No brake fluid, BRAKE light is on, pedal goes to floor

[ViperGTS19801]

Good morning, everyone,

I have had my 2001 Pathy for a little while now and have experienced very, very few problems with it. However, I am having a bit of a recurring problem now that is a serious issue, for several reasons I don't want to get into.

The problem itself, however, I can talk about. Over this past winter, my BRAKE light came on. I assumed, since I experienced no other problems or symptoms, that it was some kind of short or problem with the emergency brake sensor. It didn't go away after the winter passed, but again, I experienced no other problems for months and months.

Then I got my front brake pads replaced. I found out that I had a seized up brake piston, which was also replaced, and my rotors were swapped out as well due to core rust. The very next day after all of this work, my brake pedal pressure was simply gone, and I felt a reverberation in the brakes as I pressed them, as if the ABS was trying to compensate for something. I was able to stop okay, but I needed to press the pedal ALL THE WAY down in order to do so.

I took it back to the shop and they refilled the brake lines for me and told me they had resolved the problem. My BRAKE light went away - for about a month - and I didn't seem to have any other problems.

The BRAKE light came back on after a little while, but I didn't experience any problems until last night. Same thing - fluid is either very low or gone, brakes only work with the pedal pressed just about all the way down, and I get that reverberation when first pressing the pedal. I am not able to get to a shop right away due to financial issues, so I was wondering what recommendations you folks might be able to make for me to look for, and if this is something I can likely fix myself, even if just temporarily until money starts flowing again (which it will very soon, I just need to get through the next few weeks first).

Thanks for your help, guys,

Mark

[moymurfs]

You have a leak somewhere. The first place I would check is the brake system where the shop worked. You should see the wetness if it drained your master cylinder to the point of triggering the light. Make sure those fittings are tight. If no leaking can be seen then backtrack each line until you find the spot. You will then need to re-bleed the entire system.

[Livemeyer]

Yes, sounds like a leak. If the master reservoir is low, fill it and hen check to see if the light goes off. Keep your wheels clean and if you notice any of them getting dirty (inside or outside) very quickly then that is a probable location for the leak. Keep an eye on the ground underneath where you regularly park, looking for spots that could indicate where the leak is.

If you can take it back to the shop, have them find the leak, fix the leak, bleed the brakes again, top off the fluid.