EPB Module Replacement

[Oztourer]

Has anyone out there replaced an EPB and if so how hard is it? After getting new rotors and park brake pads my module still squeals like a banshee!! Do I go new or try second hand?

[Disco-tastic]

I am wondering the same. AFAIK it is a pain (7hrs by a mechanic) and you need to do an initialisation for the new module with a diagnostic tool. Thats all i know tho.

I was under the car yesterday trying to unjam the mechanism with no luck. Off to the mechanic to see if his set of tools and additional perserverance will unjam it.

If you havent already, try the steps in this post. Access is difficult and prying the cover off the module is a right pain, but if you can unjam it it is still probably much easier than replacing the module.

http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic91299.html

Cheers

Dan

[Graeme]

I was under the car yesterday trying to unjam the mechanism with no luck. Off to the mechanic to see if his set of tools and additional perserverance will unjam it.Just checking that you have pulled the release cable.

[Disco-tastic]

Yep. Thanks graeme. the EPB was jammed on so had to to get the car moving again.

Unfortunately, i had heard the EPB screech but didnt think anything of it until it jammed. I wasnt aware of the problems then, but i sure am now!

Cheers

Dan

[Oztourer]

I am wondering the same. AFAIK it is a pain (7hrs by a mechanic) and you need to do an initialisation for the new module with a diagnostic tool. Thats all i know tho.

I was under the car yesterday trying to unjam the mechanism with no luck. Off to the mechanic to see if his set of tools and additional perserverance will unjam it.

If you havent already, try the steps in this post. Access is difficult and prying the cover off the module is a right pain, but if you can unjam it it is still probably much easier than replacing the module.

DISCO3.CO.UK - View topic - How To - EPB repair/Unjam + Relatch (http://www.disco3.co.uk/forum/topic91299.html)

Cheers

Dan

Thanks Dan
Fortunately my module isn't jammed (yet!!). I've read that post before but am considering a replacement module - new or second hand.

With your vehicle, have you tried releasing the brake by driving off in reverse? I've read you can have some luck with this method - just don't force things too much!!
Good luck with it.
Matt

[Disco-tastic]

I've already used the manual release.

Do you mean that if it's jammed driving backwards will a) tension the cable and b) tell the motor to unwind? Argh! I cant try it as there's no way of reconnecting the brake without unjamming the module first.

Graeme, is there an auto method to reconnect the park brake once the manual release is used, or do you need a diagnostic tool? Would it be worth trying to get the module to unwind while trying to manually unjam it?

Cheers

Dan

[Graeme]

The 1st activation after a manual release reconnects the cables but does not apply the brake. Operate a 2nd time if the brake is required, assuming that the mechanism wasn't so jammed that it couldn't reconnect.

[Disco-tastic]

Its pretty jammed. Its hard to get any force on the brass rod so any additional force is welcome.

Matt, sorry for thread hijack. I shall retreat and watch with interest.

Cheers

Dan

[Disco Stu]

Hi Disco-Tastic. I mentioned this briefly in a post to Austourer earlier. Perhaps it will help your situation also.



Safely position Yourself under your car after removing Exhaust,Heatshield etc. Gain access to your EPB module. Remove the wiring plug from the side of the module > Remove the front cover plate from EPB module.

Identify the Electric motor within the assembly, it looks like a Battery drill or RC car motor. > There will be 2 wires that power the motor, one positive 12v and one ground. You need to detach these wires, one from the PCB which is positive and the other which is ground. The wires are color coded so be sure to remember there correct configuration for re-assembly later on.



Find yourself any 12v battery, it can be any size or type aslong as its 12v. Rig yourself up a couple of mini jumper leads out of some spare insulated wire.




You now want to hold the Negative wire from your mini jumper pack on the positive wire from the EPB motor, Hold it firm between your finger tips. take the positive wire from your jumper pack and carefully just brush or poke the exposed end of the Negative wire on the EPB motor. You will witness a small spark and hear your motor run for a split second.

Momentarily reversing the polarity on the little motor has done 2 things, it has unjammed the Module screw jack assembly and has also Freed up the brushes & stator in the motor itself.


This problem occurs after the park Brake Shoes go un-adjusted for too long, eventually over extending and jamming the screw jack and burning the poor little motor.




