You are here:
- Home
- Shopping
- Vintage Cars
- Cadillac Repair
- abs and brakes
Cadillac Repair/abs and brakes
Advertisement
Question
The brake peddle is hard as can be, can not press it down. took out fuse 8 for breaks did not help what other fuse do i need to check to get breaks peddle to soften so it can be pressed to stop car?
Hello,
No, you have a brake booster issue. The first ting you need to do is give me the year, make and model. If an old Cadillac in the 80s, diesel or gas?
Depending on the car, depends on what to look for. There are two types of brake assist boosters. One is hydraulic known as hydroboost to GM. If the power steering fluid level is low, there will be no assist, or you could have a hydraulic leak-not brake fluid, but power steering (2 separate systems) with the third separate system being anti-lock, which there is no reason to confuse you.
The other brake assist is vacuum. Instead of hydraulic fluid operating it, a large vacuum line is run to it.
Most Cadillacs since 1990 use hydroboost. The way you can tell is under the driver's side of the hood, is that if there are more than 2 steel lines going near the brake master cylinder, you have hydroboost, which requires a professional tech at a service center to work on, (I did not say dealer).
I f you have a big round disc behind the master cylinder at the fire wall with a vacuum line coming out of it, the first ting you check for is a broken vacuum line, however again, this is not something you can service on your own if not a broken vacuum line.
http://www.autotheftexpert.com
Related Articles
Rob Painter
Expertise
Alarm system questions cannot be answered on this forum. These systems are not what I can answer. Without being physically at the vehicle and not knowing what kind of electrical service has been done on the vehicle, there is no possible way to give an accurate answer over the internet. My expertise is in Ignition/key based anti-theft systems. These issues include GM VATS (resistor chip in key blade) PASSLOCK (MRD)-ignition lock rotation based, no special ignition key and the PKIII Transponder (computer chip in key) systems. These systems are not alarm based and are integral with the starting of the engine. This is why I cannot diagnose alarm problems without physically looking at the vehicle: Alarm systems are a completely different annimal than ignition key/lock based anti-theft system. Many alarm questions come from vehicles 10 years old, and since older, many hands that had been involved over the years.I am an expert in all GM factory (ignition/key based)systems. Alarm system questions pose to many situations beyond my knowledge as to what has been done to the vehicle over the years. Some guy may have actually wired the stereo into the alarm system. Who knows? Over my past 30 years in vehicle wiring repair, I have seen unbelievable wiring disaters done by guys that consider themselves "mechanics." I have seen stereos and alarms intalled using surgical tape. I have seen modules burn up, un-fused circuits, wiring jambed between the doors and even lamp cord used for a starter kill. To answer alarm questions over the internet without examining the vehicle is like asking; What does it take to remove a dent?
Experience
Education/Credentials-ASE certified. 11 years with a GM dealer and 17 years with a repair facility dealing with only the repair of theft recovered vehicles.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.