hi, i bleed the brake system last sunday, with the handbrake on and the pedal travels very low till the car stops, my dad said i should of bleed the brakes with the handbrake off.
series 2 by the way.

thanks

 

Be better to do it with it off

Its only a cable operated system but you will have the rear cylinders closed

 

s2 need bleeding with rear wheels on the ground due to the load valves also

 

As above,

The most common mistake when bleeding RS Turbo brakes. Either wheels on the ground or axle stands on the suspension so as to put full load on the suspension.

 

or bypass the load valves and bin them gives much better brakes when combined with re piping the fronts to get rid off the abs also!

 

How does the application of the handbrake close the rear brake cylinders?

As above you need the car on the ground (if the rear load compensators are fitted) to allow fluid flow to the rear cylinders. If there is no fluid coming from the rear bleed nipple/nipples with the car on the ground then you need to be looking at the compensators. The linkage is either seized or incorrectly adjusted or the compensator valve's/pistons are sticking. There 2 compensating valves, one for each circuit/side.

 

It has no direct connection to it, but when the shoes move the piston (under pressure) will move too