disabling ABS system

[bettner12]

hey, anybody know how to disable the ABS system on a 2000 Taurus?
i almost wrecked this morning because of it :nono:
thanks,
Clinton

 

[03DOHC]

Unless it was not functioning properly or you were using it wrong how did the ABS cause you to almost wreck?

 

[Mxboost]

I'm with you Bettner12. I have almost been in three accidents because of my ALB. There was a decline that ended at a light. About two car lengths from the light, there was a series of road bumps that set off my ALB. Because of this, three times in a row, it put me right in the middle of the intersection. Thank goodness it wasn't busy. I could have easily stopped all three times, as I have done thousands of times, but I do think my system was operating properly. I don't recommend disabling them though. 03DOHC, not sure how you could use it wrong.

 

[bettner12]

well i was coming home from church and at almost every stop sign i would stop as usually required but it seems like the ABS would kick in waaaaay before it ever needed to and then who knows where you're going to end up stoping....
as i was turning right into the alley behind my house i brake as usual because it's on a slight grade but end up starting to slide and come five inches away from our neighbor's garage. granted the ABS was doing it's job properly but sometimes it doesn't need to show up at work. i have thought about pulling the fuse but it would be better if i hard wire in a two-position switch and a red and green LED to turn the ABS on and off due to conditions. granted i probably was going too fast as usual.... oh yeah that big 3.0 v-6 has tooo much power :burnout: but it is a nice torquey motor in that car, it will leave some nice rubber at stop signs.

one thing i just thought of was that the front rotors are warped a noticable amount. i think this could contribute to the horrible pedal feel when ABS does kick in and to why it does so sporadically.
thanks
Clinton

 

[trents99]

The Cobras have a fuse under the dash. I yanked mine out because of a problem and it disabled ABS and the Trac Control.

 

[99hissss]

No matter what, I don't think you should disable the system. To me, that's just asking for a disaster, because you might need it and you might expect it to work and then it wouldn't be there. Besides, I think you may have found the problem already, since you mentioned the large amount of warping on your front brakes. That would definitely explain why they might "kick-in" when it's not really appropriate..At the very least I would take the vehicle to your mechanic before I would even think of doing something as drastic as manually disabling the ABS. It's just too dangerous. Just my 2cents :coolman:

 

[bettner12]

yeah we are taking the car in to have the brakes worked on but they did that even before the warped rotor... maybe just a bad system
one point i would bring up is that two decades ago we didn't have ABS so what did they do, they learned how to use the brakes properly and if they messed up then who's fault was it? theres. i would rather crash a car because i messed rather than the computer thought it knew best and remedied the situation how it knew best. didn't the NHTSA make anti-lock brakes a required option for all new cars and recently they changed their minds because they number of accidents stayed the same and went up? i would just rather control the brakes instead of a binary device.
later
Clinton

 

[69hahaha]

I wouldn't mess with trying to disable it. ABS is not meant to decrease your stopping distance but enable you to make manuevers to avoid a situation. The system applies the brakes and lets off faster than anyone could ever physically do so the wheels don't lock up and you can steer out of trouble. The rotors being warped are most likely not to be the cause but have it checked out anyway. The system is going to make a pretty strange feeling in the pedal and that is perfectly normal but you have to apply the brakes pretty hard for it to kick in and if it's kicking in with hardly any effort, then deff. have it looked at. And as for accidents with cars that have ABS, alot of the times, it was because the person did not have knowledge of how the system works and freaked out when they felt the pedal pulsating and would let off thinking something was wrong.

 

[03DOHC]

I've driven many cars with ABS and they have always worked well. If you are activating your ABS all the time there is either something wrong with the ABS system, you're racing your car or you are driving like a [insert your choice of word(s) here].

I would never consider disabling the ABS on a street car. Just my opinion.

And as for accidents with cars that have ABS, alot of the times, it was because the person did not have knowledge of how the system works and freaked out when they felt the pedal pulsating and would let off thinking something was wrong.

Exactly.

 

[Noisycow]

On some vehicles - ABS makes your ride a death trap when you hit a bump - specifically later model Astro/Safari vans.

 

[69hahaha]

On some vehicles - ABS makes your ride a death trap when you hit a bump - specifically later model Astro/Safari vans.

Alot of trucks or older suv's can experience this due to a very stiff suspension especially in the rear where there's not a whole lot of weight, such as my 4x4 Ranger which has leaf springs in the rear and hardly no weight. The back of the truck will hop very easily over small bumps and that will lift the wheels up just enough that the brakes feel it is "too easy to stop them" and want to apply the ABS due to the fact that it thinks the wheels are locking up (which they actually are) in a hard braking situation.

 

[03DOHC]

The back of the truck will hop very easily over small bumps and that will lift the wheels up just enough that the brakes feel it is "too easy to stop them" and want to apply the ABS due to the fact that it thinks the wheels are locking up (which they actually are) in a hard braking situation.

The ABS system doesn't think it is "too easy to stop them" because that's not how it works (your profile says you're a Ford tech?). It works by sensing the difference in wheel speed. If the tires on your ranger are not on the ground you wont be stopping quickly whether or not you have ABS.

 

[69hahaha]

That's why I put that term in quotations. Although it looks as if that is exactly what I mean, it is not, sorry it was taken that way. I just didn't know if he knew exactly how it works so I was just trying to make a simple explanation. When the wheels bounce off the ground, in a constant repetitive action mind you, there is bound to be a slight diff. in wheel speed compared to the fronts. This isn't going to happen all the time of course but when you're on the gas and the rear wheels are starting to turn faster than what the fronts are, when you are hauling a@# across the bumps, when you go to slam on the brakes real fast, it's going to see a diff. in wheel speed and react. Again, this not happening all the time, but certainly has happened.

 

[stevieb]

Generally if the ABS has been activated it is because the car was goint TOO fast for conditions and was trying to stop the car without locking up the wheels.

If they locked up and get you going sideways, the car was going too fast for the ABS to work properly. ABS is not a miricle worker.

We have a fleet of vehicles where I work and some drivers come in complaining that the ABS is defective, (ESPECIALLY IN THE RAIN) After questioning them it is apparant that they were driving too fast for conditions and they expected the antilock brakes to stop them in a shorter distance. It dont work that way, if the abs function is being used, it is time to step back and rethink ones driving habit that is making this situation occur.

I strongly dont recommend disconnecting the ABS. You most likely will disconnect other circuits that work in connection with ABS, if you ever have an accident regardless of whos fault it is and they see the abs tampered with, you will be held responsible and may end up going to jail if there were injuries. ABS is part of FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards). Just my 20years of experienced .02

 

[Canoodler]

On my dad's E350 Super Duty, the ABS is constantly kicking in, even more so when it goes over bumps. Mind you, this is when it's fully loaded with 7000+ lbs which it was never meant to haul. But still, he hasn't been able to brake many times when he had to. The old van didn't have ABS and stopped on a dime. My dad hates them.