charles28 117 Report post Posted March 27, 2014 I'm getting this odd issue. My car goes and stops fine for the most part, however once I've been in heavy slow moving (almost not moving) traffic for 20mins or so, I get this issue with the brakes grabbing, when this happens, the car barely moves when you take your foot off the brake (when in Drive). usually it'll move along at a good 5km per hour or so without your foot on the accelerator. Its also hard to get the car moving, as its fighting the brakes when this issue occurs. If you get it moving and let it coast along in drive, you can feel the brakes being applied on and off, almost like a pulsating, you really can feel the brakes being applied. It only does this while stuck in traffic, but once your going over 40km per hour it seems to come right again, but will quickly play up again when stuck in traffic straight away. However drive it on the open road for 10mins at 100k and the issue has gone when you come to a standstill and move off again...no more feeling of the brakes being applied and the car will coast along at its normal rate. To me after a good run the wheels on the passenger side of the car feel warmer then the drivers side, which also seems odd. Where should I start?. replace brake fluid and see what happens? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yng_750 247 Report post Posted March 27, 2014 If you get in and replace brake fluid it will gove you a chance to inspect the brakes. Look for sticking sliders etc. Uneven pad wear is a big giveaway. If they are average new rotors and pads arent hugely expensive Sent from my GT-I8160L using Tapatalk 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charles28 117 Report post Posted March 27, 2014 http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bavarian-Autosport-European-One-Man-Brake-Bleeder-Kit-With-Catch-Bottle-/221397396542?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item338c502c3e&vxp=mtr if only I could find something like this locally.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eagle 1524 Report post Posted March 27, 2014 I just use a bit of clear tube with a one way valve. IIRC supercheap auto have bleeder kits Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybrid 1039 Report post Posted March 27, 2014 Get your DSC or ASC diagnosed, charge pump or solinoids could be playing up .. youll need to do this anyway if you want to bleed the brakes on an e39 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted March 28, 2014 Get your DSC or ASC diagnosed, charge pump or solinoids could be playing up .. youll need to do this anyway if you want to bleed the brakes on an e39 You need a scanner to check DSC & ACS fault codes , but you don't need a scanner to bleed E39 brakes Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yng_750 247 Report post Posted March 28, 2014 Slightly unrelated but i was planning to flush the fluid on my 540i am i right in planning on flushing it through with constant top upa so you dont get airlocks in the abs unit or can i easily drain the whole system then refill. Sent from my GT-I8160L using Tapatalk 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
charles28 117 Report post Posted March 28, 2014 Tomorrow i'll bleed them and see if it helps..thanks for the advice guys. Will visit supercheap/repco etc to find a one man bleeding device.. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted March 28, 2014 Slightly unrelated but i was planning to flush the fluid on my 540i am i right in planning on flushing it through with constant top upa so you dont get airlocks in the abs unit or can i easily drain the whole system then refill. Sent from my GT-I8160L using Tapatalk 2 We drain the master cylinder first , refill with new fluid, then bleed till the new fluid comes through with constant top up. We use a compressed air operated vacuum pump that allows one man operation and I will never use a pressure bleeding system on brakes. Years ago one exploded a plastic reservoir in a workshop and damaged 4 cars with brake fluid. Pumping it through can also cause issues. One of these: http://www.sulco.co.nz/Product?Action=View&Product_id=624 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elmarco 56 Report post Posted March 28, 2014 Get your DSC or ASC diagnosed, charge pump or solinoids could be playing up .. youll need to do this anyway if you want to bleed the brakes on an e39 Electrical gremlin eould be my guess from the description too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted March 28, 2014 Electrical gremlin eould be my guess from the description too. Unlikely, unless the ABS light is on. I'd check for sticking calliper slides and pistons first. I doubt that changing the brake fluid will rectify the problem as well. If you can get it to play up on axle stands you might be able to isolate which wheel. If you can isolate it, check for line pressure after releasing the brakes by opening the bleeder screw. If there is no line pressure it will be a sticky piston or calliper slide. Check that the front brake hoses are not twisted. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybrid 1039 Report post Posted March 28, 2014 My experiences: just an FYI After just going through a DSC failure myself and experiencing the problem. I decided (as I usually do) to find out about it all and why. The DSC or ASC control system (on the back of the charge pump) has emergency software which will apply the brakes in full pressure if it detects a high pressure ramp up on the sensor (also on the back of the charge pump) This can scarily play up if you have issues with any of the items that make up the head of the braking system. I actually experienced it coming out of a car park when I had the faulty unit in my car. Lucky I was only driving about 5kph at the time. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted March 28, 2014 Was the ABS or ASC / DSC light on Josh Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hybrid 1039 Report post Posted March 28, 2014 I had the trifecta yes. Glenn I agree with your stuck piston post. Just offering another take on things. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted March 28, 2014 (edited) I had the trifecta yes. Glenn I agree with your stuck piston post. Just offering another take on things. Trifecta as in 3 lights on the dash ? or do you mean something else ? Did you have fault codes when this happened?. If you did what were they. I'm curious because I've never come across this before. ABS ASC / DSC control unit, pump motor and valving faults normally trigger a fault code. Edited March 28, 2014 by *Glenn* Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted March 28, 2014 I'm getting this odd issue. Do any of the warning lights for ABS, DSC/ASC and handbrake warning lights come on or flash when this occurs ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
