hi,i have a 1990 sapphire 2wd cosworth,the abs light comes on when braking quite often and triggers the abs in to kicking in,when this happens the abs light comes on,the handbrake light comes on and i can feel it kicking back through the pedal!is it a sensor,a relay or the ecu?thanks guys!

 

Hi matey

It could be any of the above, but a couple of brief notes...

1. When my abs was activating irregularly and inappropriately, it turned out to be a problem with my wheel bearing. The abs sensor was picking up the play as skid, and activating at low speeds - check your bearings quickly!

2. There are two sets of cables that go to the top of the reservoir bottle - one go to the red light on the dash (indicating level), and the other goes to the abs sensor (i think viscoscity?). The cables are weak, and fragile, and on a car this age can become non-functional. I had this problem. I replaced the wires on mine, and hey-presto! Intermittent abs fault light gone!

If a sensor has gone, then it is unusual for the abs to operate - given your symptoms, it would have to be reading incorrectly, which I have not heard of - they usually just fail to give info, which the abs reads as a fault, and stops the abs system.

Could be you have a couple of faults. Also - check your brake fluid level and condition!

Cheers

JJ

 

ok,thanks,its not the rear wheel bearings as i just replaced them and it is still doing it ,my problem sounds the same as yours so ill check the wires,will disconnecting the abs plug on the reservoir determine if that is the problem or will i have to pull all the insulation off to find broken wires?thanks again!

 

also i had the rear trailing arms off to replace the bushes,i had to replace brake pipes aswell,1 side bled strangely,like the fluid wouldnt stop,then the otherside wont bleed at all????????the pedal is firm and the brakes work good,but nothing came from the o/s rear caliper,any ideas?

 

Sounds like one side has a huge airlock or blockage.... Does that caliper actuate when the pedal's pushed?

 

hi,not sure as when it came to doing the 2nd caliper i was doing it myself,.i removed the nipple and pushed the pedal,it was firm and no fluid came out of the nipple hole,i remember a few years ago my friend had a 1.6 orion ghia with abs,he had a nightmare bleeding the rear brakes because of the abs,i wondered if im having the same problem,i am waiting on a set of braided brake hoses coming so ill have to bleed it all over again!