ABS question

more than likely a sensor or the computer

speaking of that......what all is involved to convert a car to ABS. I don't have it and I know what a pain it is to drive in the winter. Just curious....probably too much work considering I'd have to get all near calipers, maybe rotors too, ABS control units.....ECU reprogramed, etc, etc

98CobraClone said:

speaking of that......what all is involved to convert a car to ABS. I don't have it and I know what a pain it is to drive in the winter. Just curious....probably too much work considering I'd have to get all near calipers, maybe rotors too, ABS control units.....ECU reprogramed, etc, etc

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I won't say it's impossible .. but it will NOT be nice. You'd need to run a second brake line from every wheel to the ABS controller, and you'd need new calipers on all four corners as well (I suppose you could try tapping into the lines instead, but I don't know how safe this would be). There'd also be a pile of underhood wiring to take care of too. This is all in addition to finding an ABS controller (I believe they're Bosch parts on our cars), and an ABS pump and actuator assembly. Prolly not too fun, unfortunately.

Regarding the original question - it's not low brake fluid. That causes the red parking brake indicator to illuminate, not the yellow ABS indicator.

It's possible your ABS controller has gone for a crap, but that's unlikely. 99 times out of a hundred the problem is a wheel speed sensor. There are a couple things you can check before you cave and take it to a dealer. Jack the car up and take a look at each sensor. They're generally easy to find, pretty obvious. Sometimes the connectors get clogged with dirt, or leak and get wet inside. If you feel up to it, you can pull them apart one at a time and inspect/clean/dry them. If that still doesn't get you anywhere, you might have to take it to a dealer. They'll be able to connect a computer to it and tell you exactly which wheel sensor is giving you grief, and replace it if necessary.

Thats a lot of work to go to ABS. I glad I just searched and found this