1991 Cutlass Supreme ABS light

[peeeot]

Hello,

I recently bought a '91 Cutlass Supreme convertible. The ABS light flashes while the car is running. My Hanes manual says that a flashing ABS light indicates a relatively serious ABS problem that may affect normal braking, therefore the car should not be driven. Not knowing this, I drove the car home when I bought it and everything felt normal.

I'm wondering whether anyone knows if it is possible to extract the ABS codes from this car without a SCAN tool and if so, how it is accomplished. Also, if someone has had this problem before and was able to have it repaired, I'd like to know what was wrong with their system so I can have an idea what to expect.

Thanks a bunch!

[maxwedge]

You need to have it scanned for abs codes and wheel speed sensor inputs to eliminate guess work.

[peeeot]

After bleeding the brakes today, the ABS light stopped flashing, but it's still on. Now I have a couple more questions though.

1. Beside the fuel filter there is a brake line junction block. It has one line coming in and 2 out. It also has a 19mm bolt(?) screwed into it. This "bolt" (for lack of a better term) has a small hole machined into it, and when the brakes are applied, a little bit of brake fluid will come out of this hole. Now I know that fluid should not be leaving the system, but I have no clue what this "bolt" could be for, or why it would have the hole in it. Any ideas?

2. While driving, sometimes when I first apply the brake pedal to stop, the red brake warning light will come on for a little less than a second. I presume this is not normal. I know the brake fluid level and parking brake can trigger the red light to come on. What else does it?

3. When checking out the rear brakes, I found that the calipers did not squeeze the discs when operating the brake pedal with ignition OFF. With ignition ON, the calipers did squeeze. Is this normal?

4. The driver side rear rotor does not turn as freely as the passenger side rear rotor, even with the parking brake fully released and adjusted out. What might be the cause of this?

Thanks all.

[maxwedge]

The bolt has a hole to distribute fluid out of the block to the 2 rear lines, make sure the rear caliper slides are not binding, they were always a problem, both the parking brake and the foot pedal should lock the rear wheels, if not something is binding in the rear brakes and/or there is still air in the system or a leak. This can be a tough brake sytem for a dyer to repair, you may need professional help here.

[maxwedge]

The bolt has a hole to distribute fluid out of the block to the 2 rear lines, make sure the rear caliper slides are not binding, they were always a problem, both the parking brake and the foot pedal should lock the rear wheels, if not something is binding in the rear brakes and/or there is still air in the system or a leak. This can be a tough brake system for a dyer to repair, you may need professional help here.

[peeeot]

I'm afraid you're right, and that I will need professional help, but I'm avoiding it as long as I reasonably can. I hate that I have no way of extracting ABS codes myself.

I don't quite follow your explanation of the purpose of the hole in that "bolt." Are you saying it is some kind of a relief valve? It doesn't connect to any of the 3 brake lines. When the brake fluid squirts out, it shoots almost straight towards the fuel filter next to it.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if the caliper slides were binding. I may just take the rear calipers off and service them without replacing the pads. That parking brake return spring is a lot of trouble to get back on though.

I have looked at the whole system and the only leak I've found is at the aforementioned "bolt."

Also, my ABS light, after a day of not flashing, has resumed flashing. In what ways can the ABS system adversely affect the normal braking system? I can only think of 2: the loss of power assist due to a failed ABS pump (not a problem for me, the pump is working) and the unintentional restriction of brake fluid to one or more wheels due to a stuck/inoperative solenoid. As it is now, I can detect no flaws in the operation of my brakes from the driver's seat.

[maxwedge]

You can disable the abs for now just pull the 2 fuses for it, but this bolt issue should not leak, is this a distribution block, no matter what there should be no leak anywhere in the system, get that addressed first, get the air out of the system 2cnd, then recheck the rear calipers applying and releasing, if in the rust belt better assume the sliders could be rusted and binding, especially the lower one.

[peeeot]

That sounds like a good plan. If I remove the ABS fuses, will that disable the power assist, since it is provided by the ABS pump?

Haha, the rust belt.. where's that? I'm in central North Carolina.

[maxwedge]

Upstate NY, pulling the fuses has no effect on the power booster.

[94cutsupreme]

First I'll say that I'm no car expert but I know a little bit...
My ABS light in my 94 Supreme would come on all the time but it wouldn't affect the brakes. The car was taken to a mechanic and the problem was solved. I don't exactly know what was wrong...Last year around this time, my brakes were acting up and sliding before stopping, which kind of scared me. After a couple weeks of the brakes acting like that, my Brake Light and my ABS light on the dash would come on when the car started. Of course I read the manual and it said not to drive the car when these lights came on. After these lights came on, my brakes worked perfectly fine. I never got it fixed because I don't drive that car anymore...The moral of the story is...Don't always listen to the manual :-)

[peeeot]

Hahaha, well, I figure the manual always errs on the side of safety, but it's true that my brakes seem to operate normally to me. I just have a mild paranoia that I suddenly won't be able to stop or that a wheel will lock up or something random like that. Plus I don't like warning lights flashing at me.

My first priority is to repair the leak in the brake junction block. I'll try pulling those fuses too. I'll let you know how things go from there.

But if anyone knows what that "bolt" is all about, please, let me know. I'm really curious.

[dhspring]

My son's 94 Cutlass supreme also has the ABS light on, it's either on or off, not blinking. He's been driving it with no apparent problems for quite a while now and while it may not be the best of ideas, we've had no problems. Does anyone know what causes the light to come on? It's not low on brake fluid. We've thought about pulling the bulb or whatever. Thoughts anyone? Thanks.

[Slade901]

Based on my experience, when I have my ABS light come ON, I was not able to clear it. However, disconnecting the Battery cable and disconnecting the ABS electrical connections overnight cleared the ABS light. Bleed the brakes, cleaned the wheel speed sensor on two front wheels and the ABS light would come ON once in a while. Come to find out that for some reason, the problem is related to failing alternator. It had me stranded with dead battery. Replaced the alternator and charged up the battery and I did not have ABS light coming ON/OFF for no reason anymore.

A few months ago, my other car started to light up the ABS once in a while for no reason while driving straight. I went immediately to Autozone, to check my alternator and battery. You don't need to remove the alternator and battery, they can check your battery and alternator while it is still in the car. Sure enough, the alternator was failing and I've replaced and I have not any ABS light coming ON for no reason.

[peeeot]

dhspring,

A steady ABS light is not as significant a problem as a flashing one. The ABS light comes on steady when the ABS computer detects some kind of system problem and has therefore deactivated ABS. This means that as long as that light is on, you will not have ABS assistance, but you WILL have fully operational normal braking. In other words, it will be possible to lock your wheels and skid, but in normal (non-emergency) driving you won't be able to tell the difference.

A flashing light means that there is an ABS problem that may adversely affect the normal braking system. Driving this way may be risky.

As for locating the cause of your ABS light, it couldn't hurt to check the system wiring for good connections and the wheel speed sensors for cleanliness. Start with the cheapest thing first though--fuses and relays. There is a separate electrical center for the ABS fuses on the driver side of the engine compartment. Good luck!

[dhspring]

Thanks Peeeot, I'm not going to worry about it, the light is on and off and I'm not going to worry about it. I had the alternator checked and according to Autozone it was okay but the battery is weak, looking back the battery is the same one that came with the car some 4 plus years ago. If a faulty alternator cause the ABS to appear on with that one guy's car, maybe a low battery could also, stranger things have happened.