Hand brake light keeps flashing me

[Sin]

I went for a drive to box hill and back and on my return the handbrake light kept glowing at me at random times....what does this mean? I did check to see that hand brake was at lowest point on my drive home.
( I really am new to mechanical problems....seems I will learn through the power of my vw).

[Sin]

Ok So I've checked the wiki page and looked on youtube, and read back a few articles, is there a specific brake fluid to use or am I being a complete noob?

[marlinowner]

The light can come if the brake fluid level is low in the brake master cylinder or if the handbrake is on, or if there is a bad electrical contact which mimics this. The first think to check is the brake fluid level, the master cylinder is behind the dashboard instruments, accessed by removing the instrument cover by pressing in the two indents at the back of the cover and lifting it off. If the brake fluid level is OK try wiggling the connector on the lid (with ignition on) and see if the light comes on. If the level is low top it up and keep an eye on it as you have a fluid leak. If this is all OK, there is a switch at the base of the handbrake lever, the same type of switch as is used to turn the interior lights on when opening the door. Flick the switch in and out a few times, wiggle the connector on this, bad contacts here are fairly common.
The type of brake fluid used won't affect the warning light operation.

[Sin]

Thank you Marlin owner, am about to investigate and hopefully solve.

[Dazco]

Something else as told to me , remove the instrument pod and while checking the fluid level etc , pull the connector block off the back of the handbrake light and re connect. Simple as that. Worked on mine. ( thanks to Andy at campershack)

[marlinowner]

A bad connection at the light might make it fail to come on, but not come on randomly. The odd thing was that my light came on constantly while I was swapping instrument pods around, so I thought I must have disturbed the brake fluid level connection. But it was the switch on the handbrake lever. Maybe I kicked it while delving into the dashboard...

[Dazco]

My light was ON constantly and disconnecting the block on the back and re connecting sorted it , that was after checking the switch and fluid level.
http://forum.club8090.co.uk/viewtopic.p ... 3#p7995613" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Glad it's sorted though. Only trying to help .

[marlinowner]

That's weird because according to the circuit diagram,the only thing than can put the lamp on is one of the two switches being closed, or a short to ground somewhere between the lamp and the switches. A bad connection at the lamp can't possibly put it on. I can only think that removing the connector disturbed the wiring somewhere, or the fluid level switch was somehow latched on and was reset.

[CJH]

Whatever the cause, I can vouch for Dazco's (Andy's) fix - my warning light was on constantly after I'd overhauled my rear brakes, including flushing through the brake fluid and filling to the correct level. It would get a little brighter when the handbrake was actually applied though. I pulled the connector off the back of the warning light, rubbed the terminals with my finger, and reconnected it, and now it works properly. Saved me a lot of heartache, because both Haynes and the Owner's Manual suggest that the constant light implies a fault in one of the hydraulic circuits.