Park Brake Frustration

[Graham]

When driving my S-Type in wet conditions and parking when i come to carry on my journey i get the dreaded Parking Brake Fault appear in the message display.
To get me going again i have to disconnect the battery wait 20 mins,reconnect the battery go through the reset and i am on my way again.
I have had a few S-types but this is the first i have had with the EPB.Before i have kept away from the later cars because of the EPB but decided to bite the bullet and go for the 2007 Diesel i saw which was in great condition.
Any thoughts please,help would be gratefully received.
Graham

[J44EAG]

A good clean and rebuild to the park brake system is no bad thing...preventative maintenance. I suspect like most vehicles, your car has never had its system serviced in over thirteen years. Eventually the time comes when a good sort out is needed.

S-type with its EPB system is little different from any other Jaguar model of the period. With 80k recorded when I bought my X350 five years ago, one of the first things I did upon acquisition was to strip and rebuild the EPB system. Pads were seized solid as were the various pins. No wonder it couldn`t work properly.

Mike K

[Graham]

Thanks for the response Mike.
Although the car has a full Jaguar Service history i take it this is not part of its maintenance done by the dealer.
No surprise there then .

[steve_m]

Mine appears to work fine although my highly trained ear thinks that there is an awful lot of tension in there somewhere.
Sorry for the hijack but does anyone know where to get the cable securing clips from?
I can't find any info anywhere.

[jeff1954]

Although it's electronic there are still cables running from the actuating motor to the rear wheels. These cables need maintenance as Mike says.
I've just sold my 2004 model which I've had for eleven years with no issues from the said brake. I used to use it sparingly by not letting it engage if I was parking on a level surface, this is achieved by pressing down the switch whilst removing the key.

Jeff

[Graham]

Thanks for the info Jeff.
Graham

[steve_m]

Famous last words.
Started it up yesterday after it sitting idle in the cold for the last 16 days and the fail warning light came up although it was disengaged.
Drove it around to get it up to temperature, switched it off, switched it on again and the warning had disappeared.
Is there any one likely culprit for failing (switch, sensor, connector etc) or just the whole thing?

[J44EAG]

The system is prone to faulting when battery condition is low or the battery is towards end of life. Cold weather further lowers terminal voltage which further exacibates issues. Cold starts also pull the volume out of the battery and the EPB can again start to fault.

If the fault is proven to be a low battery, one should consider its age and performance under a "drop test" load. If its a middleing battery, chuck it out and replace with a new silver technology Varta or Bosch. Do NOT fit the cheapo economy batteries found at so many high street parts stores. The lack stability required to operate these complex cars.

Mike

[steve_m]

Thanks Mike.
It started first turn of the key after over a fortnight in the cold so it seems reasonably lively.

[jeff1954]

That doesn't matter if the battery is not up to spec although it 's started the engine the voltage will be down and it will throw out fault messages. Another common one is GEARBOX FAULT If your battery is over 5 years old it will need changing.

[steve_m]

The Freelander must have been reading this as that has also decided to fail.
3 new batteries on the boat too, I should have taken out shares.