One of the points which I am always trying to put across to customers, is that a tight handbrake is not always ideal. Many of my older customers appear to like the handbrake to pull up at only three notches. That may have been ok many years ago, but with a caliper operated handbrake, there needs to be travel.

If the cable is too tight, one of the consequences can be that the automatic adjustment mechanism in the caliper will fail to operate correctly, and the handbrake efficiency actually decreases. The other consequence can be as on this 1997 Rover 620 Si auto, that the brake can bind.

The owner who liked a nice tight handbrake, had adjusted the cable up himself to give the short travel he desired, he had at the time ensured that the rear wheels were not binding, but what he didn’t account for was the shortening of the handbrake cable when the Rover was fully occupied.

Whenever there were three passengers in the vehicle, the body dropped slightly and the handbrake cable tightened. So as he went on his way, he was unaware that the nearside brakes were binding slightly. When he stopped and smelt the burning brake material he asked me to have a quick look.

The surface of the brake pads had been burnt, and I recommended a new set of pads. After fitting them, I completed the job by correctly adjusting the handbrake. Hopefully, he will not carry out his own adjustment this time.

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