# Flashing Brake Light, Beeping - Full Brake Fluid



## Baumer2000S4 (Apr 3, 2006)

Over the last year or so, my brake light will occasionally flash during a drive cycle and beep incessantly. I know the main cause of this is brake fluid level, but it has always been completely full when I check it. 

The last two days, it's come one and beeped the every drive cycle and for much longer than before, yet the brake fluid is still full. What else can cause this light to come on and beep? I have read stuff on the forums about the ABS module going out, but doesn't that cause the ABS light to come on as well?


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## VWBugman00 (Mar 17, 2009)

Baumer2000S4 said:


> Over the last year or so, my brake light will occasionally flash during a drive cycle and beep incessantly. I know the main cause of this is brake fluid level, but it has always been completely full when I check it.
> 
> The last two days, it's come one and beeped the every drive cycle and for much longer than before, yet the brake fluid is still full. What else can cause this light to come on and beep? I have read stuff on the forums about the ABS module going out, but doesn't that cause the ABS light to come on as well?


 Check your fuses. Make sure they're good. If that isn't it, you should get it scanned with a VAGCom, to see which codes are popped. If you don't have one, go to the Regional Forum, and someone will likely scan it for you for beer  :beer::beer:


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## OddJobb (Nov 6, 2004)

What make/model/year car is this? If it randomly goes off, I'd check all the wiring connections first.


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## Baumer2000S4 (Apr 3, 2006)

It is a 2000 S4. I checked the fuses and everything seems fine. Even got to the point of removing the filter from the inlet of the reservoir and fingered the float to make sure that it wasn't stuck. The constant beeping tailed off by the end of the weekend though. 

Car is in the shop this morning to get a wheel bearing replaced (was humming), so hopefully VAG-COM will have the answer. Will update this if they find the problem so if anyone else runs into this, they know...


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## ziobronz (Mar 1, 2010)

Not certain but I think it has something to do with the E-brake wire. I had the same problem before with both of my S4's.


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## Baumer2000S4 (Apr 3, 2006)

*Shop Is Stumped Too...*

The shop was unable to find anything wrong with the car a few weeks ago, though it wasn't beeping/flashing for them when it was in, go figure. Car had stopped beeping/flashing until this weekend, took it in today while it was still doing it. There were no codes in the car related to this. There is fluid in the reservoir, and they even tried jumping the connector for the level sensor to rule out a bad sensor.

So this is either wiring between the connector and the cluster, or a cluster. The only other thing that I think this could be is that my brake wear indicator has been on for a very long time (the wire got caught on something and broke over a year ago, there is plenty of pad still) and does anyone know if there is some sort of backstop timer that will cause the car to flash/beep, thinking that I've ignored the wear indicator for too long?!?!?


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## albinorineo (Feb 25, 2012)

Have you checked the wheel speed sensor in the wheel bearing? You mentioned you had work done on the bearing recently. That'll cause the ABS light to flash if its malfunctioning/destroyed.


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## lbandt (Sep 13, 2012)

albinorineo said:


> Have you checked the wheel speed sensor in the wheel bearing? You mentioned you had work done on the bearing recently. That'll cause the ABS light to flash if its malfunctioning/destroyed.


im having this same problem. my wires were damaged on my passenger side for my hweel speed sensor so my abs and traction control lights are on. just the other day tho my 'brake' light would blink at start up and beep. it will then stay flashing throught the time the car is on. if i remove the switch in the reservoir n flip it upside down theoretically i would think the light would go off? also unplugging does not affect it. i wouldnt think my wheel speed sensor would affect this either since its been bad for awhile. 
please post what u find out is wrong :thumbup:


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## albinorineo (Feb 25, 2012)

lbandt, 

Check your front pad thickness. 

In addition, fix your wheel speed sensor as your ABS will not function without it; should the occasion arise for ABS to engage. Flipping or unplugging the sensor will not get rid of the light, as if just responds with a simple flag state to show the ECU if the reservoir has fluid in it, no matter the orientation. 

Side note:
Fixing a problem with the braking system by unhooking random sensors until the dash lights go away is a terrible idea and will likely end up with you getting yourself hurt or even worse, someone else. VW put the lights in the dash for a reason.


