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e-ebrake won't release

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Alexey

Alexey

Freshman Member
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My 1963'ish Sprite seems to be refusing to fully release e-brake. The release mechanism on the ratchet on the handle seems to be working, but as it gets to the last few degrees of engagement, it just stops dead, as though it's bumping against something. I looked at the cable and the linkage and nothing seems out of the ordinary. The car was always a little hard to get out of e-brake, but usually some jiggling of the handle and moving the driver's seat (usually all the way to the front) would do the trick, but this time it's not budging. This leads me to believe the problem is somewhere around the handle, but I can't see anything amiss with my untrained eye.
 
Ok, it is time, remove the seat and the emerg, handle and check it all out.
 
Check the hook up where the cable meets the rods, when was the last time that fitting was greased? Also make sure the rods are not hanging up on the axle.
And check the pivots in the handle like Jack said.
 
Something like you described happened to me before...it turned out that the bit of the wiring harness that runs under the driver's seat had shifted, and a lead (to the lil'switch that turns on the dash light) found itself in the ratchet teeth. When it eventually chewed through the insulation, it grounded something that popped fuses and stopped me dead in the road.

I thought this was odd, as I thought the e-brake light completed a ground path and wasn't 'hot,' but when I moved the wire, taped it up, and put in new fuses, everything was good again. Heed the warning...
 
Thanks, folks. Guess I'll pull the seat and take a peek. From looking at the ratchet teeth so far, it didn't seem like there was anything interfering, but one never knows.
 
you should be able to pull the seat cushion sideways enough to at least see the mechanism - without pulling the whole seat
 
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