ABS Problems..

I have a 1997 ford taurus GL ( all 4 disc brakes), and the ABS is having problems..brake fluid is good and clean, now when i take the fuse out and disable the abs, the brakes work just fine, like regular brakes. when the abs is enabled, whern i press on the brake pedal instead of the normal pulsating i get hard pulsing with loud grinding noises, and if u keep it held down it just grinds and grinds and the pulsating stops and u cant really slow the car down at all. I havent checked the pads or anything because they work fine with the abs disabled..(dont know if this helps but with the abs disabled, on snow, ANY time i hit the brakes the rear passengerside end fishtails. but any suggestions would be very appreciated.

also forgot to say that the ABS light DOES NOT come on. it comes on when i start the car for its self-test but it goes back off like it should

I bet one of your pads are shorter then the 3 others, OR both bads on either the front, or rear, are to worn out. The fishtailing is kinda normal in snow, but if the front brakes are working better than back, or vice versa, fishtailing will be enhanced.

Get someone to put it on a lift, then take off all 4 wheels, and have them check pads/rotors etc, something is worn down.

LOL, gotta love ford right.... My tbird is sitting pretty, with a full tank, WITH NO RADIATOR FAN WORKING. Always something.

ok im gonna get it checked out tomorrow, hopefully its just the pads because i have 4 sets of them (they were brand new in the spare tire compartment when i got the car :-) ), but anyways thanx for ur reply its nice to see that ppl actually do help..

p.s. lol i think its funny that i know how low the quality of Ford is but yet ive had about 4 ford cars, isnt it great lol

Lol, 4 new pads sitting in the spare compartment, thats pointing to somewhere. I bet the owner before you said, ah screw it, let the next person pay to change them.

Also check the ABS sensors at each wheel. If they become misaligned or faulty they can send an incorrect signal to the computer which would make it think the ABS is always needed. I'm not sure how Ford does it, but GM uses reluctor rings that signal the ABS to activate.

Checking the pads is wise, but unless one wheel is completely toast or frozen it won't activate the ABS. Its a possibility, but rare.

Ok, someone told me the sensors are in the rotors and one of my rotors is real messed up along with the pads (that rear wheel that always fishtails) so im just gonna get them all changed, id rather just do them all now and avoid problems later on....thanks alot guys