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Thread: ABS or Brake Problem - Help Needed

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    101

    Default ABS or Brake Problem - Help Needed

    Back in March , the car was parked for about 3-4 months while I decided to use the honda for my long commute (70 miles).

    Around June I started the car up again and everything was fine except the brakes, the right front wheel acted like the rotors were warped!!.

    I figured it was just rust on the rotors from the long park and it would eventually go away, but it didn't. The rotors & pads were barely a year old ,had about 10k on them so I figured they couldnt have gone bad so quick.

    Anyway since I drove the car for about 3 months without this brake pulsing going away I decided to get new rotors, I took it to a local shop last week and had them replaced.
    The old ones came out looking very bad , rusted all over and even a bit chipped (these were Brembos)!

    He put new ones in and as I left I could still feel a "bump" in the same front right wheel when I brake - it was much smoother with the new rotors but it was still there. It's like the brakes where going on and off when applied but only on that one wheel. The car doesnt shift to one side,it still brakes in a straight line.

    Today I decided to go back to the guy , he said that the new rotors were probably "shot" too , so he replaced them again!! The same symptom is still there , front right wheel is pulsing (like brakes are catching and letting go on half the wheel length) only when applied. It happens at all speeds, on high speeds it feels like a fast bump , at slow speeds I feel like the brakes holding then letting go very slowly then holding again as I come to a stop.

    Please Help - the shop says its that wheels' ABS going - like its in "always on" mode - I don't know if I agree with that.
    Thanks in advance.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    101

    Default

    comeon folks..

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Derbyshire, UK
    Posts
    872

    Default

    If the ABS is constantly activating on one wheel, I would suspect that wheel's ABS speed sensor. However, your description doesn't sound like normal ABS activation, which is fast enough that it makes kind of a fart noise.

    1997 535i V8
    5spd, OBC, A/C, cruise, BMW phone, factory M-Tech wheel & suspension, 18" Alpinas

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    101

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by DaveVoorhis
    If the ABS is constantly activating on one wheel, I would suspect that wheel's ABS speed sensor. However, your description doesn't sound like normal ABS activation, which is fast enough that it makes kind of a fart noise.
    Is there a way to disable ABS and see if its still active?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Derbyshire, UK
    Posts
    872

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Drooby
    Is there a way to disable ABS and see if its still active?
    Pull the ABS fuses.

    1997 535i V8
    5spd, OBC, A/C, cruise, BMW phone, factory M-Tech wheel & suspension, 18" Alpinas

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    101

    Default

    OK , I pulled the ABS fuse, (the 25A little white one) and the car was exactly the same. Only the light on the dash didn't go off like it should've (this led me to know I pulled the right fuse).

    Since it doesn't look like an ABS error now , what else can it be?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Posts
    4,150

    Default Its probably not an abs fault at all. It sounds like you have a

    separated tire, frequently when a tire is separated internally you won't feel it when driving normally . Only when braking and the weight transfers forward onto the front tires does the tire irregularity show up. Try switching the right front tire with the left rear and see what happens.



    Quote Originally Posted by Drooby
    OK , I pulled the ABS fuse, (the 25A little white one) and the car was exactly the same. Only the light on the dash didn't go off like it should've (this led me to know I pulled the right fuse).

    Since it doesn't look like an ABS error now , what else can it be?


  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    101

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bill R.
    separated tire, frequently when a tire is separated internally you won't feel it when driving normally . Only when braking and the weight transfers forward onto the front tires does the tire irregularity show up. Try switching the right front tire with the left rear and see what happens.
    Thanks Bill R. >> I'll try that, been a while since I rotated them so I might as well do it to knock this off the list too.

    I'll post afterwards.

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