I've been experiencing something similar to the ABS failures descriped in this thread (sorry for the x-ref but couldn't find anything on this board).... http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...&highlight=abs

Has anyone here experienced this? Seems very troubling considering how common it appears to be occurring.

Would also like to know how many of you hvae pulled the ABS fuse as a work around.

 

Subaru in general has been known to have a very sensitive ABS system. Most people just put a cut out switch in their cars. It is not all that hard and takes a little time to find which wires to attach to the switch. Subaru designed their ABS system such that it would respond in almost every situation it would every encounter. I remember reading somewhere that when Subaru does a lot of their ABS testing, the tests are performed on ice because the conditions are simulated such that you literally have no traction at all.

 

can i ask how many of you have put in a cut switch for the ABS? is that better than pulling the ABS fuse?

 

I put in a cut-out switch....

In the fuse box, there are 2 fuses for the ABS. One is a motor fuse, the other is the solenoid fuse.

Either way, its probly not GOOD to turn it on and off all the time, but pulling the fuse is just the same electrically as putting in a switch with a fuse in-line. The switch is just easier to turn on and off.

 

I would like to clear up some misconceptions here. When an ABS system is being calibrated (Bosch designs the system and is then responsible for providing the service of calibrating it for particular platforms), the system must be tested and calibrated on ALL different surfaces that the car could encounter. The engineers must be as certain as possible that they know how the car will behave under every condition and road surface imaginable.

The story that Subaru calibrates their ABS on ice alone is just not true. I agree that it's not well calibrated for certain road surace conditions, but it's not because the ABS system was calibrated on ice.

As far as having a switch in the car to turn the ABS on and off, you're getting into a region that the engineers who designed the system likely did not anticipate. You're essentially skyrocketing the chance of getting into some previously inaccessible loop in the software that can prevent the system from responding the way you're used to.

If you insist on using such a switch, I urge you to be extremely careful when reactivating the ABS system. Do NOT turn that switch back on while the car is moving or while you've got your foot on the brake pedal. When you decide to reactivate the system, turn off the car, be sure the car is stopped, and take your foot off the brake pedal before turning the switch back on to reactivate the system.

You may be able to get away with not doing the above 99.9% of the time, but the one time that you don't can be all it takes to turn your world upside down.

Tim
www.stoptech.com