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## lbandt (Sep 13, 2012)

albinorineo said:


> lbandt,
> 
> Check your front pad thickness.
> 
> ...


 ill check the pads. and all i was trying to do is rule out a bad reservoir float. i didnt intend on leaving anything unplugged, bcuz like u said thats stupid. previous owner had same problem as me and he cleaned the float in the reservoir cap and the problem stopped


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## Baumer2000S4 (Apr 3, 2006)

I haven't checked any of the ABS wiring, but I'm fairly certain that's not the issue since the ABS light is not coming on, just the red parking brake light. I'm going to check the pads (and the wiring for the wear sensors) next, need to find time to get the car up and get under it.

But in the meantime, the buzzer coming on every minute or less is getting very annoying. Does anyone know if it's easy to unplug the buzzer in the cluster?


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## albinorineo (Feb 25, 2012)

You made it sound like the ABS light in your previous posts. IIRC the handbrake just pulls a cable to engage your rear brakes, unless you have the motorized version. There should be a sensor under the handbrake lever where it pivots, pull the plastic and check the angle sensor. When I get home tonight I'll see if I can post a diagram.


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## lyngo (Sep 28, 2010)

*CHECK!*

Hey guys please check your the three fuses on top of your battery! The 10 amp ones. Mine was doing the same thing and all the fuses were good but were not making contact! move them around and see if it goes away! Let me know if it fixes your problem. Thanks!


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## bbagnall (Dec 5, 2015)

*Cause of brake light FOUND*

The brake light on my dash looked like (!) and it was constantly beeping like I had the handbrake engaged.

Took apart the center console as shown here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Od5pg1KxLw 

And it turned out the switch inside somehow came off the latch and was no longer contacting the hand brake, as shown here:
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?4799934-E-brake-light-is-flashing-!-!

Popped it back in and now the blessed beeping has stopped.


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## EJD_17 (Mar 6, 2020)

Hey guys, this is my first post on here! I’ve got an 09 Jetta and I love it, the problem is that there is a consistent beeping sound as soon as the car is on. It’s quite embarrassing to have to turn up the radio bc the beep bothers me or my passengers. I have a flashing ABS, Traction Control, and Brake light. I feel like I’ve done everything... at first I went to VW and they said it would be $1800 for a new module which is ridiculous for an 11 year old car and recently I found a mechanic to do it for $500. It did not fix the beep and I have no clue what it could be and I went back to VW to see if they’d check the sensors in each brake but they told me there’s no point due to the “newer module” in the car being a used part so I’m basically trapped in a car that beeps the whole time it’s on... if anyone has any tips or knows the repair I need to get this fixed please help!!


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## Timbert (Jul 22, 2017)

I just had a 2007 A4 in with the same issue...opened the brake fluid reservoir which was brand new and jiggled the float a little and that solved it.


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## justus.gra1998 (Mar 5, 2020)

I'm fairly certain that's not the issue since the ABS light is not coming on, just the red parking brake light. I'm going to check the pads (and the wiring for the wear sensors) next, need to find time to get the car up and get under it.


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## Timbert (Jul 22, 2017)

EJD_17 said:


> Hey guys, this is my first post on here! I’ve got an 09 Jetta and I love it, the problem is that there is a consistent beeping sound as soon as the car is on. It’s quite embarrassing to have to turn up the radio bc the beep bothers me or my passengers. I have a flashing ABS, Traction Control, and Brake light. I feel like I’ve done everything... at first I went to VW and they said it would be $1800 for a new module which is ridiculous for an 11 year old car and recently I found a mechanic to do it for $500. It did not fix the beep and I have no clue what it could be and I went back to VW to see if they’d check the sensors in each brake but they told me there’s no point due to the “newer module” in the car being a used part so I’m basically trapped in a car that beeps the whole time it’s on... if anyone has any tips or knows the repair I need to get this fixed please help!!


You may have a faulty ABS module that should be fixed by VW under warranty, despite the age of the vehicle. Probably having the other mechanic install a used module means VW is not going to repair it. Take it back to the mechanic you paid $500 to.


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