ABS - How do i disconnect it?

[raglan_jack]

Hey guys, i have a 1997 disco series 1, 3.9 V8 auto

just had new brakes all round and the guys at the shop also cleared all the errors on the ECU so now my ABS works great - only problem is offroad i cant stop and my driveway is a straight down deep rutty mud track!

is there a quick and easy fix to get rid of the ABS or disable it? is it something simple like take out a fuse?

any help much appreciated

[Blknight.aus]

well apart from its illegal to disconnect the ABS...

yes its a fuse. If its not letting you stop then its not working properly. the system should turn itself off once the wheel speed drops below ~5kph average.

If the abs is working at pulling you up but the ground is too rough/slimey to let it then you're not going to stop without it either.

[davros]

ABS does seem to slow stopping on gravel as the tyres don't "dig in". Remember that if you have an accident with it off, kiss goodbye to insurance if anyone finds out! (and remember the computer probably logs power missing from removing the fuse). On slippery stuff, especially ice, it should be great. One thing to make sure is not to back off pedal pressure when it comes on (as I used to, treating it like I had to cadence or threshold brake); just stomp it as hard as and let the computer do the rest.

Dave

[DeanoH]

Is it possible to turn ABS off but still retain TC ?

Deano

[raglan_jack]

it used to stop a lot better without the abs before

its not so much thats its slippery (unless is raining) its just very steep down and i dont always have 4 wheels on the ground so the abs keeps pushing my foot off the pedal

but ill have a look for the fuse this weekend and should be all back to how it was

[spudboy]

I've got the same vehicle (except diesel) and had the same issue going down a slippery gravel track.

The only option I could think of was to use the handbrake.

It's a bad feeling when you keep on rolling when your foot is flat to the boards on the brakes, and all you get is the ABS pulsing :(

[grover69]

:)Just put a switch in so you can turn it off when you go off road , just find the wires for the abs behind the fuse box and tap in there . It will also help if your abs fails as disco have a bad habit of having no brakes at all once you slow to 15km/h if this happens you can disable the systems by flicking the switch and this will return standard brakes , hope that helps

[cartm58]

ABS will stop a car in shorter distance than non ABS car and you have better steering control whilst under brakes, l think you need to just practise a bit with it and it could also be an imagined situation of ABS not working when it is.

ABS its important you just keep your pedal down you will feel it jarring against your foot but thats it working

I wouldnt drive a non ABS car

Just trust the force Luke

[Blknight.aus]

Is it possible to turn ABS off but still retain TC ?

Deano

no.

[dullbird]

ABS will stop a car in shorter distance than non ABS car and you have better steering control whilst under brakes, l think you need to just practise a bit with it and it could also be an imagined situation of ABS not working when it is.

ABS its important you just keep your pedal down you will feel it jarring against your foot but thats it working

I wouldnt drive a non ABS car

Just trust the force Luke

i thought it took longer because it enables you to stay under control.

i know where he is coming from i have had my abs play up and when your going down hill off road on rocky stuff its scary.....its got nothing to do with practise i have had to pull my handbrake up before both on and off road to stop the car......as the car had ceased to stop. this is also not under heavy braking

however mine was due to intermitant faulty abs sensors ( happened twcie now)once they were sorted don't have an extra sensitive system that goes hay wire every now and again.

[DeanoH]

Had the ABS light come on once when towing the van on loose rocky dirt going into Gregory NP. ABS ceased to function and it was fantastic. Braking was much more controllable and predictable and also was more effective. I guess this is because the ABS stops the formation of the little hill of dirt in front of the wheels which assists in slowing the car. I'd read about this but didn't realise it made such a big difference.
No argument that the ABS works effectively on a hard surface, but it definitely degraded breaking performance under the above conditions. I was hoping it would stay "broken" until I got home and was quite disapointed when It had fixed itself by the next day.
Unfortunately turning off the ABS also turns off the TC (thanks Dave). TC is pretty handy, especially when you have open diffs, so from a practical (as opposed to legal) viewpoint just turning ABS off probably isn't the answer.

What if..........................put a relay via a dash mounted switch in the ABS power circuit. Have the relay actuated by the brake pedal switch. Now you've got selectable ABS when braking and TC operational unless you're braking which isn't an issue anyway. I'd wire it to have an interlock via the ignition so that 'no ABS' couldn't be permanently selected. It would reset to 'normal' each time the car was started regardless of the switch position, in fact I'd use a momentary on push button switch.

Any thoughts ?

Deano

[Gold_TD5]

ABS will stop a car in shorter distance than non ABS car and you have better steering control whilst under brakes
Your first statement is not true, while your second is partially correct.

If ABS was such a great breaking aid, race cars would have it fitted.
The purpose of ABS is to enable the driver to be able to steer the car in an emergency braking situation without having to modulate brake pedal pressure as you can not steer a locked wheel.
Most drivers, or more to the point, most people who drive, in an emergency braking situation do not have the presence of mind to release a locking brake and steer around an obstacle but instead push harder on the brake and hit the obstacle or run off the road in a straight line.

[clean32]

AHH remember the days of X ply tiers ( none of these steel belted things to get bruised) and the only to stop on a gravel road was lock them up.

funny thing my mates ford 315 can stop faster on a gravel road than my wife's civic, now i wonder why???

Bin the ABS when heading down the slippery bumpy stuff, lock in the CDL but tun it back on for every thing else

the older aussie type of Abs was much ruffer than the todays finer Euro setup. much better for the shopping carts or pommy greenlanes but no good here.