Now that its freed up you can re-attach the emergency release mechanism inside the module (if you pulled it) Spend some time looking over your brake shoes, pull the rotor off, give the drum shoe assembly a tap with a soft hammer from all angles, blow out with compressed air if available, detach the outer cable connections and pull the cables with your hand, really get those drums flexing and operating the way they're supposed to. Add some light oil to the adjuster and springs.


Reassemble the rotors and carry out the EPB adjustment procedure, wind the adjuster until its firm on the rotor then back it off 10 clicks.
Once you've done this step you can go back to the EPB module.

There are no force gauges or sensors hooked up at this stage DO NOT manually over extend. only wind it within an inch either end of the screw travel. Using your Jumper Pack again wind the EPB back and forth, this will give you a chance to prove your motor is still alive, and also a good opportunity to get some grease on the screw assembly.


Leave the Assembly in the slack or park brake off position. (its up to you if you want to refit the EPB cover at this stage, You can leave it off for the first couple of runs) Re attach the wiring plug into the side of the EPB.


Pop your bonnet and perform an ECU hard reset (Not essential but worth doing) reconnect battery. With the car still on jacks and the rear wheels still off jump in the drivers seat with all the cabin doors closed. lock and unlock the car from inside with the key remote. Insert key in ignition, foot on brake, start the vehicle in park. let it run for 30 seconds or so. actuate the EPB switch up momentarily, you will hear the old familiar sound of the cable stretch and the motor laboring. Press the EPB button to deactivate. Go ahead and do this 3 or 4 times.




Once done and happy, readjust the EPB drum shoes (Tight - minus 10 clicks) refit EPB cover, heat shroud, exhaust, rear wheels, spare wheel.

Job Done. You will save yourself a couple of thousand dollars on a new Module by doing this. I've done 2 separate vehicles successfully this way, mine hasn't missed a beat in 40,000 klms.


It should take you the best part of a full weekend.


Good Luck. Joel

[Disco-tastic]

Thanks mate.

I took it to the mechanic and he managed to unjam it. Just have to adjust the shoes and should be all good again. Hopefully i wont have to do it agan for as long as i have it

Cheers

Dan

[Disco-tastic]

Update.

Got it sorted... eventually. Took it to the mechanic a couple of weeks ago as i couldnt unjam the EPB module but his hoist died, so he only got a chance to unjam the module once the hoist was working. He put the cover on and I've been driving it round since with no EPB. Our intention was that he would clean the brakes and adjust them and it'd all be fine.

Took it back today and he cleaned the drum brakes (one side had a bit of dust and mud in it) and adjust the whole shebang. Went to apply the park brake and found that it had wound itself off the male threaded rod. So he took the cover off the module, and tried to rethread the rod, only to find the adjusted cable was too tight. So off came the left rear wheel and he loosened the cable, reattached the rod, readjusted the rear left wheel and voila!

Only took 6 hours and a bunch of swears. Still, i hear thats cheaper than buying and fitting a new module!

Cheers

Dan

[Oztourer]

Update on my EPB. I ended up getting a new module fitted in time for my trip to the Vic high country. It operates almost silently every time. When my old unit seemed to be running ok it still made a noise. I'll pulling apart some time soon to see what was wrong with it. If I can fix it I'll start a new threat on its repair.

[Disco-tastic]

If you dont mind OT, what did it set you back? Mine is quite noisy now. I think i will try and clean and regrease it but it may be too late.

Cheers

Dan

[DJL9999]

I found that inside the gearbox of the module that one of the gear cogs teeth are half stripped it seems easy to replace I just haven't been able to find a replacement gear yet.. I'll post if I find one or I may have to try a old module for the part or I guess a new module from LRdirect. If anyone has an old module that wasn't noisy they want to sell let me know.

[DJL9999]

I found that inside the gearbox of the module that one of the gear cogs teeth are half stripped it seems easy to replace I just haven't been able to find a replacement gear yet.. I'll post if I find one or I may have to try a old module for the part or I guess a new module from LRdirect. If anyone has an old module that wasn't noisy they want to sell let me know.

