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accumulator?

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Posted by: CFH

well the accumulator wont stop pumping, i unplugged all the wires on the break pump every time i connect the battery the accumulator turns on and doesent shut off and drains my battery.

it died at my girlfirends house i jumped it and now im at work. but the damn thing stays on. whgen i drove to work both lights kept turning on and off. so i dunno.

so im not sure, shoudl i get new accumulator or is it an electrical problem that sends constant voltage to it.

Posted by: OldSchool1

Quote:

Originally Posted by CFH

...
so im not sure, shoudl i get new accumulator or is it an electrical problem that sends constant voltage to it.

We're going to need a little bit more information.
What year Mark VII?
Are all of the parts in the brake system stock?
Does the car loose fluid?
Does the car have a hard pedal?

Posted by: southernbrothersgarage

If you still have good brakes it could be the relay. If the accumulator is bad you should have a really hard pedal, same feel as driving with the power steering broke. You can take out the relay and stop the pump instead of disconnecting the battery. Sometimes tapping the relay frees it up. It's the forward most one on the firewall behind the master cylinder. I think the suspension relay will interchange to troubleshoot it. ABS relay is ~$25 from Ford.
Dave.

Posted by: CFH

whelp, its an 88 mk7 lsc, my break pedal is hard, when i brake sometimes both lights go on for a while, lately they stay on longer,

probably about a half a year ago, my break fluid was leaking, and leaked out completely one time, my breaks went out, i put it more break fluid and it hasn't leaked since.

last night i was driving and i would turn off my car, it woudlnt come on for probably 30 sec or so then...*bzzzzzz* i didnt disconnect the battery last nigh now my car is dead

so im guessing its the accumulator.

Posted by: OldSchool1

What Dave said.

Please please please read this article about accumulators before attempting a replacement.

http://www.thelincolnmarkviiclub.org...ccumulator.pdf

Brake Accumulator Replacement

Posted by: CFH

yeah i checked that out, looks really easy to change out, im pretty sure thats the problem but now its not pumping anymore. i guess it was pumping all last night and drained the battery completely. kinda pumps sometimes now.

I was pulling out of the mall and all the sudden i had absolutleey no power assist. barely made it home, the power assist woudl go on and off randomly, i just drove really carefully with one foot on the parking break just in case.

So accumulator or is my whole pump going back

Posted by: OldSchool1

Quote:

Originally Posted by CFH

...
So accumulator or is my whole pump going back

I dunno.
You could also test the relay like Dude said.
Even if that is NOT the cause for the pump running, you have eliminated one major possibility in the system. The relays are plug and play and are a very important piece in the braking system.

Normally, the pump only runs when the system senses a loss of pressure. This normally only happens after two or three or four applications of the brake pedal.

Posted by: CFH

what do i do if the pump wont turn on anymore?

could the pump have burned out? or the relay?

Posted by: CFH

ok so i read up some tech articles, after the pump completeley stopped working, i busted open the relay and squeezed the connections toegether, and the pump started working, now i guess it turns on every couple pumps and doesen't stay on when i turn off the car.

any ideas?

Posted by: southernbrothersgarage

I sand the contacts with emery paper or a points file. Then reseal the relay with a SMALL amount of JB Weld. I do this on all my relays and it works for a while before having to buy new ones. ABS is ~25 from Ford, the suspension, fuel pump, EEC, and a/c are ~15 from Advance. This may work for a while but you probably have an accumulator or pressure switch wearing out.
Dave.

Posted by: jimbob

Hi Guys,

I went through all this with my MK.

Once you have checked/cleaned/replaced the relay and confirmed that it operates the pump, the accumulator can be tested.

With a working accumulator the pump should operate about every 5-8 presses of the brake as it is storing the fluid pressure. If the pump comes on a lot more often than that, i.e. every 2-3 or even everytime then the accumulator is bad and should be replaced. PLEASE SEE PREVIOUS WARNINGS BEFORE REMOVING THE ACCUMULATOR i believe they hold 2600psi which must be relieved before attempting to remove (by many many presses of the brake pedal with the car keys out of the ignition)

If the pump doesnt come on at all and you have no power assist, and you have checked the pump/relay by operating the replay by hand, then the most likely culprit is the pressure switch. You can find these second hand on a variety of other makes of cars, i got mine off a 1990 Jaguar! which also i believe uses the same accumulator. However be aware that the block that the pressure switch/pump/accumulator is mounted onto may be a different shape to a Mk VII, but the components should fit. Check and compare before you buy!!!

You can drive with a bad accumulator if you are only braking lightly as a good pump/relay and pressure switch will keep up with the demand, BUT PLEASE BE AWARE IF YOU HAVE TO BRAKE HEAVILY IN AN EMERGENCY IT MAY NOT and you will lose your power assist.

Hope this helps, i got my new Accumulator from Prior Remanufacturing in Texas.

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