Carrera Brake sensors
 

I've searched the archives but I guess I'm the only one who had this problem. What's the trick to getting the brake sensors (new) back into the slots on the new brake pads. I've cracked two already and thats plenty for me. Yes, I realize they're there for the crowd who don't do their own labor (love) to their own cars but I guess I just want to make it the way it was. Not that the light came on when the sensors were well past gone! In the end I guess I'll get some heat shrink, snip and wire them together. That's $30-35 I can spend on something useful....

TIA

TJ Hemrick
86 Carrera
3.2 bone stock :(

Ummm......TJ.....don't be wiring them together, unless you want the brake warning light to be a feature on your dash.

The sensors are a straight push fit into the pad backing plate. They are fairly simple, and relaible if you are using the stock pads. Many better pads don't have allowance for them in their backing plate. Ther are annoying little buggers anyway.

To run without them [most of us do] just loop the sensor lead and tie-wrap it to the the hydraulic line bracket. No sensor - just the lead.

I know this doesn't answer your question, but ditch the pad sensors. Jump the wires under the hood so the idiot light doesn't come on, and do a routine check of your pads every so often when doing other maintenance. You'll find many of the pads you might want to run on the track for say a drivers ed event or such don't even have a provision for the pad sensors anyway. I removed all the brackets/clips/sensors etc. One less thing to collect road schmootz and skin your knuckles on.

-BG

I thought that's what all the previous posts meant by "looping" them. Cut the sensor head off, wire the ends together, seal it, and zip tie. I thought if I cut the end off and leave it the light will come on What did I miss? Thanks for the smokin' fast reply

TJ

You are correct. The brake pad sensor is basically a loop of wire inside the sensor and when it wears through it makes an open circuit. I regularly strip them back and loop then together.
-Chris

I thought they carried the ground side of the idiot lite circuit and when worn through it completed the circuit against the steel rotor resulting in the idiot light eluminating. But I never actually checked. Its just my assumed theary.

Kurt Williams

I made the mistake of tossing my worn pad sensors.

So I had to put a length of wire and some terminals together and close the circuit. Light went out on the dash!

Someone was spreading that misinformation a few years ago on Rennlist. That's probably where you heard it.
-Chris