abs brakes weird..help !

ok this problem is getting a little outta hand... my mom has 2001 s10 blazer and every time she hits the brakes the abs kicks on and its getting to the point where she cant hardly get the vehicle stopped i trie disconnecting the battery but that didnt work. please any help. the light isnt on and it doesnt give any other warnings just when ya hit the brakes the abs kicks on rrr.rrr.rrr,,

Either pull the fuse and disable it or have it checked for codes, not a dyer type repair.

not that i want to condone or support any act that circumvents the safety features of any vehicle on the road, if you pull the maxi ABS fuse in the block under the hood, and pull a couple of screws and black out the ABS light with electrical tape inside the instrument panel, it wouldnt effect the conventional braking system... i may have done it to my own vehicle after the ABS wouldnt stop cycling... but like i said, i dont condone that kind of thing.

also - the blacking out of the ABS light in dash keeps the guy at the inspection station from noticing that the ABS is disconnected.

I don't know....but arbitrarily deactivating an integral part of the braking system seems like a dumb idea....but that's just me. About the most important system on any vehicle outside of the steering would be the brake system. The truck is fairly new and there may be a simple fix to your problem; if it were my truck (and my Mom) I would bring it in to either the dealership or a reputable shop and have them diagnose the problem and fix it.

mike

I don't know....but arbitrarily deactivating an integral part of the braking system seems like a dumb idea....but that's just me. About the most important system on any vehicle outside of the steering would be the brake system. The truck is fairly new and there may be a simple fix to your problem; if it were my truck (and my Mom) I would bring it in to either the dealership or a reputable shop and have them diagnose the problem and fix it.

mike


just for the record, my decision was anything but arbitrary. as the ABS module that shorted and blew costs around 700 bucks at my last look, and i am putting myself through college, i decided that i would rather have paid my tuition, books, rent, heat, etc than put up with what is a fundamentally flawed system to begin with. my least favorite thing about the ABS was the way it would cycle for no reason if i had my foot on the brake as i went over a bump. i know how to keep my brakes from locking the old fashioned way... by pumping them...

i say good riddance to ABS.

Respectfully,
jim

well the abs system works great on most vehicles but it seems on s-10s that it is very, actually, overly sensitive which leads to a lot of problems. one of which is engaging when youre hitting bumps that arent necessarily causing you problems. ABS is not required nor will it affect your normal brakes if you disable it. It is merely a saftey feature that is nice when it operates as its supposed to and youre in the right situation for needing it. every time ive needed it its been there and i was glad i had it. No time to think and concentration on driving over braking is invaluable. When youre coming up on dead stopped traffic when youre on the highway with a speed limit of 75 abs helps get your vehicle slowed down and allows you to maneuver. Personal preference isn't something to be neglected. You can disable the ABS and not worry about it. I know for 100% in Missouri an ABS light wont fail the vehicle for a saftey inspection since its not a critical item.

I don't know....but arbitrarily deactivating an integral part of the braking system seems like a dumb idea....but that's just me. About the most important system on any vehicle outside of the steering would be the brake system. The truck is fairly new and there may be a simple fix to your problem; if it were my truck (and my Mom) I would bring it in to either the dealership or a reputable shop and have them diagnose the problem and fix it.

mike


also, i would make my mom ride a bicycle. lol :)

just for the record, my decision was anything but arbitrary. as the ABS module that shorted and blew costs around 700 bucks at my last look, and i am putting myself through college, i decided that i would rather have paid my tuition, books, rent, heat, etc than put up with what is a fundamentally flawed system to begin with. my least favorite thing about the ABS was the way it would cycle for no reason if i had my foot on the brake as i went over a bump. i know how to keep my brakes from locking the old fashioned way... by pumping them...

i say good riddance to ABS.

Respectfully,
jim
The reason your ABS was firing when you went over bumps is because the rear wheels were actually hopping a little which allowed them to 'lock up' which caused the ABS to fire. It's a circular issue. The problem isn't with the ABS system...it's with the road, realistically, and the fact that some vehicles have a less forgiving rear suspension. The same thing used to happen to my Tahoe...everyday...on the same bump on my way home from work. It's, unfortunately, something that is usually unavoidable, and, obviously, it is common. MM.

i figured it was something like that, the rear wheels being off kilter... however, the pump still cycles nonstop if i dont keep the fuse pulled.
hell, maybe i should ride a bike...

anybody actually give out some advice to fix the prob instead of just disableing the whole system? sheesh. try going to the 2 front wheel speed sensors , alot of the time when theres a whole lotta crap on thos things , they give flase readings and cause the ABS to kick on far to early. if the sensors look good and the rings are on good condition , then you may consider other options , i.e. computers , etc. but try that first

well the easiest way to test any of that stuff is use a scantool and drive it while watching the wheel speeds. but the easy stuff really should be checked first. First thing that jumps to my mind are the rear brakes. if they arent cleaned and adjusted they can get very grabby which would cause the abs to kick in. and when you adjust them do it with the wheels on the vehicle through the backing plate. turn the wheel at a decent spin until you hear a light scraping.

didn't read the posts, sorry if someones already told ya this, but its a vehical speed sencer, knowen as a vss (most likely) bring it to a shop and have them hook up a diagnostic tool ( not az, they have code reading pos that don't have the capabilitys of a scan tool) and figgure out which wheel bearing (most likly cause) needs replaced, could also be the one on the transmission if your lucky

Can I ask for some clarification? When you say the ABS activates, does it activate at all speeds, or is it just below about 10mph when coming to a stop? Are the wheels actually locking up, or is the ABS just buzzing away? I would say you may have a single bad wheel speed sensor. More than likely one of the front sensors. If there is a difference between sensors on opposite sides of the vehicle it will trigger the ABS, usually at speeds lower than 5mph or so. A simple thing to do is to check to make sure nothing has gotten into the teeth on the tone rings. Also, while you are there (checking the front ABS sensors and tone rings), check the sensor wiring, connectors, etc... You probably just have a sensor that is weak. You can have a shop test the sensors, or spend about $150 to get a tester and test them yourself.

yes it only does it below like 10mph or so!

anybody actually give out some advice to fix the prob instead of just disableing the whole system? sheesh. try going to the 2 front wheel speed sensors , alot of the time when theres a whole lotta crap on thos things , they give flase readings and cause the ABS to kick on far to early. if the sensors look good and the rings are on good condition , then you may consider other options , i.e. computers , etc. but try that first
^^ Best advice so far.

The most common cause is the front wheel speed sensors. Ocassionially, the VSS causes it but not very often. There are a few other possibilities, but the wheel speed sensors are your best starting place. More info here:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=425516

You can skip a lot of guess work by reading the system with a brake capable scanner.

Since it only happens under 10mph or so, you probably have a weak or bad front wheel speed sensor. If you are not afraid of spending some money on tools, a simple tester to test the wheel speed sensors can be had for around $170. If you will never use the tool again, you can always sell it and recoup most of your money spent on the tool and still have it cost less than a shop would charge for diagnostic work.

Since it only happens under 10mph or so, you probably have a weak or bad front wheel speed sensor. If you are not afraid of spending some money on tools, a simple tester to test the wheel speed sensors can be had for around $170. If you will never use the tool again, you can always sell it and recoup most of your money spent on the tool and still have it cost less than a shop would charge for diagnostic work.

Or you can use a $20 DVM that can read AC milliVolts.