Technical Abs?

[reaper1988]

Ok i bought have a Fiat Brava 96' 1.6
When i bought the car the previous owner said he had to have the ECU bypassed or somthing along them lines so now i dont have a alarm just central locking.

The question is....My abs dosent work. Is this because the ECU had been bypassed?

 

[bridges]

Hi Reaper
Is there an ABS light on at all times on the dash?

 

[reaper1988]

No but i do have a airbag light on all the time. I have read about this before tho.

 

[bridges]

No but i do have a airbag light on all the time. I have read about this before tho.

Ok, when you turn your ignition on you should initially see with all the other dash lights a light written as ABS. If it then goes out with the other lights and stays out then it means it is fine and working.

If it stays on all the time, thats when it is not working.

If it does not light up at all not even initially with the ignition then someone has removed the bulb and chances are the ABS is knackered. This would be an MOT failure

 

[reaper1988]

The ABS light lights up when i start the car then goes out with all the others.

I know the ABS isnt working as i just had great fun with insurance companys when someone pulled out on me. Screeeeeech...BANG! No abs!

Any more ideas?

 

[Helz]

I would imagine it's just the immobiliser bit that's been bypassed (if there was an issue with keys not working), which shouldn't affect the ABS as the ECU takes care of the car's running. If it were a duff sensor or similar I would expect a light on the dash as above but is there a service history as to what was done with the electrics, in case something can be traced back to that? There's others here with far better knowledge of ABS though (never had a car with it) so I'll let them ask more pertinent questions!

You OK after your bump?

 

[T14086]

How do you know the ABS doesn't work? If light comes on the goes out (self check) it must be ok,if it doesn't come on again (while driving) system is probably ok.

 

[jug]

I know the ABS isnt working as i just had great fun with insurance companys when someone pulled out on me. Screeeeeech...BANG! No abs!

how does that prove the ABS didnt work?

just because you have ABS doesnt mean the car wont lock up, espcially at low speeds in the wet. its only ABS after all, not magic. the best way to check your ABS is to slam the brakes on hard at 80+ mph in the dry. just make sure you do it on an empty dual carriage way. the front wheels will still skid, but you'll feel the pulsing in the brake pedal, and you'll be able to steer enough to control it.

next time steer out the way to avoid a collison, thats all ABS helps with, not stopping sooner.

 

[Stark]

Are you positive that a '96 1.6 even has ABS? I own one and it doesn't......just a thought but it would definitely explain why it doesn't work.

 

[jug]

i think the only 1.6 with abs is the bravo HLX model (maybe brava elx?). i know for certain the S and SX models dont.

 

[Stark]

In the thread "Cherry bomb" he says he has a Brava ELX 1.6 1997 (it appears to have either got a year older or he's changed cars) so there may be a chance that he does have ABS.

 

[jug]

actually according to fiatboo "ABS anti-lock brakes are available as an option throughout the Fiat Bravo and Fiat Brava range, and are standard on the Fiat Bravo 1.8 HLX and Brava 1.8 ELX". so i guess i was wrong about the bravo 1.6 hlx having them as standard. his car must have been fitted with ABS as an optional extra.

 

[Stark]

Well done Holmes! I wonder what our next case will be??:chin: lol

 

[jug]

haha

 

[reaper1988]

Sorry aint been on the forum for a while. It is a 96 not a 97. My Mistake a while ago. Like erlier said in the post i think it musy have just been the immobaliser that was bypassed as i dont have a alarm just central locking.

I know for a face thw ABS dosent work as it skids and i have no control and no pussing back feeling or the feeling of the breaks stopping and starting. How would i find out if i did had ABS fitted?

 

[mountainmachine]

The self check light would come on when you start the car, look in the handbook for what the light should look like as i cant remember!

 

[jug]

The ABS light lights up when i start the car then goes out with all the others.

suggests you have ABS. you should also see the sensor on each wheel, and its wiring harness. its possible that an ABS fault has been avoided by disconnecting the sensors and adding resistors. this would disable your abs without the light remaining on.

the best way to test the abs would be to check each wheel signal is getting ot the abs controller. you can disconnect the abs controller and get a multimeter on the connector. use a low voltage A/C mode on a multimeter, connected to a pair of wires from any wheel sensor, then spin the wheel and you should see a small alternating current, about +-1vAC.

 

[SamG_Brava]

I doubt it would have ABS to be honest, even my mates 2000 model doesnt, nor does my 97/98 1.6 version

Just dont drive like a lunatic and it will be half the worry?