ABS prob with 100 series

Submitted: Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 09:51
ThreadID: 40921 Views:10917 Replies:8 FollowUps:6
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Hi Everyone

Desperately need some help on this one.....

We have a 2000 model 100 series Landcruiser (bought it about 7 months ago) and in the past 6 weeks we have had problems with the ABS in that the ABS light comes on and the warning signal sounds (very annoying). We are travelling around Oz and have had the ABS ECU (computer) replaced in Emerald - $1200. We had no problems for about 2 weeks and then the same thing happened, light on and warning sounding. Luckily that time it reset itself when we turned the car off and put it in park. Drove 500km to my parents place with no probs and had the car serviced and put on the diagnostic machine, they found no probs there. We've just come back from 2 weeks in NZ and started the car up and same thing, ABS light on and warning signal sounding....

Can anyone tell me if they have had any similar experiences and if so did you get it fixed and what was the problem. Also if anyone has heard of this happening to any other vehicles and what the outcome was. Also - last thing, does anyone know if we can replace the whole ABS system with normal braking system and if so what kind of dollars are we looking at???

Many thanks
Dee
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Reply By: Member - Tour Boy- Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 10:03

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 10:03
Hi
Try pulling all associated fuses out and forget about it. (that's if you hate abs like me) But if you have an accident put them back b4 the insurance co find out.
Tour Boy
Cheers,
Dave
2010 Isuzu FTS800 Expedition camper
2015 Fortuner
Had 72 cruisers in my time

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AnswerID: 213596

Follow Up By: Flash - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:59

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:59
Don't pull fuses out!!!!
Just put a blown fuse in instead of a good one.
Did this on a mates Disco years ago, as the ABS on that was bloody frightening on the dirt!
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FollowupID: 473933

Reply By: Member - Garth J (NSW) - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 10:12

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 10:12
Dee,

I'm no mechanic but had a problem once with my ABS when the lights came on.
You have an intermittent fault and as such makes faultfinding for someone very hard.

Can't find the fault when it's not there!!

My fault was one one of the sensors on the wheel was not close enough to the toothed wheel of the brake rotor. This had been moved by myself when changing brake pads.

I just moved the sensor closer to the toothed wheel. Talking mm's here. Maybe less. The clearances should maybe be checked against the specs for the system.
To close is not a problem, just don't come in contact with the wheel or the sensor will be damaged.

Also you could check each rotor on the wheels and make sure no rocks are wedged in the teeth. This could give you a problem as well.

These are basic things I realise but ultimately I think that the problem will be basic.
Maybe even a damaged sensor or a bad connection where it plugs into the wiring harness at the wheel. Or any other connections for that matter.

If the problem is really bugging you then remove the fuse for the ABS and you will then have normal braking. Just remember though that any other stability controls such as anti-skid will not function as well. All these systems are based on the same parts of the car and the hardware is the same. Just different functions enabled by the ECU (Computer)

Hope this gives you some help and insight.

Garth
AnswerID: 213597

Reply By: Big Kidz (Andrew & Jen) - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 10:52

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 10:52
I have a 2000 model 100 series and last time we were away on a trip the ABS light came on but we do not have a warning signal so I was easier to ignore. Biggest problem was that it worried Jen!. Anyhow - best thing I found was to ignore those pesky lights on the dash when they come on!! It seemed to happen after a lot of driving on dusty roads and I imagine that it must have been a sensor that was dirty.

Driving home it on the bitumen it rained and it has not happened again in the six months we have been home. I think that it has happened intermittently on other trips but on the last trip it was quite sustained. Maybe you can shut up the alarm.

I would try going to one of those car washes and blasting the high pressure water around the wheels from front and back. I drove through an underbody wash thing I think that was near Mount Surprise in Queensland and it seemed to help. Maybe a river crossing or something might help too.

Andrew
AnswerID: 213600

Reply By: Member - Motley - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:37

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 11:37
Had a similar problem on a Lexus LX470 and on a Peugeot. In both cases the brake pads were worn. Replaced the pads - no more ABS light

Not sure if this helps, but it might be worth checking the pads for wear if you haven't already done so.
AnswerID: 213606

Follow Up By: Montemoo - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 12:12

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 12:12
We are getting brake pads and rotors replaced on Monday. I really really hope this fixes the problem as it's halted our around Oz trip until we can get it fixed.