Ok so I believe I may have found just the kit to repair this unit.... there is four or five different shipping options, I went with the expedited international shipping one but here you go:

4 Pieces Parking Brake Actuator Repair Gear Set for Range Rover (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/262841998785)

Or their website:

4 Pieces Parking Brake Actuator Repair Gear Set for Range Rover (https://www.brossautoparts.net/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=6161&search=Park+brake)

Or search on BGE545


I'll be repacking with gear grease etc and I'm almost 99.9% positive this will fit as I compared my gears with pic.. but time will tell. I'll post upon arrival etc. But for the $70 odd it will be well worth it if it works!

FYI - my actuator was jammed and once unjammed it was working forward and reverse with a 12v battery hooked up but it was really noisy obviously from the teeth all chewed away from the unit being jammed in the first place - this was due to poorly adjusted and dust build up in the drum (my fault for driving without checking on 2000klm of dirt roads). It's a pain to get the unit out but with an air ratchet and socket I was able to get to the two top nuts to free the unit from the left hand wheel arch - the rest I just followed the service manual removal instructions. I wasn't going to risk putting the unit back in with only half the teeth on the cog as it's a real pain to get in and out - especially when you have a long range tank!


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/1076.jpghttps://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/1077.jpghttps://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/1078.jpg

[Graeme]

Reminds me of a similar plastic gear set that I bought for a laser printer - inexpensive and avoided having to buy a new printer.

[DJL9999]

Ok so I believe I may have found just the kit to repair this unit.... there is four or five different shipping options, I went with the expedited international shipping one but here you go:

4 Pieces Parking Brake Actuator Repair Gear Set for Range Rover (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/262841998785)

Or their website:

4 Pieces Parking Brake Actuator Repair Gear Set for Range Rover (https://www.brossautoparts.net/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=6161&search=Park+brake)

Or search on BGE545


I'll be repacking with gear grease etc and I'm almost 99.9% positive this will fit as I compared my gears with pic.. but time will tell. I'll post upon arrival etc. But for the $70 odd it will be well worth it if it works!

FYI - my actuator was jammed and once unjammed it was working forward and reverse with a 12v battery hooked up but it was really noisy obviously from the teeth all chewed away from the unit being jammed in the first place - this was due to poorly adjusted and dust build up in the drum (my fault for driving without checking on 2000klm of dirt roads). It's a pain to get the unit out but with an air ratchet and socket I was able to get to the two top nuts to free the unit from the left hand wheel arch - the rest I just followed the service manual removal instructions. I wasn't going to risk putting the unit back in with only half the teeth on the cog as it's a real pain to get in and out - especially when you have a long range tank!


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/1076.jpghttps://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/1077.jpghttps://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/1078.jpg

Well that didn't take long to come in!! Parts match 100%.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/1044.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/1045.jpg

[DiscoJeffster]

I want to buy some just in case [emoji23] I've got a compressor rebuild kit on the shelf, plus dc motors for the door lock mechanisms. Lol.

[DJL9999]

Well that didn't take long to come in!! Parts match 100%.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/1044.jpg
https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/1045.jpg

All back in and working like new. Very happy with a $70odd outlay rather than 1k+ and a day of work to fit. Highly recommend the parts.

[PerthDisco]

Would make a good DIY story if you had some photos of the internals?

[Disco-tastic]

Legend! Mine has jammed and has been a little noisier since. I will have to mark this thread so that when mine dies i can fix it for cheap!

[Tombie]

Yes. Already ordered and headed for the spares shelf.

[DJL9999]

Still going strong. I love opening the door to see if I can hear it. Smooth as. Hahha.

[Oztourer]

This has inspired me to rebuild my old unit. I managed to get the the lid off a while back but that's as far as I got. Does anyone know what terminals in the plug should be used to hook the 12V up to to test? I'll take photos of the strip down and rebuild and post when I get some time.

[DJL9999]

This has inspired me to rebuild my old unit. I managed to get the the lid off a while back but that's as far as I got. Does anyone know what terminals in the plug should be used to hook the 12V up to to test? I'll take photos of the strip down and rebuild and post when I get some time.

What you need to do is remove the terminals from the motor. Some needle nose pliers will be fine. Then make up some short jumper leads out of some hook up wire (or medium speaker wire etc) long enough to get to the POS/NEG of a 12v battery - I used alligator clips on the motor terminals and spade ends into my battery, but I could have used female spade terminals for the motor and that would have hung on better. I used a millwalkee 12v drill battery but you can use any other battery (car) or DC power with at least 1A.
With the motor hooked up you need to be able to swap the (swap polarity) positive and negative around to make the motor go in forward or reverse.

