EBrake.. or lack there of..
 

So I got my 86 gxl(< the one in my avatar), for 700 bucks, car runs fine no prob's really.. the main issue is the ebrake don't work. The guy i bought it from said the cable MIGHT be snapped, but im not too sure. 1st off it doesnt work, i pull it up and nothing, so it fells like a snapped a cable.. but when im driving no matter if the ebrakes up or down, the brake light will be on through all of 1st and 2nd up till 3000 rpm, then the light shuts off. This happen to anyone? I've never had a car w/ this prob b4 so... is it just a snappd cable? and if it is, would that be an easy fix? Just lookin for a little direction thanx...

P.S. i searched archives and FAQ' s but nothin on this subject..maybe i aint searchin hard nuff?

any help appreciated..

have u checked ur brake fluid, or checked ur brake lights too see if one is blowed?

yessir the fluid is good, and both lights work... just the ebrake dnt work

Hey, welcome to my world :P I actually have the same problem except for the brake light part. Well i try to help you narrow it down. I'll try my best to explain it off my head. Note that this is the steps i took. I don't think u have to do these in the following order.

First try tightening cable length/tension
1. Jack the car up (rear). Cluck front wheel, put in neutral.
2. You can take off the tire or just use the tire. I would take off the tire if your gonna go try the other step.
3. Press brake several times
4. Tighten the cable which is located right by handbrake lever(inside plastic)
5. Keep tightening it until you hear 5-10 clicks (i believe that's the range) from pulling the handbrake lever up.
6. Turn the tire or rotor, if it moves then it's not cable tension problem.

Next step, checking the cable
1. Well kinda self-explanatory. Take out the cable and check for visible crack and wear. Also try pulling on both side, u'll probably know if it snapped.

Finally the step i'm on. The spring hook thingy on the brake. A lot easier if the cable still pulls the spring hook.
1. Pull up the ebrake lever, check if the spring moved.
2. If spring did move then lower the ebrake lever, check if the spring moves back to original position.
3. If spring moved back and forth w/o problem then i can't help you any further cuz mine didn't lol sorry.
4. If the spring doesn't move then you narrow the problem to this point :P And this is every i'm at lol. I dunno what to do next.