Any time the brake pedal is hard to press then you need to check and see if the brake booster is functioning properly.
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IS it the BRAKE LIGHT or the Parking Brake Light? If it is the BRAKE LIGHT, then your pedal must be going down far enough to hit a sensor that sets off the brake light to tell you your brakes need serviced. Normally this means you are low on brake fluid. If you are low on brake fluid FIND OUT WHY! You may have excessive brake pad wear, or a leaking brake cylinder, or your master cylinder may be going out. If you keep pumping the brakes and then stand on it hard, feel for the pedal to eventually go soft, if it does, then normally the seals in the master cylinder are going out. If you pump the brakes and the pedal never gets hard, then you have a serious brake fluid leak. If the Parkign Brake light stays on, then your parking brake is not fully releasing, at least where the contacts are to remind you it is on. This can be adjusted.
Start the car, place you foot on the brake and push and hold it. If the brake pedal very slowly sinks toward the floor, the master cylinder is bad. Of course a leak at the master cylinder means it is bad. Don't ignore any of these 2 symptoms as it can stop working at any moment, and leave you with no brakes. When looking at the master cylinder look at the wall or booster that the master is bolted to. If u see sweating, or paint pielling at the mating the master is leaking from the seals.
Excessive heat, typically generated by excessive braking, incorrectly adjusted components, or improperly fitted components, or, in the case of air brake systems, faulty quick release or relay valves, brake chambers, or slack adjusters.
Best ways are if you can see exposed cable underneath the truck, go underneath and yank down on the cable as hard as you can. If the parking brake isn't needed or you just need to free the brake to move the truck and can go get it repaired if necessary, cut the cable back by the brake and the brake will release. Shouldnt cost more that 150 bucks to get a new e-brake installed.
The master cylinder on a 1999 suburban is pretty easy to change. Under the dash, disconnect the clutch pedal from the cylinder rod. disconnect the brake lines from the master cylinder and allow to drain into a container. Unbolt the cylinder and remove. Install the new cylinder and connect the lines and rod back up. Add new fluid, and bleed the slave cylinder to finish the installation.