Question about ABS problem

I have a 1992 Honda Civic EX, bought new, approximately 145K miles.
About 2 years ago my ABS light came on and the ABS quit working. When
I had the timing belt and water pump changed, I asked the mechanic to
check out the ABS and give me an estimate. He said that the pump
(I think thats what he called it) was shot. The cost to fix it was
high and I decided to just forget about fixing it. Two days ago I
went mountain hiking and left the lights on. When I got back to the
parking area, (about 5 hours) the battery was drained. Luckily the
place where I parked was on a slope so the car started very easily. I
drove home and parked in the garage and the next morning when I
started the car, the ABS light went out and the ABS is now working.
What the hell is going on? Any insights to this? Thanks a bunch.
Sorry for the long post.


Razzle-------------

 

It resets the fault code and turns off the light when power is disconnected
from it for a prescribed period. If the problem is still there, the light
will be back on soon. Your mechanic apparently did not bother, or did not
know how to reset it.

 

Agree with the other poster. It appears that there was a problem at one
time and it may still be there. If it pops up again then you should have it
fixed if you wish to utilize the ABS system. Personally if my 96 Accord EX
requires replacement of any ABS parts over a $100 I will probably not
bother fixing it. My understanding is that the ABS parts like the pump and
such can cost $600 bucks on up. The brakes work just fine without ABS as
long as you remember to pump the pedal during an emergency skid or snow,
etc.

Since you haven't activated the ABS in so long a flush would not be a bad
idea and then take the car out and slam the pedal to the floor on a slick
surface away from anything that could be killed or hit and hold the pedal
until it pumps up and down. I would do this several times. The bleeding
process however may activate the pump in the same manner. Check the
manual, or take it to a Honda dealer for service.

CaptainKrunch

 

Thanks. I did just that and the ABS worked fine on the slick surface.
I felt the brake pedal doing the pumping and the car stopped in a
straight line. I personally like the ABS system but cannot see
putting close to a thousand bucks into the car. The car has been very
reliable and is in excellent condition. If it fails again, I will
probably just use it as it is. I was puzzled that it would start
working just because the battery was drained.



Razzle---------thanks again.

 

Whenever there is a hard fault and the light comes on, same with the air bag
light, that system is rendered inoperative until the problem is fixed.
Sometimes weird things happen and after being reset it will work fine for a
day, a month, a year, or whatever. Computers are touchy sometimes.

I imagine some debri could have gotten in between a wheel speed sensor and
the ring which could have tripped the light. The debris went away and the
light got reset. Problem solved.

CaptainKrunch

 

You might also check all the things that cause that light to come on and
lock out the system. I chased a problem with ABS, different type car
(Dodge), for several years before I found a right rear stop light bulb that
would intermittently open. It finally shorted out and blew the fuse. I
haven't had the system fault on me in 4 years. I know I'll take some grief
over this but at least download the codes and make sure it's the pump before
you drop tons of money.