first I have to say i have no rear brakes and i know this and i want to know how bad it is to drive around? ok now the problem driving around last night I noticed that when i hit the brakes pretty hard my brake light would go on. Like the light when u put the ebrake on. that light. what is that? also my brakes basically go to the floor cause of the rears.

 

The brake light is not an emergency brake indicator light. It's a brake system malfunction light. It lights when there is a serious pressure differential between the front/rear brakes.
What do you mean you car has no rear brakes? If you mean they are leaking so bad as to not work (which it sounds like if they are causing the brake light to come on) then i'd say at this point you've completely emtied that side of the system and now you are stopping with only the grit and determination of your master cylinder to keep some minimal amount of pressure going to the fronts.

In other words, please remove your vehicle from service until you properly fix your brakes. You are risking not only damage to your car and yourself, but also every other person on the road with you.

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Ed Maher - Moderator @ The TPI & Carb Boards
92 Z28 Convertible - Quasar blue / Tan top
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Stock except ported plenum and dual cats
-=ICON Motorsports=-

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My light on my grand marquis lit when I got low on fluid. I filled up the resevoir and no more Light, but I have to agree with Ed, you should get those rear brakes fixed bore something bad happends.

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yea i know i have to get them fixed. but im going to school in december and im trying to save money. so i kinda don't want to do it but i guess im going to have to.
how hard are rear brakes to do yourself??

 

I think Ed's right on this one. The sensor is in the proportioning valve, so it must measure pressure, not fluid level. You've probably got a leak from either the brake line going to the back, or a wheel cylinder. Neither is very expensive to fix if you do it yourself.

 

I had a similar problem, I had a whole in my rear brake line. On the way to pick up my gf from school, I lost all my fluid in the master cylinder and had no pressure in the brake pedal. It was one of the scariest moments of my life, I had to start braking really early. If you drive around too long like that you could ruin your rear wheel cylinder or something like that, which I did. A shop charged me $400 to fix it. What a rip off.

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"Rice burners are like tampons...Every pu$$y has to have one"
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do not take brake problems lightly, only do the work yourself if you are capable and trust yourself-better yet have someone around that really knows what they're doing. The brake malfunction lamp lights when there is a pressure differential between the front and rear brakes. I don't know how much driving you've done like this or if your rear brakes are totally gone, but this pressure differential could be from losing fluid in the rear hydraulic system(hard lines/hoses/fittings/wheel cylinders), or an expanding hose that is allowing pressure to decrease because the hose is nearing the point of bursting. To look for leaks, check your master cylinder to see if the front fluid reservoir is down(this is the one for the rear), and see if the fluid is starting to get pulled from the ohter part. If this is noticeably low, you probably have a leak. Look around underneath the car, maybe even have someone step on the pedal to get some fluid out(wear goggles/glasses-brake fluid is bad). Pay attention to hold downs and places where the line rubs anywhere. Feel the hose while someone steps on the pedal for bulging, and pull off the drums to look at the wheel cylinders. If you've lost all rear braking, the valve in the lamp switch could have become stuck, blocking the passage for the rear brakes. if you do drive your car anywhere, be sure to keep some brake fluid with you, but don't let it get anywhere near any paint.