Couple of lightning issues

[bymep]

I recently acquired a 91' 318IS which is my first E30 so I am new to these cars. It was clearly neglected by the previous owner so it will take a bit of work to get into proper order. I have a couple of questions with regards to exterior lights and a couple of warning lights on the dash.

First of, are the exterior lights only suppose to work when the ignition is on? This is a Canadian model so headlights and tail lights come on automatically when the ignition is on. I am assuming this is DRL. The headlight switch doesn't seem to do anything and I can't turn the headlights on when the ignition is off using the switch. Is this normal for a Canadian car or is there a problem somewhere?

Second question is regarding warning lights on the dash. Brake fluid low light is on. When I unplug the sensor on top of the master cylinder the light goes away. Fluid level is normal. The brake pad wear indicator light is also on. One thing I saw under the car was one of the ABS sensors was broken and the wire was just hanging there. Would this cause either of these lights to illuminate?

[ELVA164]

The headlights don't turn on until the car is running.

The brake fluid light sounds like a bad sensor.

The brake lining light is a problem on most cars. It's a simple loop; any break in the wiring will turn the light on. Check the plugs at the left front and right rear corners, as well as the wiring near each corner.

The ABS sensor should have turned the orange ABS light on, but won't affect anything else.

[bymep]

Thanks for the info. Brake fluid light turned out to be low fluid. Thought it was topped off, apparently not. All good now.

[82eye]

clicked on this thread thinking the car had been struck by lightning lol

[ELVA164]

clicked on this thread thinking the car had been struck by lightning lol

Me too

[locknload]

You're not confusing a broken ABS wire with a broken brake wear sensor wire, are you?