Brake controller

[Tom Burger]

Hi,
I installed a new brake controller on a Subaru 2011 Outback and now there is a flashing "brake" on the dash board. The brake controller appears to work fine. How do I get rid the of the flash "Brake" warning sign.
All the Best,
Tom

[phatvw]

Originally Posted by Tom Burger

Hi,
I installed a new brake controller on a Subaru 2011 Outback and now there is a flashing "brake" on the dash board. The brake controller appears to work fine. How do I get rid the of the flash "Brake" warning sign.
All the Best,
Tom

Can you provide more details on what service was actually performed? A 2011 vehicle should still be under warranty for any sort of electronic control systems such as ABS.

How have you verified that the brake "controller" works fine. Are you able to engage ABS when doing an abrupt stop over 30mph on slippery surface?



Brake warning sign can pop for a number of reasons:
- worn brake pads
- low brake fluid (either because of leak or brake pads are worn therefore allowing the fluid level to drop)
- parking brake switch broken
- fault in ABS sensor, wiring or controller

If you use a OBD scanner tool you can diagnose further.

[plain OM]

On the 2011, a "flashing" BRAKE warning light signals a problem with the electronic parking brake system. An OBD scanner tool will not help in this case.

I presume the "brake controller" Tom Burger is referring to is the device that's often added to control electric brakes on a towed trailer. The controller is usually wired into the car's stop light switch wiring. When the brake pedal is pressed and the stop lights come on, the controller is activated. It then applies power (from the car battery) to the trailer's brake system in proportion to the rate at which the car is slowing.

If the flashing appeared immediately after the brake controller was installed, I would suggest going over that work carefully. Perhaps it was mis-wired, or some other wiring or connector was disturbed while the work was being done.

It could also be a coincidence -- the electronic parking brake might have developed a problem at the same time. Less likely, but this can't be fully discounted. Nevertheless, I would think the controller installation is probably the root cause.

We would need more details on the controller (make, model) and what connections were made, to be able to better identify causes.