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General First Frozen Handbrake of 2007?

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General First Frozen Handbrake of 2007?

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mountainmachine

Bravo 155 HGT
Parked in the garage
Joined
Aug 8, 2006
Messages
3,884
Points
707
Location
Ayr, Scotland
Ok so -4oC this morning went out defrosted the car etc, them went to pull reverse back, you guess it handbrake stuck on, and feels like handbrake lever is loose.

I have done a search and didnt find an soloution to this problem, as leaving it in gear isnt really a soloution, especially as i live at the top of a walloping great hill.

Nigel left this usefull info in 2003:

1. Crawl under the back of your car, peel back the remnents of your handbrake cable rubber boots and spray dwon the cable run with WD40, silicone spray, washing up liquid, oil or anyother low freezing point lubricant you can ask for

Is there any other soloution that been developed, a permanant fix.

Its a Nov 2000 155 HGT.

Cheers, couldnt get to uni this morning! :(
 
its happened to me about 3 or 4 times so far this winter, just drive forward and it will free. dont go in reverse, the noise it makes when it frees is very nasty. going forward it seems happier and easier to free. bloody fiats
 
that guy on fiatboo forum said:
The temperature froze one of my back wheels, but I didn't get a warning light and just thought the bumpy ride was because it was cold. A mile down the A46 and I have worn away the tyre and started to melt the alloy itself.
Click to expand...

HAHAHA :D thats one of the craziest things i've ever heard. how anyone cant realise their wheel isnt turning is beyond me. surely it would be more than obvious something was seriously wrong way before he joined a road the size of the A46. and why does he expect a warning light. is that the "watch out idiot one of your wheels isnt turning" light. i havent noticed that light on my car, maybe its an optional extra?

mountainmachine said:
If i get under he and lube up the cable with copper grease and take the gromets out and pack them you think it'll be ok?
Click to expand...
thats what i want to do, but i havent got round to it yet.

mountainmachine said:
Also the handbrake feels like there is no tension, ie handle totaly slack could it have popped off?
Click to expand...
yes, if the cable is frozen in place when you release the handbrake it means there may be no tension on the cable, allowing it to pop out. this will almost certainly happen at the point where the lever cable meets the wheel cables. they join behind the heatshield, you'll need to remove it to get access.
 
OK so went out to look at the car this afternoon, so if i needed parts etc i could get them, as would do the job tonight.

Good news, cable still attached, even although it was so loose the other day, and was no tension in it, it certainly works now. Took it a wee test drive to check everything was ok etc, no wheels locked on like the numwit on the A46 (no offence ;) ) and everythings fine. Operation all ok. :D

So went in to get a grease gun to fill the wee holes etc and they didnt have one, so job will be done at the wkend now, got the car parked without handbrake and with wheel chocks and in gear, but means i can use the handbreak at uni etc if needed as by that time it wont be so cold. :cool:

Will replace all my exhaust rubbers at the same time as 1 was a wee bit perished, and dont want anything falling off for the sake of a couple of quid when i'm down there anyway.

Anything else i can be doing prevantative wise while i'm down there? :idea:

Will take pics etc if its light enough to supliment svens guide on fiatboo for doing the handbrake. As there is a distinct lack of guides for bravo's on this forum. lol. Maybe they're just so reliable! :tempt:
 
changes in temp will effect the resistance of sensors, so its easier for them to go out of range as far as the ecu is concerned, bringing the light on. i wouldnt worry about it, engine management is a sensitive thing and -4 or -5 are extreme conditions.
 
Yup thats what i thought too, but have got some details of a local independant recommended in the volvo forum just in case it keeps happening. Have to say they arent very helpfull over there! Not like us! ;) :D Cheers Jug.
 
Ok so managed to get round to doing this at the wkend and had a bout of cold where i didnt need the handbrake so left it on. Unfortunatly the problem hasnt been solved. Its better than it was before, ie is easing up much sooner in the day. But looking for a total soloution, or as near as possible. ;)

One getting the car up on the ramps there only seemed to be some dust covers and no rubber gromits which i could move, we put grease in and around the dust covers which were quite badly cracked etc and squirted with WD40 etc before then worked the handbrake etc to move the grease in. Hers a pic of where the dust covers were located.

handbrake.jpg

Any suggestions Also do you just replace from the bracket back if you get a new one? Or is there a front replacable part too?
 
usually you get a full 3 part replacement when you buy a new cable.


i would get some grease into the sheath where the cable exits near each rear drum. if you put some grease on the cable and work it back and forth you'll get some grease to go into the sheath enough to seal off the sheath from moisture. problem is if you do it now you'll be sealing moisture in, if you had a new cable and did it to that then you could prevent moisture from entering the sheath from the start.

see my red arrows on the pic
 

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Cool guess another look is required and a phone call to fiat for prices, anywhere online that sells them cheaper? Have tried shop4parts but dont see any there. Can you buy them from motorfactors etc? Or are you best getting the FIAT one? In fact is the motorfactor one better? If they do them that is. lol
 
i always buy motorfactor handbrake cables, and never once had a problem on any car. usually costs £10-15 so you cant complain. and i did enough handbrake turns in my escort that i would know if they stretched easily, and it didnt stretch at all.
 
Well FIAT are £19.38 for drivers side and £25something for passengers side. So will phone motorfactors later and find out what they are. As for £45 + the hassle of fitting i can live with it for a wee while longer!
 
I found easing the car forwards and backwards on the clutch and repeatedly pulling on the handbrake whilst shouting obsenities at the dashboard works. though it did take about 30-40mins to unstick and i might of got a few funny looks from people on my street
 
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