My vrs asr abs and brake warning lights come on after ten minutes driving ive searched and it points towards the wires on alternator, however been out to the car tonight and theres a large pool of brake fluid under the passenger side front wheel looks like it has ran along from wheel to engine and dropped down, i suspect that this could be the cause of the brake light on? And the wiring for the other two?

It did get advisory in march for front brake pipe slightyly corroded

Cheers

Edited 6 July, 201312 yr by f4bia

My vrs asr abs and brake warning lights come on after ten minutes driving ive searched and it points towards the wires on alternator, however been out to the car tonight and theres a large pool of brake fluid under the passenger side front wheel looks like it has ran along from wheel to engine and dropped down, i suspect that this could be the cause of the brake light on? And the wiring for the other two?

It did get advisory in march for front brake pipe slightyly corroded

Cheers

,,,,,,,,,,and you did what about it?

dear me 

Havent done anything yet because only bought the car yesterday and planning on getting in the garage tuesday morning, only discovered the leak today after its been sat, reading the mot it said what advisories where,

dear me 

What? I think you presume ive had the car for a while? My fault for not stating it in original post :(

Even at an advisory it should be fit for road use for at least 12 month, in the testers opinion. Otherwise it would fail its test on brake pipes.

Even at an advisory it should be fit for road use for at least 12 month, in the testers opinion. Otherwise it would fail its test on brake pipes.

 

suppose it depends if the mot'er is wanting to sell the car or not ..... when i got mine im sure the brakes shouldnt have passed an mot

What? I think you presume ive had the car for a while? My fault for not stating it in original post :(

Yes,sorry bud.  I had an advisory on my discs and pads after a service.They said they would last till next M.O.T. (7 months).  Got too around 3 months and they were absolutely ****e so now i get advisorys done straight away.

That is a major advisory though so the last owner should of got it fixed before selling imo 

Yes i know im actually quite annoyed as i drove it back from blackpool not knowin and found the leak after it been stood :-(

What? I think you presume ive had the car for a while? My fault for not stating it in original post :(

fair enough, the way your first post was worded led me to believe you owned it at the time of the MOT.

Lets try and solve your problems anyway!

Get some brake fluid in as im 99% sure that's why the handbrake warning light will be in your dash, due to low brake fluid.

Check where it's leaking from will also make a good start.

Next step for me would be to scan it and check what fault codes come up, will just be a faulty abs sensor or somthing easy.

checked the brake fluid and it is still at maximum level when I removed the top of bottle, looking under the car the leak is coming from the passenger side front and seeme to have trickled its way along towards the engine then dripping down, I cant see where its coming from so gunna have to go into garage, it seems to be worse after the car has been driven for a while?

I'm not trying to be condescending, but is it brake fluid?  Could just be condensed water from the evaporator if the A/C has been on, or power steering fluid (horror of horrors) or engine coolant (still a bit nasty).

 

For a "fair" amount of fluid to have dropped out of the system, it is hard to see that the reservoir would still be full or at max - or even min.

 

The point made about MOT advisories is very fair, in as much I'd expect the noted "issue" to either get another advisory in 12 months time or to get missed. I'm sure that some honest and fair MOT guys do feel the need to issue advisories to keep the DOT's statistics "okay" as if no cars got advisories, or even worse if no cars failed then that MOT centre, rightly or wrongly would get investigated, remember these MOT  guys have to deal with "dumb head" civil servants who only see things in black and white. Though most smart owners would get things sorted sooner than later, and in this case, maybe that car had been sorted.

Edited 7 July, 201312 yr by rum4mo

a few pics of the leak....

Even at an advisory it should be fit for road use for at least 12 month, in the testers opinion. Otherwise it would fail its test on brake pipes.

 

That's not true, the testable items only have to meet the test requirement at the time of test.  A tyre at 1.6mm at the the time of test is an advisory and we all know that it won't be legal in 12 months of normal use.  Also a valid MOT doesn't mean that a vehicle is fit for the road.

 

That's the side of the car where the ABS unit is located, you need to check the brake pipes and hoses for leaks.

Ive checked and its to wet to tell but i took it for a run of around 20 miles and the asr light came on after 10 minutes but the abs and brake light didnt,it drove fine, its a bit strange... im taking it into garage tuesday morning it may be wise to get the pipes changed as a precaution....

The fliud on the drive is like a greasy type to touch and looks a pale yellow colour its too thick to be coolant and is coming from pass side, seems to travel along the bottom of car for a while before dropping

Cheers

Edited 7 July, 201312 yr by f4bia

If you're not capable of cleaning it and locating the leak (that's not taking the ****, I'm not either) then take it to the garage. Brakes aren't something worth risking.

from pics

 

power steering spring to mind, poss air con leaking gas / oil (does aircon work?)

 

is that passenger side? if so possibly gearbox oil

 

other thing the would concern me is the oil all over what looks like the console bushes affecting the rubber on them

 

if fluid is not dropping in reservoir I think you can likely discount that as source as the quantity you are seeing it would be empty by now and you would have no brakes

 

if you can get it up on ramps, look for the highest point you can see the oil it will give you an idea of the fluid and where it is coming from

 

until you know the source and type of fluid I would not drive it due to the volume you are losing

 

if you get some of the "oil" on your fingers how does it feel? what does it smell like? feel and smell can help pinpoint the type of fluid you are dealing with

Its slippy and sweetish smell and yelloe colour

you sure it s oil, not coolant?

Power steering 'should' be green so id discount that

To me it looks either brake fluid or gearbox fluid

Also looking at that the steering track rod end gator has a non oem jubilee clip on the end!

I think you may have a leaking steering rack, possibly the reason the car was sold on?

Really guessing at things tbh

But whatever it is it could be lethal so if you have not much idea i suggest you get it looked at asap! No more 20 minute death drives!!

Its slippy and sweetish smell and yelloe colour

Sounds like coolant to me. At least Renault uses yellow coolant.

well it turns out its the steering rack and whilst he was there the suspension arms and a few bushes need replacing....total £545.16 booked in for friday morning at least brakes are ok and theres no falt codes on it.....

 

cheers