Let me start by saying that i have no experience in brake systems / hydraulics. i have replaced pads before and know enough that disks are easy compared to drums.

I have a 95 civic hatch auto. bought it 3 months ago and been doing maintenance items on it (new filters, tires, battery etc.). Car has been sitting the last 2 months doing various repairs mostly electrical. added Cruse control as 80% of my commute is freeway. so i never touched the brakes other than swapping the petals. car was fine before. brakes worked flawlessly, booster fine, wheels locked up under heavy breaking. no problems found.

so i finished the cruse control and went for a test drive tonight. drive started fine down the hill i live on. got to a straight road and floored it. car struggled accelerating, maxing out about 30 mph (cruse control worked by the way.) used the brakes to stop the car and the petal felt stiff like when the vac. is gone out of the booster. decided to test the brakes so i floored it shifting at close to red line. got up to 50 mph and smelled brake smell right away. also when i let off the gas i DID NOT have to touch the brakes to stop the car. i knew there was a serious problem now so i decided to limp it back home. (less than 1 mile.) well between the brake issue and the hill, car was going less than 10 mph at ~ 3K RPM in first gear. serious load on the motor. by the time i got back up the hill the front rotors were glowing a dull red. not wanting to melt my brand new tires, i poured 3 bottles of water on each wheel. the rear drums were hot but not as hot as the fronts. after much steam, and letting the car sit, i pulled it from the driveway into the garage. car would not move in reverse at all and would barley move forward not floored.

so obviously the brakes are locked up some how. there is fluid in the reservoir. what do i need to do / look for to get the car road worthy again?

 

Check the caliper slide pins and pistons.

 

Cruise control is also hooked up to the brake pedal.

Being it was fine before you did the cruise control and not after, I would think that the decelerate button is constantly on which would also engage the brakes all the time.

The part that is different is cruise control. Which is wiring, the 3 pedals (assuming manual transmission) and the cruise control unit and the added clock reel spring in the steering wheel for the cruise controls on the wheel.

It should be something in that system.

If you dumped water over your wheels and got the rotors wet when they were red hot, there is a pretty good chance you warped the rotors and will need new ones to not have a wobble ride.

 

Given that all 4 brakes apparently locked up, I think the focus should be on the master cylinder.

 

The cruise control is hooked up to the brake sensor and has nothing to do with the the hydraulic system. I would start looking at the brake master cylinder as suggested by Ron.

 

Oh I see, thanks for the correction. I haven't studied the setup in depth as of yet, was just looking over the electrical aspects the other day and jumped to a false conclusion by the looks.

 

To add cruise, did you have to mess with the connection between the master cylinder & pedal (ie replace the pedal arm)?

Usually the brakes locking while driving is due to "not enough free play in the brake pedal". If the free play adjustment is TOO tight, it will cause a slight pressure on the master after things start to warm up. This doesn't allow the expanded brake fluid to return to reservoir when you let off the brake pedal. Eventually everything heats & swells so much you grind to a halt.

The remedy should be getting under the drivers dash, loosen the jam-nut near the pedal on the booster push-rod, and then turn the rod counter-clockwise (unscrewing) to give it a slightly shorter length between the pedal and the booster. This will add the necessary free play between the booster & master.

I would start with only one full turn of the rod at a time while checking the free play feel of the pedal with my hand. Freeplay should be between 1 & 5 mm at the pedal.

BTW: Always pump the pedal a few times before you start making adjustments. This will remove any remaining booster vacuum (amplifies your hand power). Pedal should be ultra stiff before you start making adjustments. This way you can really feel how much free-play you have.

 

The way the cruise control slows the car down is by letting off the gas, other than that it would be something crazy to implement this feature from newer cars into a civic. But I sure as hell am not gonna try.

 

If you added the cruse disengage switch to the brake peddle then it may be adjusted to far in and causing the peddle to push the rod to take up the free play.

 

If not the master cylinder:
Change your brake fluid. Moisture in the system can turn to steam and over pressure the brake hydraulics.
I have seen this happen on a Civic that had not been driven for a long time.

 

He's gone, yall. I'm going to assume this was a false query.

 

nope still here watching you sleep. LOL

i dabbled at it today and readjusted the petal and brake switch. seemed to work as i drove over 20 miles without one problem. the brake light switch had the 10mm bolt mod since the plastic stopper broke long ago. there was a 1/4 inch spacer in it plus the switch had about 1/4 inch thread showing. so i think it was riding the brakes and the fluid got hot and expanded.

thank you to all for the help.

 

I was very young and started driving in the early 70's. Most us kids drove cars made in the 60s and had to learn to keep them dependable. Coming home from an out of town trip, we stopped for gas and I smelled the front wheel was hot and smokin. We found the brake had locked the drum due to the brake hose had collapsed and was holding pressure to the shoes. Brakes hoses can collapse on the inside and not show any signs from the outside. So, on any car over ten years of age, when I do a brake job, I change the hoses. Since it seemed in this thread that ALL four brakes were applied, old hoses were not the problem.....but be aware, they can and do fail in time...

 

Weird, in all the years i've been on here, I've never heard of that^. Impossible to believe 10 to 15 year old hoses are failing left & right when most of the people on here have 20-30 year old cars. I seriously doubt they make brake hoses like the ones you had trouble with any more.

 

It does happen.
I have fixed 3 Honda cars (1 Del Slo and 2 EGs) in the last 6 months with failed brake hoses.The rubber swells inside and seals off the hose.

 

Could you elaborate more on how the cruise control has the ability to apply braking force to the wheels?

 

 

Good to know.

 

Oh I see, thanks for the correction. I haven't read the thread in depth as of yet, was just looking over a few posts and jumped to a false conclusion by the looks.

 

How bizarre. Guess I'll have to store this one in memory in case that problem crops up one day.