Brake pad wear sensor problem

So, just changed the brakes on my LR3, along with both sensors, front and rear. Had it at the dealership this past week to get the bushings changed and wanted them to check on the sensors. I keep getting a "check brake pads" warning and chime. It is constantly goes off, blinking, flickering on and off and chiming about 10 times per mile. Dealership told me the rear sensor was bad, so i bought a new one for 23 dollars on the spot and changed it out today. No luck whatsoever. Still have the warning coming on and going off like crazy. Any other suggestions of things it could be? I wish there was a fuse i could pull to just disable the stupid things. Im not dumb, i know when to change my brakes.

I would guess the dealer pulled the codes to determine there was a bad sensor. It could also be an issue with the connector in the wheel well.
You should be able to verify if the sensor is bad by checking it with a multimeter. If it is not the sensor, then you need to move up to the connector. Take your old sensor and use the connector and wire to create a closed circuit and shut the sensor off.

closed circuit - no light should be illuminated

Skunkape said:

I Take your old sensor and use the connector and wire to create a closed circuit and shut the sensor off.

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Per above, all lights should be off if both circuits are closed.

This means you can use any short piece of electrical wire to jump across the two contacts of each sensor connector plug that is up in the wheel arch. The light should then be out. If not, there is a problem in the vehicle wiring and not with the sensors.

Also I assume that you are getting a yellow coloured light, not a red one? Yellow means a brake sensor problem; red means something other than a sensor problem. Fluid level or other things not sensor related.

WIll it help anyone to know that the sensor is only on when the brake pedal is at its highest point (rest). when applied about a half of an inch to an inch down the sensor goes off. Noticed this pattern tonight and confirmed it through out the evening.

I also tried to close the circuit but im not sure if anyone has checked out the actual connectors but those are some tiny pins in the male end, there for the female ends holes are really small. way to small for a small paper clip to fit.

Oh and yes it is just a yellow light and the message "check brake pads" and of course the lovely sound of a warning chime

Use old sensor as a test harness.

StevenJ_AK said:

I also tried to close the circuit but I'm not sure if anyone has checked out the actual connectors but those are some tiny pins in the male end, there for the female ends holes are really small. way to small for a small paper clip to fit.

Oh and yes it is just a yellow light and the message "check brake pads" and of course the lovely sound of a warning chime

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I think the yellow light going off has something to do with the brake switch circuits engaging. While not related to the sensor concerns, if you have not changed your brake switch, you may as well put a new one in soon as it will save trouble in the future. About twenty five dollars and not that difficult to do even the first time. See link following. http://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5082

Now back to the sensors. If you still have the old sensors, cut the disc end off, skin back the two conductors and tie together. You can then properly connect the top plug end back into the factory plugs on the Land Rover. You might first check for continuity of your test harness to make sure that you do have continuity. You could have a plug problem as the pins are small - but you are on the right track.

bbyer said:

I think the yellow light going off has something to do with the brake switch circuits engaging. While not related to the sensor concerns, if you have not changed your brake switch, you may as well put a new one in soon as it will save trouble in the future. About twenty five dollars and not that difficult to do even the first time. See link following. http://www.disco3.co.uk/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=5082

Now back to the sensors. If you still have the old sensors, cut the disc end off, skin back the two conductors and tie together. You can then properly connect the top plug end back into the factory plugs on the Land Rover. You might first check for continuity of your test harness to make sure that you do have continuity. You could have a plug problem as the pins are small - but you are on the right track.

Click to expand...

Having same problem here and I'm still using the old brake pad sensor, going to try what you said here... thanks for that idea mate.

Two sensors, one at front and one at rear and one light.

While it is unlikely both the front and rear sensors are giving trouble at the same time, if by some chance both are defective, then bypassing one of them with the "test" cable would not make the brake light go out as it would still be sensing the other defective sensor.

I will be interested in hearing what you discover; also the results from the previous posts.

bringing up an old topic here.

i had the amber brake pad sensor light up this past weekend. i am getting the same symptoms as bbyer... sensor only lights up and chimes whenever the brake pedal is not pressed. when i press the brake pedal, the amber light goes out, and goes back on again (along with that chime!) when i release the brake. is this a bad sensor, or are my pads truly due for a replacement?

i am not sure when the last brake service has been done (have to call and check my local Land Rover dealer / repair to see when the last recorded brake service was done)

probably a sensor problem rather than pad concern

Here is the link to the brake switch replacement files, but in this case, I suspect you either have worn brakes or one of the two brake wear sensors has broken, usually at where it enters the brake pad area.

http://bit.ly/11MyYA6

You should also be getting a message saying something about Brake Pads on the rectangular display, if not, then perhaps it is a brake sensor problem.

I suggest you just drive over to the dealer shop. If they are in a good mood, they can just look thru the wheel spokes and get a pretty good idea of the pad wear. The odds are the rear pads are more worn than the fronts - typical Land Rover, always different from other vehicles.

^^ thanks for the info! i do get the 'i' message on the rectangular display.

now to find the time to drive over to the dealer / local indy. when the pads are fully worn, does the amber BRAKE turn to red?

if the brake pads do need replacing, how much am i looking at (ballpark)? i am not that mechanically inclined to do my own brake pad replacement.