PWR light issue and no brake fluid after winter storage

[magpie]

Hi!

So I just took my car out of winter storage, and 2 problems has suddenly appeared out of nowhere

The first issue is the brake fluid. The master cyl cup was empty, and so was the brake lines. Strange thing is that I can't find any trace of leakage, I've checked the brake lines following them the entire way under the car aswell as around all calipers. I've filled the cup back up and bled the brakes, and they function fine.

The next issue is the PWR light, it stays on all the time. I'm 99% sure the ECON light still works, as the PWR light stays lit the entire time.

Anyone got any clue as to what has caused these problems or got any tips on how I can troubleshoot them?

Cheers!

[Ivan141]

Econ / Pwr light functions on vacuum. Check your vacuum lines to see if a rodent might have taken a nibble from one during winter.
The switch is on the right fender near the inlet manifold IIRC.

I would not take any chances with your brake system. It must be leaking somewhere since last time I checked the pixies dont come to suck it out over winter.
Since I dont know your car yet, perhaps you could tell us what model you have exactly. If you have an SR5 with drum brakes you might have a leaky rear cylinder.
On disk brakes everything should be in plain sight. Perhaps sprinkle some talkum powder around the brakes and leave it to sit for a few days. Any leaks will leave traces in the powder.

[magpie]

(05-15-2023 08:43 AM)Ivan141 Wrote:  Econ / Pwr light functions on vacuum. Check your vacuum lines to see if a rodent might have taken a nibble from one during winter.
The switch is on the right fender near the inlet manifold IIRC.

I would not take any chances with your brake system. It must be leaking somewhere since last time I checked the pixies dont come to suck it out over winter.
Since I dont know your car yet, perhaps you could tell us what model you have exactly. If you have an SR5 with drum brakes you might have a leaky rear cylinder.
On disk brakes everything should be in plain sight. Perhaps sprinkle some talkum powder around the brakes and leave it to sit for a few days. Any leaks will leave traces in the powder.

I checked the lines going to the vacuum sensor valve, the one with two nipples coming out of it if that is the one you're talking about. From what I can tell they seem to have been disconnected previously. I tried connecting them but the pwr light is still there, however the idle speed dropped a little. I couldn't see anything wrong with the rest of the vacuum lines, but I will take a closer look.

The car is a EU spec 3 door, I guess that would be closer to the GTS as far as US spec goes. In other words I got disc brakes. If brake fluid were to leak onto the floor, wouldn't the stains stay there for a long time? Any chance the fluid could leak into the brake booster?

[banpei]

(05-15-2023 06:32 PM)magpie Wrote:  The car is a EU spec 3 door, I guess that would be closer to the GTS as far as US spec goes. In other words I got disc brakes. If brake fluid were to leak onto the floor, wouldn't the stains stay there for a long time? Any chance the fluid could leak into the brake booster?

Better check under your carpet on the inside of the driver footwell. I once had a leaky clutch master cylinder and I couldn't find the leak either. That was until the day of MOT when the inspector prodded a hole in my footwell. It turned out it leaked passed the seal and dripped down behind the carpet...

About the 3 door EU spec: the EU spec sits somewhere between the GT/GT-V and GT Apex spec. It's more luxurious than GT/GT-V (while the GT had drums) but didn't get fancy things like power steering, aircon or options like power mirrors and power windows. The GT-S was a lot more luxurious and comparable to the GT Apex.
There was one thing we got installed in almost all cars: lsd. The only exceptions are Portugal where the two door didn't get lsd and Switzerland that sold the 4A-C powered SR with open diff. In Japan the lsd was still an option on the GT Apex. In the data I collected the ratio was something like 15% to 20% of the Japanese cars got a lsd from factory.

[magpie]

(05-15-2023 09:14 PM)banpei Wrote:  Better check under your carpet on the inside of the driver footwell. I once had a leaky clutch master cylinder and I couldn't find the leak either. That was until the day of MOT when the inspector prodded a hole in my footwell. It turned out it leaked passed the seal and dripped down behind the carpet...

About the 3 door EU spec: the EU spec sits somewhere between the GT/GT-V and GT Apex spec. It's more luxurious than GT/GT-V (while the GT had drums) but didn't get fancy things like power steering, aircon or options like power mirrors and power windows. The GT-S was a lot more luxurious and comparable to the GT Apex.
There was one thing we got installed in almost all cars: lsd. The only exceptions are Portugal where the two door didn't get lsd and Switzerland that sold the 4A-C powered SR with open diff. In Japan the lsd was still an option on the GT Apex. In the data I collected the ratio was something like 15% to 20% of the Japanese cars got a lsd from factory.

Damn, I should have checked that to begin with. That sounds like a reasonable explanation. I hope it's not the case though, it would really suck if brake fluid has been chilling there all winter
I appreciate all the info on the different specs though, there is alot of things there I didn't know. AFAIK my car started its life in Portugal

[Ivan141]

Hope it's not been leaking inside your car. I did not assume this was the case since your brake lines should still be holding fluid if the master cylinder was leaking (since it's the highest point in your brake system). But it's definitely something to check just for peace of mind.

[Power_uP]

Yeah, as already mentioned, it seems like a leak in either the master cylinder or it's run into the car's interior. At least you've noticed an issue before trying to drive the car.

[Bean]

As far as I know the 4AC in Switzerland was only available in the 5 door version.

[banpei]

(05-18-2023 01:52 AM)Bean Wrote:  As far as I know the 4AC in Switzerland was only available in the 5 door version.

I do own this early Swiss Corolla brochure from early 1984 featuring the 3 door SR:


The brochure states it is power by a 4A-C. I think the car was identical to the Australian Corolla Sprinter SR, with the exception of the tail lights being the Levin items.

It was only sold for about a year when it got replaced by this Swiss brochure in January 1985:

As far as I could find the SR was discontinued after 1985.

[decryphe]

(05-18-2023 01:52 AM)Bean Wrote:  As far as I know the 4AC in Switzerland was only available in the 5 door version.

There was a guy from somewhere in Berne that had both an SR and a GT and used to bring both to the Japan Classic. Haven't seen them in a while, but the SR still had its original 4AC.