Casimir Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 An amber warning light has appeared on the instrument panel of my Fiat Ducato based motorhome. According to the manual this particular light "turns on if the front brake pads are worn; in this case have them changed as soon as possible". Note that the manual specifically refers to the front brake pads. There is no mention of wear to the rear brake pads. Since I have done less than 12000 miles since the front pads were last renewed it seems unlikely that they would need to be renewed again so soon. Any thoughts on this would be welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 Casimir - 2018-04-01 5:53 PM There is no mention of wear to the rear brake pads Any thoughts on this would be welcome. I'm not aware of the rears having any warning wires. Could just be one of the front wires come away and touching metal I should get it looked at asap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikefitz Posted April 1, 2018 Share Posted April 1, 2018 The wear sensor is fitted to one pad on the nearside, UK passenger side, front. The wire is very close to the wheel rim and sometimes wears through. Once it contacts any metal part the indication lamp is switched on. The connection in the pad material can also fail with heat , move, and give a false reading. Its not uncommon for the dealer to disconnect the connecting cable and fix it out of the way. See pic. The following vid shows the front pads being replaced and shows the sensor and connections. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 I would have a close look at your brakes. A sticking pad or cylinder could accelerate wear on one pad only and cause this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witzend Posted April 2, 2018 Share Posted April 2, 2018 mikefitz - 2018-04-01 10:02 PM The wear sensor is fitted to one pad on the nearside, UK passenger side, front. Mike On most modern vans the wire's are both sides Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weldted Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Re most vans have wire both side, often the replacements have only one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Obviously pay to take a look. I seem to remember reading somewhere that rats , squirrels, foxes take a liking to the wire insulation and having a chew. O/T my pond pump wiring has been replaced a couple of times due to nibbles, on the the dry side, not in the pond with piranhas! Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Brake wear indicators are something of an oddity when it comes to Fiat vehicles. The X250 from 2006 onwards will in most cases only have the nearside front pad wired for a sensor but in almost all cases it is not actually connected to anything. As odd as it seems, a broken wire or even a worn out pad will never put the warning light on. The only versions that i have actually seen any response from have been 2.2 engined and some with heavy duty 280mm brakes (thicker discs). Some of these vehicles have sensors on both front wheels but they don't mind one bit if you fit a set of pads that only have one wire and fit it to the nearside. Almost all after-market pads come with just the one sensor. And then it get's stranger.... The X290 from 2014 comes from the factory with sensors on all four wheels. There are no after-market rear pads that come with sensors; but it does not matter because none of the sensors are actually connected to anything. I think it was a ploy by Fiat to make owners think that they had to buy Fiat pads at three times the price. You don't. I use pads on the rear that have no sensors and i tie the connectors out of the way. If i was wrong i would have warning lights appearing but i don't so i am not. It's difficult to provide guidance but if you drive a heavy vehicle and don't just cruise flat motorways all year you will probably get 12000 to 18000 miles out of a set of front pads and should just about get two sets of pads to a set of discs; but it will be close. Rear pad wear is even more load dependent and you might see between 30 and 40000 miles out of a set but will be fortunate to get two rear sets to a set of discs. One piece of advice i would like to share is that it is false economy to get the last 20% of wear out of a set of front or rear pads. The pistons in the caliper will be extended more and the likelihood of seized sliders or pistons is greatly increased. The more pad material that is left, the lower the temperature between the surfaces and the slower the discs will wear out. So if a mechanic seems to want to change them too early; he may well be trying to make a few bob extra but he may also be doing you a favour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casimir Posted April 6, 2018 Author Share Posted April 6, 2018 Thanks for the interesting feedback. The orange light has only recently come on and is not on all the time. This might suggest a poor connection. I am currently in Spain so rather than trying to explain to someone in my poor Spanish that I might or might not need new front pads, I am going to remove the left front wheel and have a look for myself over the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casimir Posted April 9, 2018 Author Share Posted April 9, 2018 I removed the left front wheel and checked the disk pads as best I could. The sensor cable seems to be intact. I estimate that the thickness of the pads is about 6/7mm. I understand that when new pads are 19mm thick. I think I will have new front pads fitted within three to four thousand miles. In the meanwhile I am not sure whether to cut the sensor wire or simply ignore it. If I cut the wire, will the amber warning light disappear? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted April 9, 2018 Share Posted April 9, 2018 On the off chance that your vehicle is one of the few that actually has sensors that do something, i recommend that you check the other side as well. If there is a sensor on the offside and the pads are lower on that side it would suggest that one or the other side is sticking and this needs looking into. As i said; on most Ducato's the light will never come on but if it has done, it suggests that there is a problem. At a glance, things may look ok but if for instance the top slider is sticking and the lower one is not, you may have a pad that is wearing at an angle because it is being squeezed in the middle but can't move parallel to the disc. From above, it might look fine. You can't ignore brake warning lights. Something is amiss and it needs to be investigated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monique.hubrechtsgm Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Martars are also there they like very much the low sitting intercooler flexible and their protection covering for this purpose. and some paper like material. I saw some new motorhomes entering our dog festivals on fiat whit a lot of loose material hanging their under. What a surprise. My partner is a underbody freak, and always look under what happens there. when we enter our play grounds. Some times it looks like golf court and than he came into action to prevent loosing his grey water tank, rear bumper and drain valve.. But he said that even is not critical. Together about 4000 pounds to repair, insurance paid. Than we had soft beam hit on the side of the road on a steep angle, no panic he said i have alko chassis rails very low and they support us. Just step out of the door whit the dogs fit for purpose, or he will stamp out a window. Where in the picture sits the ABS sensor cable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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