ABS constantly clicks

[jrmcc]

Whenever I touch the brake pedal (and even on dry roads) the ABS system seems to activate judging by the clicking noise I hear. When the road is actually slippery the system works as it should do but when it is dry it is very annoying to hear this noise. However apart from the noise the brakes still work fine. In order to avoid the noise over the summer I removed the fuse and even managed to forget about the problem. However I woke up quickly on a day recently when we had freezing rain. The back end slipped constantly when I braked and I started to realize I really did appreciate ABS. I put the fuse back in and all was well again. The next day the roads were dry and in order to avoid the clicking I had to remove the fuse once again. I have had the problem looked at by my local service station and they are stumped. The local GM dealer says there are no outstanding recalls on a 97 Lumina LS. Does anyone have any ideas as to what the problem could be and how to fix it ? Thanks in advance.

[hoosier1]

Originally Posted by jrmcc

Whenever I touch the brake pedal (and even on dry roads) the ABS system seems to activate judging by the clicking noise I hear. When the road is actually slippery the system works as it should do but when it is dry it is very annoying to hear this noise. However apart from the noise the brakes still work fine. In order to avoid the noise over the summer I removed the fuse and even managed to forget about the problem. However I woke up quickly on a day recently when we had freezing rain. The back end slipped constantly when I braked and I started to realize I really did appreciate ABS. I put the fuse back in and all was well again. The next day the roads were dry and in order to avoid the clicking I had to remove the fuse once again. I have had the problem looked at by my local service station and they are stumped. The local GM dealer says there are no outstanding recalls on a 97 Lumina LS. Does anyone have any ideas as to what the problem could be and how to fix it ? Thanks in advance.

Have you ever replaced the brake pads? If so- did you do it yourself?
If so, you probably contaminated the brake control valve with dirt and contaminated brake fluid when you retracted the caliper pistons.
The brake fluid becomes very dirty and moisture laden during the time it takes to wear out the original brake pads. When replacing pads ,its necessary to push the pistons back into their bores to accomodate the new brake pads.
If this dirty contaminated fluid is forced back up into the master cylinder it will mix with the fluid already in the master cylinder and grossly contaminate it. The control valve is actually a pump and metering vale having very precise metering control.
To prevent this from happening, you must clamp off the brake hose and open the bleeder port on the caliper before retracting the pistons.
Use a smooth jaw vice grip pliers or some other clamping device to close off the fluid path. Don`t forget to remove the clamp before bleeding the brakes.
Once the contamination is in the control valve, it is nearly impossible to flush it out. I know of no flushing procedure for a contaminated control valve. You are certainly not the first DIY`er to run into this problem.
Another cause of "clicking" may be caused by dirty/ corroded wheel sensors. You can check the sensors visually and insure no foreign matter is covering them.
Bob

[SmokeyJoeV45]

did you ever resolve this problem? I have a 99 monte carlo that is doing the same thing.

[sysopt]

Could be a faulty abs sensor or even the abs module itself. Buy a manual so you can check the sensor at each wheel or bring it in to have them tested. If you cannot find any faulty sensors I would suspect the abs module/computer.