RT Parking Brake Failed On

[scudrunner]

We were going to ride to breakfast this morning before my wife went to work. All dressed up and no way to go. The parking brake would not disengage. We stopped by the dealer on the way home (in the CAR!) and talked to the service mgr. He had never heard of an issue with the parking brake. (I won't tell you what my wife's comment was about him when we left).
So going to the most knowledgeable source (SpyderLovers.com!:2thumbs I did my research. Bootie has some good pictures of the issue here so I went to work stripping the tupperware. To my surprise, the parking brake cable is in the disengaged position! Back to the dealer with pictures.
Oh, and I heard no noise when I pressed the PBrake button, so I don't know if the motor is working or not.
Any help would be appreciated since my wife has no confidence in the service manager.

 

[scudrunner]

Ok, we decided to disconnect the battery for a while and see if the computer will reset itself and utopia will resume.

 

[Lamonster]

Give me a call 423-465-8099

 

[Lamonster]

 

[Lamonster]

 

[scudrunner]

Ok, after a thought provoking discussion with Lamont (hence the extra pictures on the thread), I went to my "shop" and did some more digging. The windshield is on the same circuit and it works, so no circuit issues. Looking at the setup again, notice the cam on the pulley (red arrow) and the micro switch below (blue circle). When the brake is off, the cam closes that micro switch and that turns the flashing (!) off on the console. Obviously, my brake is about 45 deg away from disengaging completely.
I loosened the rear pulley cable lock nut enough to pull the cable off the bracket, then had enough slack to remove the cable at the front pulley. Brake is free, cable is free....I can move it back and forth to engage and disengage the brake. I suspect that the motor quit for some reason before releasing the brake. I don't hear any clicking or whirring when I push the brake button.
But Tuesday morning, I'll be riding my naked Spyder to the shop for repairs. Lucky it's only 3 miles!

 

[ThreeWheels]

You know, I love the heck out of my RT, but to be honest, sometimes I'm a little concerned at how complicated it's become and how reliable all these subsystems are.
Back about 20 years ago, you could always tell who had electric windows on their car. They were the ones who had to open the door at tollboooths.

 

[canam9]

You know, I love the heck out of my RT, .
Back about 20 years ago, you could always tell who had electric windows on their car. They were the ones who had to open the door at tollboooths.

:roflblack::roflblack:So true.:ani29:

 

[scudrunner]

Years ago, us shade tree mechanics could fix just about anything with a Swiss Army knife, bailing wire and duct tape. With a side of WD-40. I used to do what was called a Coke bottle tune-up. Pour a Coke bottle full of water into the carburetor while gunning the engine. Would clean out the cylinders and clean the plugs. And you could reach all 8 plugs without being a contortionist. There will come a time when we will out-technology ourselves.

 

[Dwight]

I think we're already there (too much electronics) on the RT's!!!

Dwight