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I am relaying an experience in hopes it will help someone on the Forum as I feel I owe it, since all the solutions to (rare) problems with my car I can be steered the right way by researching here.
Car: 2012 Continental GT
1. Driving in heavy rain a couple weeks ago on a Friday afternoon I got a " Parking Break Fault" on the speed gauge a red "BRAKE" lite up and the main screen between the RPM and Speedometer was lock on "Parking Break Fault" and of no other use. Also there was a warning alarm that was constantly on. Other than that the car still ran fine save for a sort of long hesitation when I accelerated.
2. I stopped at an Audi Dealer since I was 200 miles away from home and didn't want to hear that warning noise for 3 hours. They diagnosed that one on my electric break motor was making a strange noise and that the fault more than likely originated from there. They pulled a fuse in the fuse box under the steering column that stopped the ringing alarm but it also disengaged all sensors such as oil, parking, rear camera and so forth. I suggested instead to pull the two 30amp fuses powering the motors on each back wheel. I think the location are 29 and 30 but they are easy to find on the fuse panel above the driver side battery in the boot...I have a north American side so left side. We did this and the alarm stopped and we put the other fuse back in so all my sensors function worked. The screen was still monopolized by the " Parking Break Fault" and was useless.
3. Started Shopping for the parts...Part Number: 3W0698996E ... Scuderia Parts had those motors for $648 each ( https://www.scuderiacarparts.com/par...operating.html ) searched some more and various prices till...$59.99 on eBay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/39411795653...Bk9SR5LEiqHlYw)... I called my independent mechanic in Florida that does all my work in the Bentley he said "GL this is a common failure the housing cracks and water shorts out the sensors, buy the cheapest on you can find and buy two of them, since they are $60." So I ordered the eBay ones for a total of $120.
4.Researched enormously here and on Youtube for the method to change those and if I needed the dreaded Bentley Computer to reset anything...I resolved myself to have the motors changed and see if I need a computer reset after.
5.Got the parts from eBay and I was still driving the car nothing save for the warnings mentioned above were on and the car worked flawlessly.
6.This Saturday a friend who owns a small mechanics shop here in Vermont called said he had time, I had asked him if he could do it and he came in Saturday to do it while we shot the **** about boat racing and all kinds of stuff. Took him about an hour and a half. He did have to brush the area on the calipers where the motor seals (Part came with new seals) and greased everything so water would not come in. He did observe that the housing of these motors were cheaply made and we noticed that the old ones were both cracked in the same place.
7. Once everything was done I started the car and the fault came on again. I had read here in an other thread about this problem on an earlier model year and the said to cycle the parking break 3-4 times for the sensores to get their resistance points. I did that and the Fault went away. Problem Solved, my buddy didn't even charge me for his time.
I will attached some pictures in the next few posts. This is a pic of my car with another Bentley 75 years older!
One of the new one installed. Put the car in "Jack Mode" by pressing the Suspension and Height button on the center console before jacking up the car. The screws are size #30 Torque I think.
They upgraded the part for the 2015 MY. Note the much larger wall thickness where it usually splits:
Up to 2014 is 3W0 698 996 E, from 2015 is 3C0 998 281 A.
A pic of the original part for reference:
its a common failure. I bought 2 cheep ones from ebay....one lasted a week and failed. Not cracked this time but just kept running non stop.
If one failed on z long drive you can remove the motor , wind out the parking brake with a torque head socket. Replace the motor and either leave it un plugged or pull yhe fuse to that motor. You wont have a properly workin parking brake but if it was stuck on at least it will get you home.
