Brake reservoir wires

[Hudo's 1st 02]

The two wires on top of my brake reservoir are not connected. Should they be, and where should they connect at?

[JohnS]

If you have a brake fluid reservoir cap that has a sensor for detecting a low brake fluid level, then the two wires connect to the cap (which has the integrated sensor/float switch) and two electrical connections.  These caps cost $ so are often replaced with a plastic cap with no sensor.

Edited January 12, 2019 by JohnS

[Hudo's 1st 02]

1 minute ago, JohnS said:

If you have a brake fluid reservoir cap that has a sensor for detecting a low brake fluid level, then the two wires connect to the cap (which has the integrated sensor)

They are connected at the top, the other ends of the wires are not connected to anything

[JohnS]

I'm not sure where they connect into the electrical harness exactly.  They eventually trigger a light bulb on the instrument cluster when the brake fluid level is low.  You would have to trace the wires on a wiring diagram for your year of car to figure out where the wires got clipped on the wiring harness and then re-connect them.  Other folks here will hopefully chime in with a better answer...

Edited January 12, 2019 by JohnS

[Hudo's 1st 02]

10 minutes ago, JohnS said:

I'm not sure where they connect into the electrical harness exactly.  They eventually trigger a light bulb on the instrument cluster when the brake fluid level is low.  You would have to trace the wires on a wiring diagram for your year of car to figure out where the wires got clipped on the wiring harness and then re-connect them.  Other folks here will hopefully chime in with a better answer...

Yes, I see what you are talking about now. I didn’t look that good at first. But the two wires I’m asking about are coming out of the same harness the brake reservoir goes into. There’s a few wires in the engine bay that are hanging exposed or not connected like these. The previous owner really did a butcher job on the wiring.

[stephers]

A good wiring diagram is your friend    get a good one preferably with color and get a big laminated blow up of it 

[jimk]

The brown uninsulated terminal is a ground.  Blue needs more research.

[Hudo's 1st 02]

Yea I’m clear on the brown . I’m starting to believe these whites that have connectors at the end more than likely were connected to the smog controls or devices that were removed from the previous owner(s). That would make sense.

[Guy Cocquyt]

None of my wiring diagrams have a brake fluid switch other than mention of the brake telltale light on the instrument cluster multi plug. If you have enough wire left on the cap terminal you can compare this with the wire on the cluster multi plug. Then trace in the engine bay and under the dash to see where it is cut. On the cluster there is a red light and a button to push to test the circuit. The plunger on the brake fluid reservoir cap when in a low fluid condition , loses the circuit to light the red light. When you push the button you are likewise completing the circuit to light the red warning light.

Sent from my STH100-1 using Tapatalk

[Guy Cocquyt]

The brown uninsulated terminal is a ground.  Blue needs more research.

I checked on my 02 and the other wire looks like it is blue/brown, the other solid brown is a ground.

Sent from my STH100-1 using Tapatalk

[xr4tic]

According to the wiring diagram for my '76, the brake fluid reservoir switch has a single blue/brown wire on one connection and 3 brown wires tied into the other.

 

Both of those connections then run to the Pressure Balance Switch, which has two blue/brown wires on one connection and two brown wires on the other.

 

My guess is that those connectors are for your Pressure Balance Switch.  No idea what that is though, mine didn't have one installed.

Edited January 12, 2019 by xr4tic

[Hudo's 1st 02]

One more question guys, and I won’t bother y’all anymore. Well for today anyway. LOL... what the heck is this? I think this is where these wires in question may have went to. 

[John_in_VA]

Emissions charcoal canister?  What year is your car?

[Hudo's 1st 02]

Just now, John_in_VA said:

Emissions charcoal canister?  What year is your car?

76

[xr4tic]

Looks like the charcoal canister for capturing gas fumes, shouldn't be any electrical connections for it.