EPB stuck on

[fatcat1955]

Started the car yesterday morning and the EPB was not releasing. Tried the EPB reset and charged the battery overnight. Still not releasing. Does anyone know how to manually release the EPB so I can get the car to a garage?

[Old Peter]

Hi Garry,

 

My EPB has done it a few times.  The cure I used was to disconnect the battery for about 10 minutes and then reconnect it.

 

You will have to make sure that you know the radio code, as you will have to reset everything.

 

You might not have to bother with a garage at all.

 

Just another question that is not necessarily related --- Is the battery in good condition as they start to fail when the are about 5 years old.  My car's battery was replaced when about 5 years old.

 

Let me know how you get on.

 

Regards,

 

Peter. 

[Guest]

Mine occasionally does it. Seems to do it if I rush the car at start up. i.e. If I just turn the key to fully start instead of turning to ignition and waiting for all the check lights to go out first then turning the key fully. I get  "Handbrake Fault" on the display and it wont release. To fix it I turn off and remove the key and wait for the amber fault light to go out then restart.  Have to admit I've always been able to clear the fault though.

[fatcat1955]

Sorry boy's but none of the above has worked. I am going to call the RAC on Monday to see if they can cure it.

[Old Peter]

Hi Garry,

 

Good luck with the RAc.

 

Having tried all the electrical fixes, it can only besetting mechanical.  Having only seen a diagram of the Park Brake, and at a guess, it could be the cable winding mechanism.

 

The man with the van could be knowledgeable enough to get under a try to fix it.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[fatcat1955]

Quick update, RAC came and did all the things I had learned on here. I.E  disconnect battery and wait a couple of mins,  unplug the module etc. Still no luck. I asked him to check the battery and under load it was showing 12.2 volts which he said was good. I thought I read somewhere that anything under 12.3 volts can start to cause problems. Anyway off he went and I was back to square one. Just been out to the car and started her up , Don't know what made me do it but I opened the boot and disconnected the module whilst the engine was running. Left it for a couple of minutes and plugged it back in and hey presto EPB is working fine. A warm feeling of deep joy overcame me, the cat is back.

[Guest]

Quick update, RAC came and did all the things I had learned on here. I.E  disconnect battery and wait a couple of mins,  unplug the module etc. Still no luck. I asked him to check the battery and under load it was showing 12.2 volts which he said was good. I thought I read somewhere that anything under 12.3 volts can start to cause problems. Anyway off he went and I was back to square one. Just been out to the car and started her up , Don't know what made me do it but I opened the boot and disconnected the module whilst the engine was running. Left it for a couple of minutes and plugged it back in and hey presto EPB is working fine. A warm feeling of deep joy overcame me, the cat is back.

Glad you've got it sorted. From my experiences the S type is full of little foibles but despite this I love my car!

[stanboy]

[Didcotman]

On 15/08/2015 at 5:53 PM, Harv said:

Mine occasionally does it. Seems to do it if I rush the car at start up. i.e. If I just turn the key to fully start instead of turning to ignition and waiting for all the check lights to go out first then turning the key fully. I get  "Handbrake Fault" on the display and it wont release. To fix it I turn off and remove the key and wait for the amber fault light to go out then restart.  Have to admit I've always been able to clear the fault though.

Brilliant, if I could give you a 1000 likes I would, that's exactly what mine did.

 

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the club, Mark.

The post from Harv was over two years ago and there has been much discussion on the  EPB "Handbrake Fault", and the method to reset has been put on the Forum.  I know it off by heart now.

Another thing about the "Handbrake Fault" is twofold --  cold weather and a battery that could do with a charge.  It has happened to me twice in the last year and both times the battery was low and the weather cold.

Regards,

Peter.

 

[Didcotman]

Thanks Peter, it was the answer that came up when I Googled the problem sitting in the car! And on reading it, I realised that's exactly what I did, jumped in, switched on straight into start without pausing. A couple of months ago I had the problem where it wouldn't come on and set the alarm going. I found out then that it was a low battery, it was the morning temps got down to -5C, so I took it on a long drive to charge the battery - with the alarm going all the time - disconnected the battery, etc. Maybe the battery is on the way out...

[Old Peter]

Probably it is, Mark,  The battery in my car was 4 years and 11 months old the Christmas before last, and the Parkbrake Fault came on 5 times in two days.  I fully charged the battery but found it wasn't holding the charge.

The man who has the Auto Accessories shop round the corner tested it and told me it was on the way out.  A new battery was fitted and all was well.

There is also a good procedure when starting a modern car. Switch on the ignition and then wait till all the dashboard lights go off before starting the engine.  Similarly when stopping -- wait 10 seconds on tickerover  before switching off to let the turbos [for diesels] stop.

Regards,

Peter.