Also going to try the water blasting of wheels and see if that helps. Have already tried contact cleaner on the sensors incase of corrosion but that didn't work. The ABS light orignally came on when we were going over a very rough dusty road but it took another 5000km for the warning sound to go off.

Just another quick question: We have been told to put a blown fuse in the ABS to turn it off, does this still give us normal braking? we have been told mixed stories to people we have spoken to, some say braking will be fine, others say braking will be limited (we tow a large campertrailer with electric brakes).

thanks for responses, keep them coming if you have any more ideas!!!

many thank, Dee
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FollowupID: 473937

Follow Up By: Member - Garth J (NSW) - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 14:29

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 14:29
Why change the rotors?

Are they worn or to thin? eg below manufacturers specs.
Are all the "teeth" on the toothed wheel in place and not broken? If this is not the case the computer would get "confused" . But this is how the traction control works.
It senses one or other wheels not turning and maybe another turning very quickly. It then takes action to remedy the situation.

The sensors may be cracked and water ingress can cause a problem.
These sensors are what we in the electrical game call "proximity" switches and work by induction. ie a piece of metal in front of the sensor changes the magnetic field and hence the back emf (voltage) of the probe. This is then sensed by the device connected to the other end whatever that may be. Usually some sort of input to a computer.

Don't go changing everything for the heck of it.

If your ABS is not working you may in fact pull up quicker cause you will have the ability to lock up the brakes. This is the whole design philosophy of these things.

Yours brakes and those of your van will still work and pull you up.
You will just be able to lock them up if you push the pedal hard enough.
And in some situation that may be an advantage.

All that putting a blown fuse in does is let the insurance company know a fuse was in place and it may have blown at any instant in time. Who's to know?

Garth
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FollowupID: 473967

Follow Up By: Montemoo - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 14:36

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 14:36
Hi Garth

Yeah the rotors are worn we had a service done before Xmas and was told they needed machining or replacing so we opted to replace them as we have heard that machining is not always successful.

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FollowupID: 473969

Follow Up By: Montemoo - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 14:37

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 14:37
Hi Garth

Yeah the rotors are worn we had a service done before Xmas and was told they needed machining or replacing so we opted to replace them as we have heard that machining is not always successful.
We might have to pull the fuse (and put a blown one in) as the warning signal will not turn off and it is driving us insane - so we can't drive the vehicle unless we do that.
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FollowupID: 473970

Reply By: Bytemrk - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 12:09

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 12:09
Hi,

I'm no mechanic and have no idea if this may be a reason.

But on my Discovery I have found that dirty brake fluid can upset the shuttle valves in the ABS modulator, setting off the lights.

Land Rover recommend changing the fluid every 40,000 Km..... but I found particularly if it is used off road a lot ( using the traction control)... it is not often enough. I changed to every 20,000 and no more dramas.... so maybe check how clean your brake fluid is.

Cheers, Mark
AnswerID: 213613

Reply By: keepingitreal - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 12:58

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 12:58
Could try all connectors under bonnet. Could have loose connection if you had ECU replaced!! Look at the simple things first. Good luck. Hope you find the problem. Regards Kirsten (NSW)
AnswerID: 213622

Follow Up By: Montemoo - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 13:12

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 13:12
HI again

Hubby has just pulled wheels off and looking around for problem and seems that it could be because of the part time 4WD kit we put in a couple of months ago. Seems that the sensors don't move on the front wheels and this might be "confusing" the ECU....

Funny that the people who sold us the kit didn't mention that this could happen and Toyota in Mt Isa and Emerald both didn't say anything when they were looking for the problem. Not sure if this is really the problem but it's a good place to start.

Give us our old 75 series cruiser back any day!!!!
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FollowupID: 473950

Reply By: Member - Davoe (Nullagine) - Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 13:36

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 13:36
ahhh the beutiful computer and if it ays no there is no problem- but dont actually LOOK.
One of our tritons was coming up with the liht and at low speed the abs would vibrate sometimes.
The visiting mechanic with no diagnostic gear had a close inspection and found a cracked sensor
AnswerID: 213632

Reply By: Member - Tour Boy- Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 18:38

Saturday, Jan 06, 2007 at 18:38
Hi guys,
If it is a rigid front end 100 I will swap you for my 78 troopie!!
Cheers,
Dave
2010 Isuzu FTS800 Expedition camper
2015 Fortuner
Had 72 cruisers in my time

Lifetime Member
My Profile  My Blog  My Position  Send Message

AnswerID: 213685

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