P38 2.5td strange brake pedal

Right just after some advice basically I don't think the brakes are behaving correct. Firstly upon start up all lights go out on dash bar abs which then goes out once you start moving forward, is this normal? Secondly the feel of the brake pedal is just not right after driving for some time and you go for the brakes the pedal is hard with no braking power if you release and press again then you hear the usual hiss and the brakes work obviously not good if needed in an emergency around town there fine tho.

Any help would be great. Cheers

magh said:

Right just after some advice basically I don't think the brakes are behaving correct. Firstly upon start up all lights go out on dash bar abs which then goes out once you start moving forward, is this normal? Secondly the feel of the brake pedal is just not right after driving for some time and you go for the brakes the pedal is hard with no braking power if you release and press again then you hear the usual hiss and the brakes work obviously not good if needed in an emergency around town there fine tho.

Any help would be great. Cheers

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Yes - The ABS system needs to know it can read all 4 wheels rotating befoire it finishes its self check - hence the reason it doesn't go out till you are doing more than 5mph...

Not sure why this happen - my guess would be a loss of hydraulic boost pressure....check the boost pump and accumulator.

As Saint said. The brake feel will probably come down to the accumulator. They have a limited life so nothing lost changing it.

That's what I thought regarding abs but wanted to check, where do I find the accumulater?

magh said:

That's what I thought regarding abs but wanted to check, where do I find the accumulater?

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It's a black spherical thing on the brake pump between the battery and the bulkhead. De pressurise the brakes by pressing the brake pedal 30 times with the ignition off before you try to remove it. You should bleed the brakes after but you may get away with not doing so.

Just abit of an update with this, once I turn the ignition on the pump runs for around 20 seconds I can only get 2 brake pumps before the pump kicks back in for about 7-8 seconds and 2 more pumps and so on so is this sounding like the accumulator as its an expensive months as it popped an airbag yesterday :-(

magh said:

Just abit of an update with this, once I turn the ignition on the pump runs for around 20 seconds I can only get 2 brake pumps before the pump kicks back in for about 7-8 seconds and 2 more pumps and so on so is this sounding like the accumulator as its an expensive months as it popped an airbag yesterday :-(

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Yes that sounds like the accumulator but not that bad only about 5 applications before the pump cuts in when all is good.
Don't just replace one airbag, they should be done in pairs on the same axle. all 4 will need doing. There is a guide to changing them in the "How To" section or I can send it to you by email. also a good idea to have the EAS software and cable to hand in case of problems.