Would appreciate speculation on my ABS issue

[Fuergrissa]

starting last winter my ABS light would come on intermittently, but the ABS itself never activated, Infact when I would lock up the brakes on purpose (low speed on icy driveway) while the light was on, The ABS wouldn't kick in. I didn't mind it so much, and as the weather warmed up the issue seemed to go away.

Now I have a new issue cropping up well into summer. when coming to a stop on dry pavement, without locking up the brakes, the ABS kicks in and my steering wheel pulls to the right. It doesn't start until right before the car comes to a stop, say under 5mph, and it seems like if I drive for a while, say 10 miles or so above 45-50 mph then the issue stops, however sometimes the ABS light will come on.

My first thought is a sticky caliper. perhaps the friction from a dragging caliper combined with the braking force I'm applying is causing the right front to lock up at low speed and activate the ABS. then after the brakes fade a bit from dragging at higher speeds the friction is reduced and the issue goes away.

Another thought is that it's a traction control issue. (does my car even have TC? i never noticed it in the snow?) I've read the TC can do wierd things if you tire pressure is off. My tires don't look noticeably low, but I did just reset the warning with the radio since it never went away after the last time I aired them up.

Finally, I really need to flush the brake fluid. What's in there is likely original, so I don't doubt it's absorbed a lot of water, and it's visibly dirty, but I also can't see how this would cause my issue?

The car is an 05' 9C3 (police) with a 3.8 naturally aspirated. I just redid the pads and rotors a few months ago, and was sure to put lube on the pad sliders as instructed. Since the ABS light goes away each time the car is shut off, and only comes on occasionally I haven't had the chance to run the code yet. Any educated guesses are very much appreciated. Will at least get me started in the right direction before I tear into anything.

TIA

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by Fuergrissa

starting last winter my ABS light would come on intermittently, but the ABS itself never activated, Infact when I would lock up the brakes on purpose (low speed on icy driveway) while the light was on, The ABS wouldn't kick in. I didn't mind it so much, and as the weather warmed up the issue seemed to go away.

Now I have a new issue cropping up well into summer. when coming to a stop on dry pavement, without locking up the brakes, the ABS kicks in and my steering wheel pulls to the right. It doesn't start until right before the car comes to a stop, say under 5mph, and it seems like if I drive for a while, say 10 miles or so above 45-50 mph then the issue stops, however sometimes the ABS light will come on.

My first thought is a sticky caliper. perhaps the friction from a dragging caliper combined with the braking force I'm applying is causing the right front to lock up at low speed and activate the ABS. then after the brakes fade a bit from dragging at higher speeds the friction is reduced and the issue goes away.

Another thought is that it's a traction control issue. (does my car even have TC? i never noticed it in the snow?) I've read the TC can do wierd things if you tire pressure is off. My tires don't look noticeably low, but I did just reset the warning with the radio since it never went away after the last time I aired them up.

Finally, I really need to flush the brake fluid. What's in there is likely original, so I don't doubt it's absorbed a lot of water, and it's visibly dirty, but I also can't see how this would cause my issue?

The car is an 05' 9C3 (police) with a 3.8 naturally aspirated. I just redid the pads and rotors a few months ago, and was sure to put lube on the pad sliders as instructed. Since the ABS light goes away each time the car is shut off, and only comes on occasionally I haven't had the chance to run the code yet. Any educated guesses are very much appreciated. Will at least get me started in the right direction before I tear into anything.

TIA

ABS lt on can be the abs pump module..another common problem is the front wheel sensors.

brake fluid,brake calipers have nothing to do with the abs lt or other abs activations.. you have to pull abs codes. that will require an oem scanner.

with the codes then you will find out whats going on in most cases.

[maxwedge]

Short of an abs scan anything you do here is guess work, sounds like a bad wheel speed sensor, but that again is a guess.

[danielsatur]

If the ABS light is on, it's not going to work.
80% of the brake is on the front, the heat & brake dust could effect the wheel Speed sensor(WSS).