Hello, When I initially start my '97 Honda Accord EX everything is good. No lights or signals. After about 1 minute I hear something click once over in front of the front passenger seat. It may be coming from the glove compartment. Right when I hear the click an orange "ABS" light comes on over to the right of the speedometer. Sometimes when I first crank the car(in the morning) I hear some type of pump; it sounds like an aquarium air pump coming from the front on the driver's side. It turns off after about a minute or two. I spoke with a mechanic and he pointed to a tall cylinder above the front driver's side wheel. He said that this cylinder may compress the ABS system. But he doesn't specialize in Hondas or Break Systems. Can anyone confirm this and how serious is this? Will my breaks totally fail? How much does it cost to replace? Is this even the problem?--Thanks in advance! -will
The ABS system has failed its self test. Did you check your brake fluid levels? Is the park brake fully off? That's the ABS pump charging the system. It's normal. If the ABS light is lit you will have no 'stutter' of the brakes when a wheel locks up. Marginally less safe in some situations, depending on how good a driver you are. Depends what's wrong. It can be expensive.
You can read out the trouble code from it and then make a diagnosis. If you are hearing the pump for awhile and then the light comes on, that usually means the system is not able to maintain pressure. The little can your mechanic pointed out is part of the system, but it is probably not the cause of the problem. The ABS module is very expensive (about $1000 US) if it needs to be replaced. But read the code first and see what its problem is. On the bright side, the ABS is separate from the main brakes. You can ignore it forever if you don't want to fix it. The car will behave the same as if it never had ABS in the first place.
Is that true? My impression was that the proportioning valves / some other aspects of the braking system are different if you have ABS. Am I wrong?
In the system Honda was using in '97, the important thing is that the main brakes are separated from the ABS such that if the ABS stops working, the main brakes are unaffected. There are some physical differences, but when the ABS is not engaged, the main brakes pass straight through and there is no difference in behavior from a car that doesn't have it.
Either a communication failure between the components of the system itself or fluid levels. I have a '95 Passport and my lights come on intermittently. I'm told it's a wheel sensor or, from my book, the system sets the ligth off when it can't "authenticate" to its own system components at various checks along the way. Wheel sensor quoted to me at about $80-$100, but no guarantee it's the sensor. Some people have said they've been able to clean their sensors and have the problem disappear altogether. I haven't had time to perform this operation yet. AJPDLA
As others have said, your ABS system has thrown a code and failed to activate... probaly because it couldn't get the system up to working pressure. The pump you hear is the ABS pump trying to pressurize the system - it should not last more than a few seconds. Check the ABS brake fluid level *and* condition - if the level is low and/or the fluid is dark looking, you *may* be able to avoid costly work if you change it. The modulator unit, pic here: http://makeashorterlink.com/?L20561D26, is probably not holding pressure at its seals and leaking internally back to the reservoir - very expensive to replace. Also check for any fluid leaks around the modulator - those models have plugs in the modulator which can leak and if caught early can be re-adjusted. Your brakes should continue to work OK without the ABS system in action. Rgds, George Macdonald "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??
As others have said, your ABS system has thrown a code and failed to activate... probaly because it couldn't get the system up to working pressure. The pump you hear is the ABS pump trying to pressurize the system - it should not last more than a few seconds. Check the ABS brake fluid level *and* condition - if the level is low and/or the fluid is dark looking, you *may* be able to avoid costly work if you change it. The modulator unit, pic here: http://makeashorterlink.com/?L20561D26, is probably not holding pressure at its seals and leaking internally back to the reservoir - very expensive to replace. Also check for any fluid leaks around the modulator - those models have plugs in the modulator which can leak and if caught early can be re-adjusted. Your brakes should continue to work OK without the ABS system in action. Rgds, George Macdonald "Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??
wheel sensor is just an inductive magnet - dirt doesn't affect it. clearance between teeth on the wheel hub/ halfshaft is supposedly 1-2 mm, therefore if teeth are rusted, there is too much clearance and magnet doesnt pick up teeth movement.
