Brake light question.

[Simplespeed]

Car is an 03 VW GTI 1.8t. The brake light came on along with chime. The drivers side rear brake was locked up. Normally id pry the caliper while attached to see if it the piston will retract. Well the VW rear caliper doesnt work that way. So, i checked all the lines and they looked fine. I was on the side of a highway so i got to an auto parts store and got a new caliper. Did a half *** job at bleeding it and limped it home. I let it sit about a month and just drove my truck since i havent had much free time to work on the car. Well, i just went out and looked at it, the brake light is still on and chiming. I know i need to properly bleed the brakes but would this cause the brake light to remain on? I e brake levers on the rear calipers are fully retracted and the cables appear to be loose at the caliper and at the e brake handle and are free of rust.

im stumped

 

[Herb]

Brake light switch. Check yours to see if it is green- if not, replace it.

 

[Simplespeed]

Brake light switch. Check yours to see if it is green- if not, replace it.

Ill check it tomorrow. I assumed it wasnt the switch because the brake lights work and rear caliper was locked up.

 

[Herb]

The only other thing that can turn on that light is the brake fluid level sensor. Either the fluid is low or the sensor( cap) is bad.

 

[914forme]

I would go with the a couple of items here. Sensor under the cap, since you did a crappy bleed gravity could have helped you out over the past month and your fluid is low. Or you have a pressure problem, and the switch has not reset, again could be because of your poor bleeding. And well just maybe the switch under your parking brake lever has gone on the fritz, or a wire has shorted out.

The system has three sensors, to diagnosis the entire shooting match.
Fluid level
Fluid Pressure
And hand brake lever, any or all of these could be your problem.

 

[Simplespeed]

I gravity bled the system, sorta. And i topped off the MC. Its still got air in the line but its somewhat drivable. So, i took it for a spin and the brakes seem to spin freely. I got up to 45mph for a mile or so and other than the brake light still blinking and chiming, and a soft pedal, it stops. Im hoping the light will go away when i get someone to help me press the pedal so i can bleed correctly.

 

[Simplespeed]

Couldnt find much help to bleed the brakes but i did get someone for 10 minutes to help bleed the rears. I still need to bleed the fronts and master cylinder. I swapped the fluid level sensor with a known working one and the brake light is still on. The brake switch under the dash is the green one and the brake lights work.

 

[Simplespeed]

There was air in the ABS. It can be fixed by having the dealer cycle it with vag-com ir actuating the ABS manually by slamming on the brakes on wet pavement. So i chose the cheaper route and it worked, the pedal feels great ad i need to bleed it one more time for a perfect pedal. The brake light was still on. It ended up being a short in after market wiring that had to do with the turbo timer that came on the car when i bought it used. So, i removed the entire thing and the brake light went out. All is good now and its great to have the car rollin again. Thanks for the help guys.