ABS Trouble - Easy to fix?

irlirishkev

Hey,

I'm getting kickback on my brake pedal when I get to about 10kmph.

The ABS light has come on a couple of times in the last month or so, so I'm guessing that's the cause.

Is this a big deal to get sorted? I'm selling my car and obviously want to get it fixed beforehand.

K.

cantdecide

I thought this might have been becasueof a sticking caliper?


What kind of car is it?

crosstownk

Are you hitting the brakes hard when this happens? If so then it is normal.

If you are just applying regular pressure then you may have dirt caught in the trigger wheel or a faulty wheel speed sensor.

Make/model?

irlirishkev

It's a Honda CRX Del Sol.
You can usually hear the ABS initialise when the engine starts, but recently you can sometimes hear it after the car's just started, as if it's having a think about what it's doing.
It happens when applying gentle pressure, just slowing down normally. Brakes are still fine though. They've always been very good.

sundodger5

May not be the abs. Could be a warped disc. this would give "Kick Back" through the pedal. also many abs systems do not "initialise" until after 15mph. although this does change depend on make.

irlirishkev

sundodger5 wrote: »

May not be the abs. Could be a warped disc. this would give "Kick Back" through the pedal. also many abs systems do not "initialise" until after 15mph. although this does change depend on make.

If it was a warped disc, wouldn't it be happening all the time? This happened for a while, then stopped for a while, and then came back today

Healyc

Sounds like you have a faulty ABS Module (Pump). What your hearing is the pump activating so most likely you have a wiring problem.

Most people would assume its the Module but its a Honda (Honda = Great car).

Did you have an alarm or any electrical work carried out on the car lately?

irlirishkev

Actually, this problem has only started since the car went for it's NCT a while back. Probably just coincidence.
So if it's the pump, is that something that can be rectified easily enough?

Mr.Diagnostic

The symptoms you have are stereo typical of a wheel speed signal problem. The most likely cause will be either a faulty ABS sensor or the pick up ring that triggers it.
To make the diagnosis easier you really need to know which wheel the problem is on since all four have sensors. There will be a fault code stored in the ECU which will point you in the right direction. If you look at live data on a scan tool when the symptom occurs you can see the speed signal drop out.
After this a visual inspection of the relevant sensor and pick up will likely reveal the cause.

If you are doing it DIY then I suppose you could inspect all four sensors, though for the price of a code read you could save yourself a lot of trouble.

mike65

I had this, your speed sensor is possibly borked or if you're luckly not correctly inserted in its cubby hole, if its not pushed all the way in it reads false and the ABS cuts in at very low speed.

Get the car up and check each is fully in then test it. If the shudder persists source another sensor (a used one will proberly be perfectly good).

Mike.

JHMEG

Is it the Mk I ABS made by Mitsumi Sumitomo? You'll know as it has a seperate brake fluid resevoir from the main resevoir.

There is an ABS computer somewhere in the car, see the attached gif. You need to locate your's. There will be a small plastic cover - I think - covering the diagnostic LED on it. ie you won't have easy access to the LED but you will have to the cover.

Next time you get an ABS warning light on the dash look at the ABS diagnostic light.. it will flash a code indiciating exactly what's wrong. In fact I think it will also store previous codes.

irlirishkev

Wow, thanks for all the advice guys!

Unfortunately, I know nowt about cars! The thought of me trying to DIY it, frankly, scares the bejaysus out of me! Prob have to take it to a garage. I imagine Honda would charge through the nose, so I'll source an independant somewhere!