parking brake not working

[REDMACHINE]

i know about cable and some other possible issues with the PB. Have been there and done that a half dozen times since ownership including a rock hitting the take up wheel on the rear and having to replace that on my second day out in july 2011. At any rate to the problem. No codes showing, parking brake is released but toggle seems non responsive as if it were not working on the PB toggle but the front trunk opens fine so that portion of the toggle is working but the "feel" is as if there is no press down for the toggle to engage properly which of course would prevent activating the brake. Has anyone had a similar situation or any knowledge about how to go about this issue. I will check that a wire has not come lose today but before I take it in to the dealer for a full assessment I was hoping to possibly find a sensible solution. I realize it could be the motor and will run an electrical current test on that as I check for connections. SO ANY HELP, ADVICE OR PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Peter Aawen]

Those 'double acting' Park Brake/Frunk Release switches became quite a problem early in the piece; they really don't seem to work well for long/too many activations with exactly that 'lack of feel' symptom; only for many, it was the Frunk Release side that failed first!! According to one of our local BRP Reps (the well respected one! ) this issue with the switch was at least part of the reason that the electronic Frunk Release was dropped on later model RT's....

So it sounds like you've been lucky, and the Frunk Release side of your switch has continued to work for longer than most.... only now your Park Brake side of the switch has failed! :gaah:

As for a fix, some have repeatedly replaced the switches with OE 'double acting' units (they aren't exactly cheap tho! Especially if they fail as often as they've been known to! ) while others have just dumped the 'double action' switch feature & replaced that switch entirely with a 'form, fit, & function' but much stronger 'single action' switch that only does the essential Park Brake engage/disengage stuff, leaving the terminals/plug for the Frunk Release disconnected (but covered) & hanging unused beneath the tupperware - just like the plug wiring on every RT Spyder produced since BRP dropped that option... I'm lead to believe the terminals are still there on the 2021 RT's - unused for 6-7 years, nothing on the other end either, but still there!

Not saying this is necessarily the problem you've got right now, but it sure sounds like it could be?!? :dontknow: . Over to you. :thumbup:

 

[REDMACHINE]

Thanks for your timely reply. I know that primarily the trunk issue was more the a case of the small roller contact in the front getting slightly bent as it was a thin piece of metal and a gently rebending in place got the trunk working. So I never had that problem with the switch otherwise and this is really the first time I have had any pb problem other than my initial one and one time the thin stop metal at the front of the brake system got misaligned which I believe someone here had a simple solution for which I incorporated into my spyder and it never happened again. I do not believe the motor failed but of course that is always a possibility, but when you think of it the motor is only used when parking and so it should really last a long time, though this may be an issue, I will look into it. Sometimes a motor "freezes" when the brushes are worn and it stops in a particular position and all one needs to do is manually move it to a different position and the shaft will being to rotate properly again. I will examine all these after I begin by replacing the rocker switch and keep all up to date on my repair.