make when he wanted to cure your problem with a brake job. My fix was a patch, the mech may have had a brain fart when he spoke with you, the mech might have done butt splices, called you, and reported saving you some bucks when he had a chance to actually do the work... I usually figure people do the best they can. Or it could be he's a yerkle - and not really capable - if that's the case you sure don't want to train him how to do his job!
Tom down in Oregon (I don't use Les Schwab, but like the fact that they run rather than amble)