Just came back from installing X braces on the rear seat in my 86 T-Type. Everything was fine until I pulled in my driveway. Brake idiot light came on and pedal became hard as a rock. Fluid and everything looks fine underhood. Master has a newer black ball with yellow sticker (states pressurized). What happened? I have heard the system can be troublesome but I don't know much about it. HELP!
Brake system failure?
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monteperformanc
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Check the brake fuse.
monteperformanc
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Fuse panel under the dash on drivers side.
Thanks! Just found it and it was blown. The car is new to me and I see that the fuse that blew was upside down so it must have been replaced before. Put new one in, took her out, beat her up and all seems OK at the moment. My question is what would have caused the fuse to blow in the first place. Should I be checking anything?
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monteperformanc
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Try searching for info, but I think if the accumulator is bad, the pump motor will run too much and get hot and blow the fuse. Could be other issues as well. I blew a fuse once about 3 years ago, replaced it, and it's been fine ever since.
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Check out how to convert it to vacuum or manual. That PowerMaster will eventually try to kill you.
Excuse my ignorance but Is the accumulator the ball on the side of the master?
precizion818
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Don't forget hydroboost conversion. That's what I have
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monteperformanc
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Eagleguy, do yourself and your car a HUGH favor. You can get a remanned unit from Kirbans complete, and then change the fluid in the mc yearly, which is not a big deal, with lifetime warranty. Seems like mine was around $800, but that was 2008 so my memory is a little fuzzy.
For a whole lot less money you can put in vacuum brakes, which will not hold boost on the strip as well as the powermaster, but will not surprise you and kill you or the car. I like the brake "feel" of a PM that works correctly over vacuum, but I'm wary of my PM. ( I have multiple cars, but my daily has vacuum).
As another poster said, there is also the hydroboost option. Some folks think it's the better option as far as psi, but it only works if the engine is running. With vacuum, if you blow the engine, you have a few pumps to get the car stopped. With the PM, you have electrical assist to stop the car.
A friend of mine that was an engineer at Buick in the day said the reason they went with the PM was they knew the brakes were undersized and would need all the help they could get, along with seeing if the PM was a viable alternative to vacuum. That didn't last long
For a whole lot less money you can put in vacuum brakes, which will not hold boost on the strip as well as the powermaster, but will not surprise you and kill you or the car. I like the brake "feel" of a PM that works correctly over vacuum, but I'm wary of my PM. ( I have multiple cars, but my daily has vacuum).
As another poster said, there is also the hydroboost option. Some folks think it's the better option as far as psi, but it only works if the engine is running. With vacuum, if you blow the engine, you have a few pumps to get the car stopped. With the PM, you have electrical assist to stop the car.
A friend of mine that was an engineer at Buick in the day said the reason they went with the PM was they knew the brakes were undersized and would need all the help they could get, along with seeing if the PM was a viable alternative to vacuum. That didn't last long
Just checked Kirbans website, $699 for the PM plus shipping, $339 for vacuum, plus shipping. Sorry for the long (last) post, but when my PM got to freak me out was coming down from Jerome, AZ which is on a high mesa. It was a scary ride all the way down, and I'm glad nothing was in front of me! Cheers!
TexasT
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X3 on you need to mothball the powermaster. Especially if you plan on driving it regularly. Nothing wrong with vacuum. Lots of people have it. But I'm a hydroboost guy. I bought my car new. I went through what you are experiencing about 30k miles(just about like you are it appears).
I did the cedar labs swap. Do a search. The thread has part numbers and plenty of pix. I did a thread of mine on another board. Pm me if you want and ill send you a link.
I can honestly say,my car never stopped as well as does after the hydroboost swap, and I'm still using the stock calipers, disks and drums.
Your car your choice. I've had belts get thrown, tensioners let go and other situations that caused the power assist to stop but the brakes still work. The power steering looses power assist too when the engine quits . How often does the engine quit?
I did the cedar labs swap. Do a search. The thread has part numbers and plenty of pix. I did a thread of mine on another board. Pm me if you want and ill send you a link.
I can honestly say,my car never stopped as well as does after the hydroboost swap, and I'm still using the stock calipers, disks and drums.
Your car your choice. I've had belts get thrown, tensioners let go and other situations that caused the power assist to stop but the brakes still work. The power steering looses power assist too when the engine quits . How often does the engine quit?
It was your Powermaster letting you know it wants to kill you. Seriously, upgrade or replace it.
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