Hot hand brake ???

[kwik.kwak]

does anybody else suffer from a red hot hand brake lever ???  after about 10 - 15 miles it is almost impossible to touch my hand brake, and last night on my way back from birmingham, i just happened to press the  hand brake button, and when i did i noticed all my lights dimmed ??



   thanx in advance for  any  help :)

[paul_humphreys]

Sounds like the break is sticking on a bit.

Paul

[Sharpshooter]

Yes as said before. Sound like the brake is sticking. If the lights dimmed when you applied it slightly, i would check your battery and Alternotor too.

Applying the handbrake on a Landy whilst in motion is NOT a good idea..

It probably slowed the engine, which is what caused the lights to dim.

The handbrake is fairly easy to adjust. Just chock the wheels, and get underneathe with the handbrake off. Can you move the drum??
If not slacken the brakes slightly.

[denviks]

myself i would think a dodgy wire somewhere that is touching the handbrake lever. seems strange that the lights dimmed.

[DISCO-CHRIS]

i think i,d be checking wiring first, poss a broken earth cable somewhere?
check them all very closely if i were you,sounds like it could be earthing through anything that goes to ground!!

[paul_humphreys]

The wireing would not make the hand break hot, unless it was on fire!!

Paul

[Xtremeteam]

there is a bad earth somewhere & its using the handbrake cable as an earth,eventually it WILL weld its self together & you will be unable to release the handbrake

[DISCO-CHRIS]

they said that about old mini,s too when the choke cable used to glow after the engine earth strap had fraid/broken.
just something to check really!
with body being rubber mounted to chassis as such you never really know what route electricity will take.just worth a look to be on the safe side. :roll:

[Damonski]

Have a search on other forum posts.  The handbrake is used to complete the earth when the earth strap to the engine is broken or damaged.

You'll need to replace the earth straps and you'll have a cool handbrake again.  It has nothing to do with the brakes themselves, just worn out earth straps.

[BrumLee]

If you don't get it sorted soon you'll be looking at changing the handbrake cable as it melts the nylon sheath and siezes    

[waveydavey]

It would be a good idea to park on hills and bump start it until you ghave a new engine earth strap on. The starting current is teh bit that will case the damage.

[Range Rover Blues]

It's the charging current, lights heater etc that is causing the heating.  Try sticking a jump lead from the engine to the chassis or battery to try it out, secure the lead with tie-wraps though eh.

[Wanderer]

It would be a good idea to park on hills and bump start it until you ghave a new engine earth strap on. The starting current is teh bit that will case the damage.

Yup!!! Just about sums it up :lol:

[thermidorthelobster]

The wireing would not make the hand break hot, unless it was on fire!!

High current running through some resistance equals heat?

[Donald the Disco]

This happened to me..........

Hand brake got hot...........
difficult to start
dim lights

It finally gave up the ghost on a petrol station forecourt...........had the RAC out to see what it was.........

Result.......new handbrake cable as "Brum Lee says"

And a new engine to chassis earth strap..........

[Tyke]

Re-do the earths as already suggested. It's not unknown for brake cables to take over the earth path. Electricity always goes for the route of lowest resistance. Hence the heating effect in the cables and lever.

Eventually the cable will fail and it's a miserable job to replace unless you get the vehicle on a four post lifting ramp. Not so much difficult, just up and down loads of times from under the motor and into the cab while it all gets set-up. When mine failed it also broke the 'stop' off the handbrake lever and then took out all the window switch mounting plate on the centre console as the lever came flying backwards - still not found a repalcement :(