Ebrake Light Always On

[punxva]

ok, like the title says, the weird thing is, when the key is just put in, and set to the on position, and i take the ebrake off, the light goes out, but when the car is running, actually when i turned it on, the stupid light came back on. I've checked the pads, and the fluid, but they are both fine

[jt1583]

is ur battery light on? if so ur alt may be bad. if not, wait for more replies.

[kandyflip445]

Make sure the sensor on the MC is plugged in.

[Ritz S14]

Yeah..make sure the lil float in the MC isn't stuck.

[NemeGuero]

Yah, and bleed the brakes too.

[Slidin240Wayz]

make sure you have enough fluid int here as well

[trsilvias13]

not sure if this apply to nissan (this happens on friend's hondas) , but check your brake lights (bulbs)

[HyperTek]

check alternator!!

[mrmephistopheles]

Holy crap.
Ebrake light stays on for a few reasons:
Fluid in MC reservoir is low (Check/fill)
Brakelight bulb may be out (check/replace)
switch under handle may be stuck (check/clean)

[punxva]

ok, well, its strange because it's got fluid, and its been bleed, and i've checked the connection where it meets the handle. No bulbs are out, but the battery light is on a little bit, it's very very dim. tho, im about to go take a pic, so u guys can see...

[jt1583]

if you have a voltmeter check battery voltage with car on (~13) and with car revving (~14) to make sure alt is ok

[punxva]

also, i checked the brake fluid, and it seems to be like way above the max line, could this maybe the problem? Also now sometimes, it turns on and off and buzzes like really loud. like when i press the brakes or the gas

[punxva]

yea, i rechecked the alt. and the battery and both were fine.

[VIPCefiro]

Hrmm, I seem to be experiencing a similar problem.

When I am driving around the street, everything seems to be fine, voltage is around 13.3-13.6

When I get on the highway, the voltage drops down to 11.5 and when i step on the gas, the brake light and the battery make a rapid ticking sound. Also, when I run my sounds, the lights flicker with the beat of the bass.

I initially thought it was the battery, so I swapped my cheapo autozone for a optima bluetop. Everything was fine for about 2 days. Then the problem started appearing again. I have a feeling it is the alternator. Can somebody confirm this for me?

Also, I have heard that you can 'upgrade' your alternator? Anybody got part numbers on this? Is an upgraded one bigger? Harder to install? Or does it bolt right in? Thanks for the help in advance.

Update: --- OK I did a search and it looks like those of us with SR20s are SOL when it comes to alternator upgrades. Only solution would be to take the alternator and get it rebuilt with more coils for more amps. :(

[MELLO*SOS]

Also, I have heard that you can 'upgrade' your alternator? Anybody got part numbers on this? Is an upgraded one bigger? Harder to install? Or does it bolt right in? Thanks for the help in advance.

Update: --- OK I did a search and it looks like those of us with SR20s are SOL when it comes to alternator upgrades. Only solution would be to take the alternator and get it rebuilt with more coils for more amps. :(

You can upgrade your stock KA 80a alternator to a 110a alternator from a Nissan Quest. I have a link in my signature with some more info on the swap details. Edit: Didn't see that you have SR20, but the upgrade should be the same give it a try at let us know :)

[VIPCefiro]

has anybody with a SR20 ever done this? Will I be the first? :( Kinda don't wanna drop the money to buy a quest alternator only to find out the swap doesn't work. Has anybody tried to relocate the alternator so that you can get a bigger one to fit? Googling alternator upgrades, I noticed that GM seems to have a kit with universal mounting brackets? They have upgraded alternators that go up to 200 A. The lowest one they have is 140A. Would that be something to look into?

[RedtopTech]

check the 10 amp "engine control" fuse under the hood. Mine did the same thing

[punxva]

which box is it in? the one near the battery or the one near the intake? I'm too lazy to go out and look lmao

[VIPCefiro]

I checked that fuse just now, it's the box near the battery.

Anyway, nothing wrong with those fuses in my box. Now the lights are constantly flickering, not from the sounds, not from stepping on the gas or anything.

The voltage on the battery still fluctuates up... Is this a sign that my alternator is starting to go bad?

[punxva]

how are you monitoring the voltage? u useing a guage inside the car itself?

[VIPCefiro]

yeah, i have a gauge that tells me the voltage... Anyway, I kept reading posts concerning the alternator and the such. Tonight I'm going down to autozone to see if they can confirm if I need to get a new alternator or not. They do free checking, I will post an update when I get back from there.

[VIPCefiro]

Autozone says my alternator is starting to crap out. They also said that the KA alternator will fit on the SR motor. We eyeballed the 2 alternators just to see if they at least look similar, and it looks like it does fit? IS this true? I guess if it doesn't fit I can return it. I am taking it to get it installed first thing in the morning....

update: OK, it's done.. The guy said all he did was swap the pulley and it bolted right up. Maybe it wasn't that simple, but that's what he said. I asked him if he had to trim the housing, remove a bracket, or adjust the pulley weird, etc etc, but he said nope. Don't know what the other forum posts meant when they said it was difficult to bolt the KA alternator to the SR.

[Okinawandrifter87]

Hey did you ever get this problem resolved? I am having the same problem and I changed the fuse for engine control, so now i no longer have the buzzin noise. The light dash brake light went off for a little but it now came back on! =0(

[g6civcx]

What car is this for?

Read the EL section of the Nissan FSM. It shows the wiring diagram of the brake light.

[TheTimanator]

i had the same problem at one point in time. It turned out it was the contact switch on the e-brake itself. I unplugged and it has never bothered me agian.

[punxva]

yeah i figured it out, it was the switch on the bottom of the ebrake, as well as my alt going which caused the battery light to come on.

[Dream240]

i had the same problem at one point in time. It turned out it was the contact switch on the e-brake itself. I unplugged and it has never bothered me agian.

It's sad that we are forced to do this kind of stuff to our cars. It's a true sign that the 240 is an aging dinosaur.

Perfect example: My A/C button won't stay depressed. I took the unit apart only to find that I need this little tiny plastic piece that keeps the button in when you turn on the A/C. My solution? I just wedge a little piece of plastic in the gap on the side of the button. Keeps my A/C on!

So ghetto.