The Use And Maintenance Of Handbrake
Wrong way to use
① Pull too tightly
The function of the handbrake is to stabilize the vehicle after the vehicle is stopped to avoid accidents caused by the vehicle slipping on some roads. Many friends think that pulling the handbrake to the tightest is all OK, but in fact, it is 100% strong for a long time. This will shorten the life of the handbrake cable, because excessive stretching of the metal or keeping it stretched for a long time will accelerate the deformation, which will accelerate the brake decay of the handbrake cable. In addition, the handbrake has its own independent brake mechanism. When the handbrake is not used, the brake shoe is automatically returned by the return spring. If the handbrake is often used with 100% force, the return spring will be in a high-strength tensile action, which will cause the return spring to lose its return effect over time.
②Parking with handbrake on the ramp for a long time
Now parking spaces are in short supply, and many parking spaces are planned for slopes. After parking the car, the car owner will directly fix the car with the handbrake, because this will make the handbrake bear too much braking force and make the handbrake wear faster. It can be used more practically. Method: Put bricks or other objects under the tires, and then pull up the handbrake to let the wheels and handbrake force together. If you are not at ease, you can put the gear lever in 1st gear or reverse gear, which can achieve multiple insurances. For automatic transmission models, you must first pull the handbrake to fix the car, and then put the gearbox in P gear. Reduce the burden on the gearbox and prevent the P block latch from getting stuck and unable to unlock normally.
However, we recommend that all car owners try not to stop on the ramp, so as to hurt the car and themselves.
③It is strictly forbidden to use handbrake when driving at high speed
Pulling the handbrake when driving at high speed can easily lock one of the rear wheels and cause side slip. The correct way is to reduce the speed by downshifting, and only pull the handbrake to stop the car when the speed is very low.
How to maintain the handbrake
As a mechanical thing, in addition to good usage habits, regular maintenance is also very important. Below, I will introduce the maintenance precautions of the handbrake.
①Check the effectiveness of the handbrake mechanism
Like the pedal of the foot brake, the handbrake handle also has a pulling stroke. Usually, when the handle is pulled to 70% of the entire stroke, the handbrake system should be in the normal braking position, so before checking the braking force of the handbrake, you should find out this 70% working point, which can be passed Count the ratchet sounds to determine. You can park the car in a relatively quiet place, slowly pull up the handbrake, and count the ratchet clicks while pulling until the handle is pulled to the end. Then calculate the 70% position of the total number of sounds, this position is the effective working point of the handbrake handle.
②Test the sensitivity of handbrake
In addition to braking efficiency, the sensitivity of the handbrake should also be checked, which is particularly important for starting on a slope. When driving slowly on a road with no slope, slowly pull the handbrake handle to feel the sensitivity and joint point of the handle. This inspection method will wear the handbrake mechanism, so the number of inspections should not be too many. During the inspection process, if the braking performance or sensitivity of the handbrake is found to be unsatisfactory, it can usually be solved by adjusting the operating cable of the handbrake. There is an adjustable compensation mechanism at the connection between the bottom of the handbrake handle and the steel cable (usually covered by the interior trim), and the length of the brake cable can be stretched by tightening the nut with a wrench. But some cars have adjustment mechanisms located under the car. If you are not familiar with it, you should ask maintenance personnel to deal with it.
