Parking Brake Indicator Light troubleshooting

[artdawg]

Howdy folks,

I've gotten a lot of great info from these forums and finally have something I can't figure out.

We have a 2006 Vibe. I went to get it inspected the other day and they failed me because the parking brake light on the instrument cluster isn't coming on when the parking brake is engaged.

I just took out the instrument cluster to see if I could replace a bulb and saw the little LEDs. I don't think I can replace these. So I put it all back together.

When I started the car to make sure everything else was still working, I noticed the brake indicator light kind of flickered.

If I release and engage the parking brake or turn the key on and off, sometimes the brake indicator light will flicker. It never seems to be fully bright and never stays on.

Tomorrow I was going to take the center console off and see if I could find the switch that triggers this light.

I can't seem to find much information about this online or in my Haynes manual.

If anyone has some troubleshooting suggestions I'd love to hear it. I'm really hoping I don't have to get a new instrument cluster just because this brake light isn't coming on.

[lannvouivre]

Here's the wiring diagram for the switch. You may have to open the instrument cluster up and solder in a new LED if it's not a problem with a ground or connection.

[artdawg]

Thanks for the wiring diagram. The manual I have seems to indicate every other instrument panel light except this one.

Luckily for me it seems my problem was simply a dirty connector on the Parking Brake Switch. I pulled off the center console and the switch was very dirty. Unhooked the switch connector, cleaned it off well and that was it! As a test I bypassed the switch by sticking a wire in the connector and touching it to the bare metal to see if the light came on. The light came right on so I knew it wasn't the LED.

I'm going to attach a couple of pics in case someone else is looking for this down the line.

Here's the location of the parking brake light switch

06Vibe_ebrake_switch_01.JPG (127.45 KiB) Viewed 2026 times

The parking brake switch up close with the connector detached.

06Vibe_ebrake_switch_02.JPG (114.76 KiB) Viewed 2026 times

[Chiadog]

Thanks for the update! I've always wondered where the Coca-Cola goes.

[lannvouivre]

Luckily for me it seems my problem was simply a dirty connector on the Parking Brake Switch.

Excellent! I love it when something just has to be cleaned. Easy, fast jobs are the best.