Check engine light is the updated safety version of the vehicle, particularly the car. It will assist you to operate the vehicle smoothly. Additionally, it will come with the red lights on if there is any err in the engine.
The check engine light indicates for different reasons. One of the leading causes is engine bugs. You can count more, including bad gas, gas cap, and braking systems. If any one of them goes wrong, you will get the check engine light.
However, the brakes are also the most crucial part of a vehicle. If you have any issues there, you should have the indicator that will tell you that. In that case, the engine light will be a great match.
Can brakes cause check engine light to come on?
Brakes can cause check engine light to come on. The main reason is the connection between the engine and the brakes. If you press on the brakes, your car will slow down and eventually stop running. If your brakes go wrong or get damaged, the engine light will come on.
Table of Contents
Brakes also have some other parts. You will get brakes, low brake fluid, and a bad brake booster. The query is, do they cause the check engine light to come on? Let’s go through them.
Brake:
Brake can cause the check engine light to come on if any quality issues. Let’s say you use the car and drive it for more than three years. You haven’t checked the brakes for a single time. You may not find any issues.
But suddenly your brakes stop working like before. It may lose effectiveness and efficiency. In that case, the engine light will come on and ask you to sort out the issues. When you fix the problems or replace the brake.
Low brake fluid:
Low brake fluid also causes the check engine light to come on. The braking system requires regular fluid to smoothen the brakes. However, if you forget to add brake fluids for a long time and it gets the low brake fluid, your engine light will come and flash.
To solve these issues, you have to find out the exact problem. Then, you can buy the required brake fluids and use them on the brakes. After that, the engine light will go off and won’t bother you anymore.
Bad brake booster:
The brake booster will go bad for a long time of use. That is called the bad brake booster.
In that case, the engine also gets affected though. As a result, the bad brake booster directly or indirectly let the check engine light come on.
However, a bad brake is not safe for the vehicle. You should replace the brake with a new one or repair the bad brake booster. Thus you can stop the engine light from coming on.
Will check engine light come on if brakes are bad?
The check engine light will come on if the brakes are bad. It’s a must. The Brakes and engine are connected through wires and other parts. When brakes go bad, the engine will be affected; as a result, the check engine light will come on.
You can also check the braking system and other parts. Anything that connects with the engine, if it gets worse, the engine light will show the signal. The engine light will go off when you solve the problem or replace those parts.
However, the braking system should be in good health. Otherwise, you will fail to control the car smoothly. That’s why the check engine light comes on if the brake goes bad.
5 reasons why brakes cause check engine light on
If you look for why brakes cause check engine light on, you will find some legit reasons. Here they are.
Correlated brakes:
Brakes and engines are correlated. When you push the brake, it will stop the engine slowly. If you hard brake, the engine will stop running instantly.
Therefore, if the brakes get damaged or get low fluid, the engine will show the indication and cause the check engine light on.
Low fluid:
If brakes run out of fluid, it will cause the check engine light to turn on. Here the fluid is an essential ingredient for the entire braking system, and it is connected to the engine.
That’s why, when it goes bad, the engine light will go on.
Brake control:
Another reason why brakes cause check engine light on is the controlling power. Brakes control the entire engine. That’s another reason why brakes cause the engine light to come on.
Failed brake:
Sometimes the brakes stop working. It is called the brake-fail. In that time, you don’t have any controlling power.
If you look at the car accident, you will find the reason for brake-fail in most cases. That’s another reason why brakes cause the engine light to come on.
Bad brakes:
Brakes can go bad for different reasons. If you check and find no issues, you can drive the car for a couple of minutes. The engine light will go off if there is nothing serious.
These are the common reasons why brakes cause the engine light to come on. You might get some other reasons as well. But these are our findings. In practical life, you will face these issues regularly; that’s why we added them.
What to do when brakes cause your check engine light to come on?
You need to sort out the problems with your brakes in order to turn off the check engine light. Here are some tips that you can do when brakes cause your check engine light to come on.
Check brake fluid:
At first, check the braking fluid. You know that brake fluid plays a crucial role in engine light. That’s why you should check the fluid level on the brake and add it if needed.
Brake quality:
You can also check the quality of the brakes. It’s the second thing you must do when you find the check engine light to come on. Maybe there are some issues, or the brakes get damaged. You should fix it or replace it.
Clean brakes:
Sometimes the brakes get dust. If the brakes remain unchecked for months, they will stop working like before. Then, the engine light will come on. In that case, you should clean the brakes first then run them for a while.
Thus you can turn off the engine lights and solve the brakes problem as well. However, you should regularly check your brakes and clean them.
Change brakes:
Finally, if you apply all the tips and still get engine light, you need to rest or change the brakes. Before that, you should check the entire braking system thoroughly.
If you find your brakes are too damaged, can’t repair them, then you can replace them with a new one. It will solve pretty much everything.
How to reset check engine light caused by brakes?
The check engine light needs to be reset if you repair the brake or get servicing. You have to reset the check engine light caused by brakes most of the time. But it’s not that easy.
Some methods and ways are there. But they all are challenging to follow. Therefore, we have two easiest and effective ways to reset the check engine lights. Keep reading to get them.
We will explain these two methods in some steps so that you can easily follow them.
Use car key:
You can use the car key to reset the engine light. It’s the easiest way. However, you need to turn on the engine and hold the key for about 2 seconds. Then, turn it off for another couple of seconds.
Repeat the cycle four times; your engine light will be reset soon.
Disconnect battery:
Here is the second way or method to reset the check engine light caused by brakes. It is the most common way that people mostly follow. However, the way needs to disconnect the battery.
If you follow the way one and your engine light is still on, you need to disconnect the battery and find out if any. Sometimes, the battery also keeps the engine light on. In that case, connecting the battery will force the check engine light to reset itself within a while.
These are the two ways that are most popular and effective. Between these two, the second one is the last try. If you still can’t reset the check engine light, you should consult an engineer.
Some severe engine issues might be there, or the engine may get internal damages. In that case, you need to take service from a professional automobile garage.
Final Thoughts
If you have brakes issues and the brakes stop working for some reason, brakes can cause the check engine light to come on. When you notice the light, you should check the entire braking system and try to figure out the problems. After that, reset the check engine lights.