ABS light

[kellystewart]

Hey guys,

My ABS lights comes on every so often, either when I have to break pretty hard or when I hit a bumpy road...havent done the paperclip test but will have a look sunday...any ideas what it could be? Once when I had to break hard the brake pedal felt like it was juddering?

Thanks

Kelly

[Phantom]

juddering is the normal for ABS, thats how the system works by releasing the pressure very quickly and applying it again felt as a judder on the pedal, could well be a lose connection or lose sensor

[kellystewart]

ohh and forgot to mention when the light came on earlier yesterday the car engine cut out...had to turn over the key again while I was free wheeling along at about 30....doesnt seem too good

[Phantom]

hmm that shouldn't happen, you sure that wasn't just a coincidence

[heavenly_d3vi1]

my abs light used to make my car die... but it woulnd't restart again after. unlikely that you have the same prob tho as mine was a lose battery connection lol

[kellystewart]

well its done it like 2 or 3 times.....the abs light comes the engine management light flickers then engine cuts out i really dunno though...battery is defin tight lol

[heavenly_d3vi1]

yeh sounds exactly like the prob i had for a while.. my sisters mk3 astra is doing the same thing too, only without the abs light.. its been in and out the garage for months and the problem still aint been found!

if you find the prob and need any parts i have a 16v cally for spares, i assume the abs is the same as the 8v

[Phil69]

If your ABS isn't working correctly then your wheels could be locking up whilst your still in gear causing it to stall the engine so that could be why your engine is dying.
The ABS light comes on and stays on when there is a fault in the system. When its on, the system is not in use and reverts to manual control.
I believe the light does flicker when its being used though....like the traction control light does (if you have it fitted).
Are you braking REALLY hard when this happens? Does the car pull either way left or right when your braking?

[kellystewart]

not particularly hard...only had to break really hard once and thats when I felt the judder through the pedal. The other 2/3 times it cut out was when I went over a bumpy part of the road. It pulls slightly to the left when I brake its always done this but I have noticed its worse now than 3 months ago

[Phil69]

You may possibly have 2 seperate faults there.
As for the brakes, if the car is pulling to the left, there is a chance your brake biase may be faulty putting more pressure to one side or wheel. This in turn would cause it to pull to one side and allow a wheel to lock up more easily.
Does the car pull to the left when your not braking?
If its not the brake biase (they don't go wrong very often) and its not your brakes causing the car to pull then it could just be a faulty sensor as these are known to fail. Also, check the ABS rings...sometimes these break up or they could just be dirty giving a false reading.

[Tim2001]

Also check the brake pistons are still running free and not sticking causing more braking on one side or the other.

[kellystewart]

will check it out, thanks guys [img]/smile.gif[/img]

[Leigh]

Tim, what's the best (or easiest [img]/smile.gif[/img] ) way to check the pistons? I suspect my left front (and possibly left rear judging by the disc not being all nice and shiny) might be sticking.

[Leigh]

D'oh, I think someone told me that ages ago, had completely forgotten.
I hadn't driven the car anywhere today prior to taking the wheels off, so there wasn't any heat to do a burnt-finger-test on [img]/smile.gif[/img]