ABS Description and Operation

OPERATION - ANTILOCK BRAKE SYSTEM
There are a few performance characteristics of the Mark 20e Antilock Brake System that may at first seem abnormal, but in fact are normal. These characteristics are described below.

NORMAL BRAKING
Under normal braking conditions, the ABS functions the same as a standard base brake system with a diagonally split master cylinder and conventional vacuum assist.

ABS BRAKING
ABS operation is available at all vehicle speeds above 3 - 5 mph. If a wheel locking tendency is detected during a brake application, the brake system enters the ABS mode. During ABS braking, hydraulic pressure in the four wheel circuits is modulated to prevent any wheel from locking. Each wheel circuit is designed with a set of electric solenoids to allow modulation, although for vehicle stability, both rear wheel solenoids receive the same electrical signal. Wheel lockup may be perceived at the very end of an ABS stop and is considered normal.

During an ABS stop, the brakes hydraulic system is still diagonally split. However, the brake system pressure is further split into three control channels. During antilock operation of the vehicle's brake system, the front wheels are controlled independently and are on two separate control channels, and the rear wheels of the vehicle are controlled together.

The system can build and release pressure at each wheel, depending on signals generated by the Wheel Speed Sensors (WSS) at each wheel and received at the Controller Antilock Brake (CAB).

NOISE AND BRAKE PEDAL FEEL
During ABS braking, some brake pedal movement may be felt. In addition, ABS braking will create ticking, popping, or groaning noises heard by the driver. This is normal and is due to pressurized fluid being transferred between the master cylinder and the brakes. If ABS operation occurs during hard braking, some pulsation may be felt in the vehicle body due to fore and aft movement of the suspension as brake pressures are modulated.

At the end of an ABS stop, ABS is turned off when the vehicle is slowed to a speed of 3 - 4 mph. There may be a slight brake pedal drop anytime that the ABS is deactivated, such as at the end of the stop when the vehicle speed is less than 3 mph or during an ABS stop where ABS is no longer required. These conditions exist when a vehicle is being stopped on a road surface with patches of ice, loose gravel, or sand on it. Also, stopping a vehicle on a bumpy road surface activates ABS because of the wheel hop caused by the bumps.

TIRE NOISE AND MARKS
Although the ABS system prevents complete wheel lockup, some wheel slip is desired in order to achieve optimum braking performance. Wheel slip is defined as follows: 0 percent slip means the wheel is rolling freely and 100 percent slip means the wheel is fully locked. During brake pressure modulation, wheel slip is allowed to reach up to 25-30 percent. This means that the wheel rolling velocity is 25-30 percent less than that of a free rolling wheel at a given vehicle speed. This slip may result in some tire chirping, depending on the road surface. This sound should not be interpreted as total wheel lockup.

Complete wheel lockup normally leaves black tire marks on dry pavement. The ABS will not leave dark black tire marks since the wheel never reaches a fully locked condition. However, tire marks may be noticeable as light patched marks.

START-UP CYCLE
When the ignition is turned on, a popping sound and a slight brake pedal movement may be noticed. The ABS warning lamp will also be on for up to 5 seconds after the ignition is turned on. When the vehicle is first driven off, a humming may be heard or felt by the driver at approximately 20 - 40 kph (12 - 25 mph). All of these conditions are a normal function of ABS as the system is performing a diagnosis check.

PREMATURE ABS CYCLING
Symptoms of premature ABS cycling include: clicking sounds from the solenoid valves; pump/motor running; and pulsations in the brake pedal. Premature ABS cycling can occur at any braking rate of the vehicle and on any type of road surface. Neither the red BRAKE warning lamp, nor the amber ABS warning lamp, illuminate and no fault codes are stored in the CAB.

Premature ABS cycling is a condition that needs to be correctly assessed when diagnosing problems with the antilock brake system. It may be necessary to use a DRB scan tool to detect and verify premature ABS cycling.

Check the following common causes when diagnosing premature ABS cycling: damaged tone wheels; incorrect tone wheels; damaged steering knuckle wheel speed sensor mounting bosses; loose wheel speed sensor mounting bolts; excessive tone wheel runout; or an excessively large tone wheel-to-wheel speed sensor air gap. Give special attention to these components when diagnosing a vehicle exhibiting premature ABS cycling.

After diagnosing the defective component, repair or replace it as required. When the component repair or replacement is completed, test drive the vehicle to verify that premature ABS cycling has been corrected.