On Fri, 15 Jul 94 02:03:46 CDT Rick Gordon said:
>Well Joel, you can finally add me to your list. 1980 Vanagon, (cinnamon
>brown), camper, in WA state.

okie dokie. :)

>Pulling up the road toward my house, hit the brakes and the damn brake
>light came on. ...
>But why does the light come on if the level is full? And is it really safe
>to drive? (My Volvo has dual circuits - when it came on there we knew we

Steve is right, i think, about the parking brake. that happened to me on my
1980 bus. the little button down there on the floor, at the bottom of the
hand/parking/emergency brake handle, had gotten bent over badly, and when i
would hit a bump or put the brake handle down 'wrong', the light would come
on.

so, you might have been seeing an electrical sort at the button ... that
dash brake light also shows you that the parking brake is still on (when
you crank it up). so check that first (cheap!). then if it happens again,
start worrying about the master cylinder and fluid levels.

but i would recommend REPLACING the brake fluid anyway, as soon as you can.
just for paranoia's sake. :) that way, you and your mechanic KNOW what's
in there, and that it is new and fresh. just a thought.

good luck.
joel