Once you unjam the cable and thread which is a cinch once you figure that out as it's pretty tight. (You can also check the forward and reverse to see if it sounds smooth and therefore might not need to replace cogs - personally no having done it I would open the white box also and inspect the teeth closely for damage - any wear or broken teeth it replace it and I'd also clean and put new grease in either way). I took most of the unit apart and put some vice grips with protection around the brass rod and some multi grips around the square end and it came apart with one tweak so then I was able to wind the cable out of the thread - what I did do wind it back on and test the unit back and forth was to swap the polarity on the motor being carefully not to take it to both extremes - so to not jam it and break cogs etc.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/201.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/202.jpg

The grease I used was the white lithium from super cheap auto. Herschell white marine and outdoor grease. https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/203.jpg

I used a heap in the white box and a heap on the slide and other moving parts.

When putting the new cogs in you don't need to put the cir-clip back on to hold the spring and base plate down - it's actually better I believe anyway and so much easier.

I should have taken more pics and a video for the forum users but I just didn't sorry. There is a YouTube (on a Renault unit) video on the pulling apart of the epb unit but he is just experimenting you need to look your unit over at the same time as watching it.

One thing that would have made this whole thing quicker for me was I used the brake bible to pull apart the brakes - I didn't twig at the time that you can just release the cable from the shoes and leave them on (assuming they are in good nic and adjusted properly with the torque wrench etc in the guide.

Oh the other thing was to really take note on the cable routing, including emergency release cable routing and do it with plenty of light as I did it half dark just before dinner and I rushed the pulling of the cables out only mildly looking at the cable routing - it took me ages to re route the brake cables cause I didn't take care in pulling out. It does say to take care in the bible to be fair :)

Happy to answer anything else.

[Russrobe]

Nice work. Although mines relatively quiet, due to my lack of knowledge on them, I've been meaning to do some maintenance as per bodsys guide.

Have barely used my hand brake this whole trip in case it decides to jam on me.

[DJL9999]

Nice work. Although mines relatively quiet, due to my lack of knowledge on them, I've been meaning to do some maintenance as per bodsys guide.

Have barely used my hand brake this whole trip in case it decides to jam on me.

Biggest thing is dust and rock getting into the drum. Pull the fuse if you really want to make sure but you'll loose cruise control also. Best thing just take the wheels off and drum and blow / wash out. You can do a clean via the adjustment hole but you'll never be sure and I'd say you'd get the wheels off and drum quicker after a few goes of doing it via the hole.

[Oztourer]

Thanks heaps Don. My unit has already been removed as I had a new one put in a year ago. I also saw the Renault YouTube video but didn't think about just putting power straight to the motor terminals!!

[Fishoon]

What you need to do is remove the terminals from the motor. Some needle nose pliers will be fine. Then make up some short jumper leads out of some hook up wire (or medium speaker wire etc) long enough to get to the POS/NEG of a 12v battery - I used alligator clips on the motor terminals and spade ends into my battery, but I could have used female spade terminals for the motor and that would have hung on better. I used a millwalkee 12v drill battery but you can use any other battery (car) or DC power with at least 1A.
With the motor hooked up you need to be able to swap the (swap polarity) positive and negative around to make the motor go in forward or reverse.

Once you unjam the cable and thread which is a cinch once you figure that out as it's pretty tight. (You can also check the forward and reverse to see if it sounds smooth and therefore might not need to replace cogs - personally no having done it I would open the white box also and inspect the teeth closely for damage - any wear or broken teeth it replace it and I'd also clean and put new grease in either way). I took most of the unit apart and put some vice grips with protection around the brass rod and some multi grips around the square end and it came apart with one tweak so then I was able to wind the cable out of the thread - what I did do wind it back on and test the unit back and forth was to swap the polarity on the motor being carefully not to take it to both extremes - so to not jam it and break cogs etc.

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/201.jpg

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/202.jpg

The grease I used was the white lithium from super cheap auto. Herschell white marine and outdoor grease. https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2017/05/203.jpg

I used a heap in the white box and a heap on the slide and other moving parts.

