GM Workhorse Chassis Park Brake

kcallard · 09-10-2011, 12:42 PM

Hi, hopefully someone can help me out. I have a 2002 R-Vision Condor with the 8.1L workhorse engine and Chassis.

We used it about 6 weeks ago and all was fine. I went to move it today and first of all, had to give it a battery boost. That was fine engine started and is runnig well.

However, I cannot release the park brake. It is a bendix park brake with the push/pull switch mounted on the dash.

I can put the vehicle into drive or reverse, but it won't move.

When I push the switch in, nothing happens, normally you can hear it disengage and the light goes out on the dash, but not now.

Does anyone have any suggestions ??

Regards,

kcallard

tomwalt · 09-10-2011, 12:58 PM

If you have the Yellow push/pull you have "AutoPark". Search this site for informaton. And start a notebook - you need to learn all you can about it. When Aotopark works it works great, but you need to be able to identify issues early and stay on top of it.
A wonderful gent callled "oldusedbear' is the resident expert. I will send you a personal note with contact info and the Autopark test he asks you to do - then you can contact him for assistance.
P.S. Be thankful it failed while you were parked.

tobysdad · 09-10-2011, 01:27 PM

Well, well. Another Condor owner! There are so few of us around. I also own a 2002 Condor, just bought it about 4 months ago and man have I learned a lot since then. First problem was with the Auto Park Brake (APB). Exactly the same symptoms as you are having now. We were stranded on I-10 for 12 full hours until the third tow truck that came along knew how to drop the drive shaft, which is what it took to tow us.

I cannot agree more with tomwalt about OldUsedBear. He is the expert on the APB, and helped me out a ton. He even has developed a very cheap monitoring device for the APB, which you can install yourself. Since I had problems, I studied the system extensively and know the system as it is installed on the 2002 Condor 1281 extremely well. As a matter of fact, I was just about to go out and crawl under the unit and remove the cover plate for the APB. But this is because of a problem with the jacks. The jack system won't turn on, and it's because it is not receiving the ground from the APB switch.

Try to get in touch with OldUsedBear. If that fails, feel free to contact me. My money is on the High Pressure Switch, also known as the Rotten Green Switch (RGS). Thankfully, it is extremely easy to access on the 2002 Condor.

Let's try to keep in touch, since there are so few Condor owners out there. You wouldn't happen to know how the backup camera cable is routed, would you?

tobysdad

edgray · 09-10-2011, 07:13 PM

Roger Haag is the AAPB EXPERT, and he can help you with any issue you may have with your J71 AAPB. His expertise is FREE to all in need.

Roger has a NEW email address: oldusedbear11@charter.net You need to contact him there because the file sizes he uses are too big for these forums.

WELCOME to iRV2.com, and good luck with your repairs!
Ed

BRaff · 12-20-2011, 08:54 PM

RCallard, I also have a 2002 Condor and the first day within 32 miles of driving home, I also broke down on I-10 (Florida section). The problem was the ignition switch which caused the unit to stop. Luckily I coasted to the side of the road and waited to be towed home. (There's a modification available to fix the Ignition problem)
I had the problem with the Auto Park brake also and Roger Haag is the expert. He helped me. My problem was that someone had filled the reservoir with water and it froze causing the little bit of fluid to run out into the relay (which was living under the reservoir) and required it to be replaced. I learned a lot about the auto park system.
I also had problems with the battery going dead. That was a relay in the charging system, which I had to replace.
The thing is now setting in my yard with a bad fuel pump waiting for me to drop the fuel tank and replace it. I didn't retire quick enough to get constant use of it and it now suffers from General Motor's poor engineering of not designing a way to change the fuel pump without dropping the gas tank.

Sure hope you have more luck with yours than I have had with mine. I will soon be posting for help with the fuel pump problems.

Not a happy camper with R-Vision/GMC Workhorse.
______________________
Bob
2002 R-Vision Condor on a GMC P32 workhorse 33' chassis with a BIG 75 gal gas tank

DriVer · 12-21-2011, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BRaff

RCallard, I also have a 2002 Condor and the first day within 32 miles of driving home, I also broke down on I-10 (Florida section). The problem was the ignition switch which caused the unit to stop. Luckily I coasted to the side of the road and waited to be towed home. (There's a modification available to fix the Ignition problem)

I hope that you know that several OEMs attached too much load on the ignition switch and created a lot of their own problems. The relay retro fit does work since it removes the load from the ignition switch and only allows the required current to pass through to the ignition and starting systems.

Quote:

The thing is now setting in my yard with a bad fuel pump waiting for me to drop the fuel tank and replace it. I didn't retire quick enough to get constant use of it and it now suffers from General Motor's poor engineering of not designing a way to change the fuel pump without dropping the gas tank.

You would be very hard pressed to find any modern vehicle with a frame mounted fuel pump. As of last year and some 85,000+ miles I did fry a fuel pump, it had to be replaced and I had to get towed off the road. All is well at the moment with just about 95,000 miles.

Systems on 10 year old vehicles are going to begin to fail however I hope that you can resolve your issues in as timely and inexpensively as possible. Good luck.

Welcome to iRV2.com and please do come back and feel free to post often!