Have a 1995 Accord. Soft pedal, breaks would seem to be working then all of a sudden break grip. At the same the idle is going hog wild. Replaced master cyclinder still doing same thing. Anyone have any idea???

 

did you check for vacuum leaks im not sure bout the 95 but the 00 has vac hose feeding the master from the intake

 

do you have abs ? are you throwing any codes ? first thing to look for when you have a bad idle is going up and down is a vacuum leak.

 

When the car is turned off, depress the pedal several times to remove the boost assist.
How does the pedal feel?
Is is still soft, or does it stiffen up?

ABS reservoir on the left side. Is it full?

 

I HAVE 95 ACORD (DAUGHTERS CAR)ABS LITE STAys on but brakes stop ok.Emergency brake does not work.Where can I start?Help?Brooks3554

 

On '94-'97 Accords look under the glove box door. There will be two blue plastic connectors. Unplug the one with TWO wires, this is the connector you will need to jump to retrieve codes. Turn key to ON after jumping connector and follow below...
Open the cup holder, pull it straight up, there will be a single large headed screw forward, remove it.
Open the center console arm rest, remove the bottom plastic plate, remove the two screws.
With the hand brake in an upright position, pull the center console up to remove.

Verify the two cables are attached to the equalizer #6 are pulling equally when the handle is pulled up.

Depress the brake pedal and exercise the handle up and down 5 times. Is there any change in pedal feel? Is there any resistance in the handle? Do the cables tension up equally with the handle up?

Chock the front wheels.
Loosen rear wheel lug nuts.
Raise the rear of the car with a floorjack using the rear tow/tie down loop under the spare wheel well as a jack point.
Can either wheel spin with the hand brake on? Is there a change with the hand brake off? If no. Remove both wheels.


Remove covers #30/31 from the rear calipers.
With the hand brake in the fully down position, are the two parking brake levers #23 on the rear calipers allowed to fully seat via spring pressure from the caliper spring #24/33? This is critical for adjustment, the levers need to contact the pins in an at rest position.
If no. Verify why the levers are not fully down. Is it because the springs have lost tension, or is there still tension on the levers from the cables?
If tension from the springs is weak, and you can push the levers down with finger pressure and no tension is on the cables, replace the springs. They have either stretched or are broken.
If the cables are maintaining tension on either lever, go back inside the cabin and loosen the equalizer nut, until slack in the cable occurs allowing the levers to rest in the fully down position. If the levers are sticking try exercising them with Channel-Loks so they will seat in the down position automatically.

With the levers working freely, verify that the cables are not hanging up, corroded or stretched unequally. If the cables are heavily corroded and are seizing inside the housings then they will need to be replaced. Some cables can be saved with some exercising and lubrication. But if the equalizer bar is not reasonably 'balanced' it will cause an unequal pull rate when the hand brake is applied. Not much of a concern when parking, but in case of a brake failure and only the hand brake is working the unequal pull may cause one wheel to lock up before the other causing a slide.

If the cables are free, the levers can adjust down automatically, turn the engine on and depress the brake pedal several times. This will cause teh automatic adjusters inside the caliper pistons to take up any slack, if they are not seized.

Now adjust the cables for correct drag. With the hand brake off the rear wheels should rotate freely. Adjust the handbrake one click up. The wheels should have a slight drag when they rotate, if not tighten the equalizer nut until they both have a slight drag on the wheel. Release the hand brake and the wheels should spin freely. The hand brake should now be within correct adjustment.
Raise the handbrake up 6 clicks and the car should not move on a level surface, an inclined surface will require more depending on grade. Normal is 6-9 with rear discs.

But this may not matter if the brake fluid is old and black, allowing compression of the fluid. Hydraulics have to work for the self adjusters in the rear caliper pistons to work. Old fluid will not be able to prevent corrosion in the system, which will cause the rear piston adjusters to seize.

Have fun.