Since this is such a vast font of all things Cobalt related, I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction here. About 3-4 times in the last 3 weeks, the emergency brake light in my Cobalt LS 4-door has come one for a second, then flashed right off. It seems to happen at completely random times, once on the highway, once at about 30 mph, once when accelerating for a turn. Dealer says all brake systems and microswitches check out. Also no codes showed up when hooked up to the diagnostic computer.

I wish there was a way/specific set of circumstances I could find to get this issue to manifest itself. But I'm completely stumped. Anyone have any ideas at all? The car is bone stock with 3,000 miles on it. Any points in the right direction will be appreciated.

Edit: To clarify, just the e-brake light flashes, nothing else and it only comes on for a second before shutting back off.

 

Happens to me too, and I beleive some others. It has never caused a problem on my car though.

 

LOL, I noticed it again today.

Glad I'm not the only one! No problems here yet though.

 

It still scares the **** outta me when I see it cause I'm afraid I haven't put the e-brake down...just see it outta the corner of my eye. Doesn't seem to have any negative side effect and I'm thinking it could be the computer running some diagnostic since I only notice it within a few minutes of driving after first turning on the car.

You're not the only one, but I don't think anyone has gotten it looked at either. As long as my e-brake doesn't jack on while drivin' I'm not too concerned.

Permafried-

 

My heart skips a beat sometimes too when I see it. I see the break light and I think "oh **** ive been driving with the e break on", but then it goes away and I feel better

Reminds me of a Mitch Hedberg joke:

"I rent a lot of cars, you know, 'cause I go on the road. I rent cars and when I drive a rental car, I don't know what's going on with it, right? So a lot of times I drive, like, for ten miles with the emergency brake on. That doesn't say a lot for me, but it really doesn't say a lot for the "emergency brake." It's really not an "emergency brake", it's an "emergency make-the-car-smell-funny lever."

 

This light isnt just the ebrake light it also is connected the the brakes in general, so it could be a problem with you other brakes.

 

But still, it shouldn't be doing it, especially since I have an automatic trans and live in the land of the flat. As such, I'd have very little reason to ever use the e-brake. I've never owned a car that did this, and while it probably is nothing to be really concerned about, it's still not right.

For those of you who have experienced this, does it happen completely at random? I'm sure many of you have manual trannies and the light may come on right after you've started moving or something. Or are there certain circumstances that allow you to duplicate it?

OBD check revealed no brake trouble codes either.

Thanks again for any insight. At least I know I'm not the only one.

 

I had a problem with my Brake light on as well as my ABS light.

It turned out that the Brake Light was because I was low on brake fluid.

Why was I low on break fluid? Cause a seal broke and leaked out on to the ABS Controller

They say it wasn't enough to cause any harm, but needed to be fixed asap.

Hope you have better luck,

Rich

 

We will miss Mitch Hedberg!

 

Mine seems to be completely random...at least I haven't noticed any pattern to this point. I can go for weeks without seeing it then all of a sudden there it is for 1 second then off again...I've seen it both while driving and while idling at lightsso it doesn't appear to be related to hitting bumps in the road, etc.

I've considered mentioning this when it goes in for it's 1/2 year service in November, but since I don't have much to back it I'd hate the service department to start ripping stuff off because they "might" know what it is and end up breaking something else in the long run. As long as it doesn't engage while driving and I start pulling donuts in the middle of rush hour I might just let it go for now...doesn't seem to be getting any worse anyways.

Permafried-

 

Interesting. If it was something like this, though, they probably would have noticed when they were checking the brake systems. I wish there was some other clue. It's probably something stupid, like a loose wire for some part that's not even remotely related to the e-brake.

 

My Parking Brake light would flash on and off from time to time (versus my abs would stay on near 24/7) I asked them why cause I originally thought it to be a loose wire as it seemed to flicker on and off over bumbs and stuf.

They told me that as the car heated up the fluid expanded ever so slightly and reach up high enough to touch the low-level sensor and turn it off, say thing as when going over bumbs the liquid would swash around and make the sensor go off temporarily.

Good luck figuring it out.

Rich

EDIT: Actually they told me it wasn't coming from the break resivior, but somewhere else.

 

happens to me on my ss/sc like once in a blue moon, i just dont take it too badly.

 

This is great to know. If/when the car does it again, I will point this out to them. I'll probably print this thread out and give it to them to let them know that I'm not the only one with this problem. Thanks again to all of you.

 

Rejoice fellow Cobalt-heads for I think I've found the answer to the problem:

Brake System Warning Light Comes on Intermittelntly (Reprogram IPC) #05-08-49-019 - (Jun 22, 2005)
Brake System Warning Light Comes On Intermittently (Reprogram IPC)
2005 Chevrolet Cobalt
2005 Pontiac Pursuit (Canada Only)

Condition
Some customers may comment that the brake system warning light comes on intermittently. The brake light will illuminate for 2 to 3 seconds, then will turn off and may never illuminate again. The vehicle should exhibit no braking concerns at all.

Correction
Important:*Programming the IPC must be done PASS-THRU ONLY.
Inspect the brake fluid level and the operation of the parking brake signal switch. If normal, technicians are to reprogram the IPC with an updated software calibration. This new service calibration was released with TIS satellite data update version 6.5 available June 13, 2005. As always, make sure your Tech 2Ž is updated with the latest software version.

The customer should be thoroughly questioned to determine if a warning chime accompanies the brake system warning light, and if the BRAKE FLUID or PARKING BRAKE messages are displayed on the DIC when the condition occurs. The condition being discussed does not include any DIC message or warning chime. If the customer reports hearing the warning chime or the DIC messages, then further diagnosis is needed, searching for unwanted inputs from the parking brake switch signal or brake fluid switch signal.

Next time you take your cars in, mention the problem as well as this bulletin. I just had mine done this morning. Hopefully I'll never have to worry about this issue again.

*

 

Yeah, i get the occasional flash of the e-brake light too. Usually happens just after i pull out of my driveway. Only happens about 1 in every 10 times i drive out. Not too concerned.

 

I heard that a lot of cobalts are doing that.. and if you bring it in to your dealer it takes them a few minutes to get that corrected.. something to do with a short in the wiring of some sort....... THE SAME THING with the AC... they have to add like an extra wire under the hood and connect or splice it in... BASICLY click click and done... THIS info is coming from a Master tech over at Chevy.... I just dont remember EXACTLY how it went.. lol It's all Under Warranty...

 

That was part of a recall campaign for cars with earlier build dates (January and before). Later cars were unaffected.

 

its only happened once, so far... but my brake light, T/C, AND (ABS) lights all came on, and stayed on for a ride of about a half hour. Then, nothing. I knew the parking brake wasn't on... and im pretty sure the traction control and ABS still worked... but its still kinda weird.