for the DIY's and alway good thing to check the brake whenever doing an oil change.
Brake Sensor Repair
Thread Starter
Rookie
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 76
Likes: 3
From: CA
Brake Sensor Repair
Quick and easy way to repair brake sensors for LS430. The brakes sensors is just a looped wire enbedded in a plastic housing connected to the pads. Both front and rear sensor are on the passenger side only. When the wire is worn through and the circut is broken the "low brake" indicator on the dash will appear. New oem sensor run around $90 each at the dealership.
Unclip and unplug brake sensor.
Pull broken wire through and slice the ends.
Tools: solder iron, solder, scissor, and shoe glue or any silicone seal.
Solder wire together as thin as possible.
Reposition wire back to the original spot. Use any type of rubberized glue/seal to help protect and secure the wire. I just used a tiny smug of shoe glue. Or you can heat shrink the wire. But it doesnt matter, when the brakes are low, it will wear through again anyways.
Also i replaced the pads with Akebono ProACT ceramic pads on all 4 corners. I think they are great for price and performance. They seem to have the same or more bite than the stock oems pads (maybe because the are new). And they are also low on noise (a bit louder than stock). Pre-mounted shims. Very similar to a oem feel, but for almost half the price. $64 and $56 for the front and rear. I recommend.
Unclip and unplug brake sensor.
Pull broken wire through and slice the ends.
Tools: solder iron, solder, scissor, and shoe glue or any silicone seal.
Solder wire together as thin as possible.
Reposition wire back to the original spot. Use any type of rubberized glue/seal to help protect and secure the wire. I just used a tiny smug of shoe glue. Or you can heat shrink the wire. But it doesnt matter, when the brakes are low, it will wear through again anyways.
Also i replaced the pads with Akebono ProACT ceramic pads on all 4 corners. I think they are great for price and performance. They seem to have the same or more bite than the stock oems pads (maybe because the are new). And they are also low on noise (a bit louder than stock). Pre-mounted shims. Very similar to a oem feel, but for almost half the price. $64 and $56 for the front and rear. I recommend.
Last edited by Red Square; Nov 16, 2010 at 08:48 PM.
CL Community Team
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 3,916
Likes: 227
From: Alabama
Great write up and pics! This is the stuff that makes this forum so valuable - thanks for the contribution.
Do you know what miles you had on the rear pads when the sensors wore through? Just looking for apprx avg miles on pads when the sensors wear through.
Do you know what miles you had on the rear pads when the sensors wore through? Just looking for apprx avg miles on pads when the sensors wear through.
Driver
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 167
Likes: 1
From: IL
Grete write up...and if you dont have access to a solder gun, maybe do what I did. Take the part to a local car audio shop(i went to best buy) and give the guy a few bucks to solder it back together...since they do this for a living they are good at it...mine is trouble free for the last 20K
Lead Lap
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 4,189
Likes: 16
From: NY/NJ
Style
Just as point of reference, I do 80% local, not heavy traffic, and mine went recently at 32K... but again, don't take that as anything. You can to remove and do a visual inspection to be sure of anything.
Great writeup, but I'm just afraid that this repair might cause the sensor to never trip because once you pull all the way down like illustrate, it would have to be down to metal before the last strands of wire would wear away again and even then it might not cut through the sensor. Honestly... you can get aftermarket sensors for $60 and that's not much in the grand scheme of repairs to have to skip.
Thread Starter
Rookie
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 76
Likes: 3
From: CA
Yah, mileage will differ. So alway best to look, if the pad is as thick as 2 quarter stacked together, I would replace before it wears the sensor.
It should trip about the same time as a new one. Its almost impossibbe to set the wire as low as the original position, since the wire is soldered and less flexible. Its set I tad bit higher right now.
Right, just keep an eye on your pads 3 or 4 times a year or at every oil change. I thought the car had regular noise sensor on the shims. But now I know. I still woudnt want to pay $60 for an aftermarket sensor. To be honest I don't even want to run the pads till the sensor trips. Its aready trips very late were the pads are super low. Best advise is just to keep an eye on it and save your money.
It should trip about the same time as a new one. Its almost impossibbe to set the wire as low as the original position, since the wire is soldered and less flexible. Its set I tad bit higher right now.
Right, just keep an eye on your pads 3 or 4 times a year or at every oil change. I thought the car had regular noise sensor on the shims. But now I know. I still woudnt want to pay $60 for an aftermarket sensor. To be honest I don't even want to run the pads till the sensor trips. Its aready trips very late were the pads are super low. Best advise is just to keep an eye on it and save your money.
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Lead Lap
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 3,682
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I have the Akebono Pro Acts on my G35 and they have not shown any sign of wear after 20,000 miles. However, there is a noticeable diminished bite from the OEM pads. Considering that the OEM Lexus pads last so long and relatively speaking have low dust, I decided to replace mine with OEM pads.
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Rookie
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 53
Likes: 0
From: WA
Thanks for showing that. My mechanic did this repair on my sensors last year during a brake job to save the cost of the new sensor. The sensor had not broken the connection but the wires were exposed so he used epoxy to waterproof them. I was a bit concerned with the procedure, nice to get some validation.
Rookie
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 83
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From: utah
brake wear sensor
Grete write up...and if you dont have access to a solder gun, maybe do what I did. Take the part to a local car audio shop(i went to best buy) and give the guy a few bucks to solder it back together...since they do this for a living they are good at it...mine is trouble free for the last 20K