When putting the new cogs in you don't need to put the cir-clip back on to hold the spring and base plate down - it's actually better I believe anyway and so much easier.

I should have taken more pics and a video for the forum users but I just didn't sorry. There is a YouTube (on a Renault unit) video on the pulling apart of the epb unit but he is just experimenting you need to look your unit over at the same time as watching it.

One thing that would have made this whole thing quicker for me was I used the brake bible to pull apart the brakes - I didn't twig at the time that you can just release the cable from the shoes and leave them on (assuming they are in good nic and adjusted properly with the torque wrench etc in the guide.

Oh the other thing was to really take note on the cable routing, including emergency release cable routing and do it with plenty of light as I did it half dark just before dinner and I rushed the pulling of the cables out only mildly looking at the cable routing - it took me ages to re route the brake cables cause I didn't take care in pulling out. It does say to take care in the bible to be fair :)

Happy to answer anything else.


G'day Don, and thanks for the info you've provided.
In order to replace gearing, I assume you need to remove the entire EPB Module as indicated in your pics? How difficult is this, ie you mentioned taking care to note the routing of cables. Is there any requirement for diagnostic tool (service mode etc)?
Many thanks

[DJL9999]

G'day Don, and thanks for the info you've provided.
In order to replace gearing, I assume you need to remove the entire EPB Module as indicated in your pics? How difficult is this, ie you mentioned taking care to note the routing of cables. Is there any requirement for diagnostic tool (service mode etc)?
Many thanks

Hi.. Some say that you can un-jam it buy accessing it by taking the spare wheel out but I have a LR tank so that wasn’t an option to even try (although I can’t see it making much difference as it’s tight and pointed away from the area). The diag tool has a cool routine to unjam also.

To change the gears out you will need to take the unit out.

It’s fairly straight forward to remove with patience and the idea that you will save a thousand or two.

If you can unclip the EPB cables from the shoes without removing them that may save you some time but I tried briefly and from memory I spent longer trying to do that than mucking around with the shoe clips. I used the famous brake bible to adjust mine after fitting and all went smoothly.


One thing to note is in the drums the spring with a retainer wire, spend some time carefully removing the clip to release the EPB cable ends as I just ripped mine off and bent the spring wire this made it difficult to put back as , one I bent them and two I didn’t look at how it came off. This resulted one day in the EPB cable being released from one side of the brake shoes and it jammed - thankfully it didn’t jam that bad (it took one tooth of the cog I think, but it really did prove to me that the new gears were tough) and I whipped the drums off and saw it had slipped out of the shoe - re-attached it and away it went again and has been going well and quiet ever since.


You don’t need the Gap IID tool for this. Although I recommend it for other jobs :)

[haydent]

Ours squealed on application one day, warning lights came on, cleared errors pressed button to release, more screeching, hand brake was not on, so relieved, and stopped using it, putting tap over the button.

GAP tool said about 19k operations.

Ordered aftermarket set for $500, read some more here and in the manual, and found out could be from lack of adjusted brake shoes. So figured had to do them anyway even if installing new system, so did them first, and found one side was very loose, the other fairly.

Plenty of shoe left, but not sure if they are meant to auto adjust, but mine hadnt, and about 6 months ago id had the brakes apart and hub off to replace bearings, and not realised you had to readjust the park brake...

Now adjusted, ran the unjam procedure twice on GAP tool, as first time it said failed, (second time did too, but often procedures in gap say failed but they worked) but on second time it made a ratchety noise compared to just motor noise on first time.

The GAP procedure may not have been necessary, but afterwards the brake is working fine again for $0 spent :) - as i can return the kit. Hopefully it stays fixed.

I also ordered a gear set to just have on hand as so cheap just in case one day.

[DiscoJeffster]

It does not self adjust. You must maintain it; I recommend annually though I tend to do mine every couple.

Follow the process from Bodsy Brake bible. Use google to get hold of it.

[haydent]

yeah i couldnt see how it could, so the comments i saw must be off.

[BradC]

It does not self adjust. You must maintain it; I recommend annually though I tend to do mine every couple.

Follow the process from Bodsy Brake bible. Use google to get hold of it.

I do mine every oil change (~10,000km). It takes bugger all time in the scheme of things. I reckon once I've got it up on jacks for a wheel rotation it's another 20 minutes max.