warning...why you should not ignore a warning light..

[t5steve]

My abs light is permanently on, read the codes and know the faults (RR circuit has a break and abs pump is fudged) only locked up once by accident in 5,500 miles and that was heading to the oxford meet with hazza behind me. I find the car behaves much better with no abs but I did drive a mighty little rover 100 before the T5 so used to no assistance. Shame about the car Steve but it's easily repaired. Nice orange mk2 escort hiding behind the Volvo too!

car is repaired and back on road thanks..................escort was my sons and has been sold to finance his new project....................don't forget abs light must be fixed for mot.......................

[iancho]

Sorry to read about your "incident" Steve and i'm glad you and the car are ok.... I can only guess how angry and foolish you feel and relived that it was not worse! (i know thats how i would feel) Credit to you for putting this post up and warning others....and for being man enough to take some "hits" for your driving.... I had the same problem with my car for well over a year, the problem got steadly worse... it really did affect the breaking and i got it fixed on E-bay for £45.... Now then!!... I am the first to put my hand up and say i have done the same as Steve on occasions... I'm sorry but the temptation is just too much sometimes and we all love to show off... thats one of the reasons we own these high powered cars. I'm not mad in mine, nor is Steve... he was just doing what every red blooded male does... I'm usually worrying about the auto box too much to thrash mine and i'm well aware that if i abuse my car it will abuse my pocket even more and drive steady 99% of the time.

Top man Steve for this post!

And before anyone says it i know the roads are not for racing... just be honest and admit we have all done it!

[wegal]

Tut tut tut... racing on a public road !! Save it for the track, next time someone might get killed.

Ok bollocking over.... the lack of ABS or the introduction of ABS half way through a serious stop should not result in the rear of the car attempting to overtake the front. The cause I suspect has nothing to do with a failed ABS unit ( they fail safe ) but more likely the huge mismatch you have between your front and rear brakes. Excessive front brake power will always cause the rear to break away, unless the rear has enough braking force to keep it straight ( thats why the car breaks on all 4 wheels and not just the front two) Excessive rear brakes will cause the car to be difficult to stop, but it will stop in a perfectly straight line.

You need to have a serious look at your break modifications, because your front and rear brakes are seriously, and dangerously, out of sync with each other. Next time this happens it could be on the motorway at rush hour, a spin there will leave you needing a new car and not just new undepants !

The moral here isnt to fix the abs module, it is two fold, dont race on a public road to that extent, and dont modify a car without thinking about what that mod will do to the rest of it.

Genuinely sorry you bent it, we have all done stupid stuff in the past.

Now get them rear brakes uprated, or but a brake bias valve in and get it on a brake tester to make sure that the rears can offer enough resistance to keep it straight under hard breaking.

Peace :-)

[t5steve]

Tut tut tut... racing on a public road !! Save it for the track, next time someone might get killed.

Ok bollocking over.... the lack of ABS or the introduction of ABS half way through a serious stop should not result in the rear of the car attempting to overtake the front. The cause I suspect has nothing to do with a failed ABS unit ( they fail safe ) but more likely the huge mismatch you have between your front and rear brakes. Excessive front brake power will always cause the rear to break away, unless the rear has enough braking force to keep it straight ( thats why the car breaks on all 4 wheels and not just the front two) Excessive rear brakes will cause the car to be difficult to stop, but it will stop in a perfectly straight line.

You need to have a serious look at your break modifications, because your front and rear brakes are seriously, and dangerously, out of sync with each other. Next time this happens it could be on the motorway at rush hour, a spin there will leave you needing a new car and not just new undepants !

The moral here isnt to fix the abs module, it is two fold, dont race on a public road to that extent, and dont modify a car without thinking about what that mod will do to the rest of it.

Genuinely sorry you bent it, we have all done stupid stuff in the past.

Now get them rear brakes uprated, or but a brake bias valve in and get it on a brake tester to make sure that the rears can offer enough resistance to keep it straight under hard breaking.

Peace :-)

read post 9
the car HAS got a brake bias valve fitted and it was supplied by AP racing to match the front brakes fitted..................the brakes have been set up correctly and tested and adjusted by local AP racing specialist.........................i am very particular with the running gear on my car and was more than willing to spend money on the correct parts and services as i aquired the front setup cheaply

[volvokid]

Good on you to be so honest with your post, such ashame you where forced to have to repair the problem after such an incident. Glad your ok

[y2blade]

Although I agree ignoring a warning light is not a good idea and I'm glad your ok, I must say I consider 'racing' on the highway an equally poor decision. If you had not been 'racing' and trying to out run another driver then you may have not hit the kerb despite having a problem with the car. Unfortunatley your decision to 'show off' meant that you actually ended up having a minor accident, damaged your car, and only made yourself look foolish in front of the driver you were trying to impress. I've never understood this need to race other drivers and see who's car is faster - utterly pointless.

Anyway 'rant' over, best of luck with the repairs.

Regards

James

My thoughts too.

[JamesT5]

point taken ref racing........................point i was making ref abs light was it could happen to anybody that ignores warning light and needs to stop quickly

Yes, I understand your side of the story, however if I have any issues with my car that could be dangerous in anyway, I tend to drive much slower, take back roads to avoid holding people up and if possible borrow another car until I can get the fault diagnosed and corrected.

I don't know, maybe I'm too sensible.....

Regards

James

[wegal]

read post 9
the car HAS got a brake bias valve fitted and it was supplied by AP racing to match the front brakes fitted..................the brakes have been set up correctly and tested and adjusted by local AP racing specialist.........................i am very particular with the running gear on my car and was more than willing to spend money on the correct parts and services as i aquired the front setup cheaply

Steve.. I dont doubt that you had it set up correctly, Im not implying that you are an idiot. Just trying to make sure you dont kill yourself on accident !

Did the fronts lock ? Or was it just the rears ? If you locked all 4 well there isnt much you can do really, although Id personally increase the rear bias a bit. If only the rears locked then Id definately look at rear bias. Its a fine balancing act, but if you get enough rear bias to drag the rear of the car down ( think how it feels when you drive with the handbrake on.. the rear of the car sits down, its this effect that helps keep the weight on the rears under braking and so makes them less liable to lock ) Too much rear bias and it will lock all the time. Dont take someone elses word that your brakes are right, you know your stuff, and you know your car and how you drive it, set it up for your style, youve spent the money to have that facility, may as well use it :-)

If the brakes are right even without ABS the car should still slide in a reasonably straight line.

Peace :-)

[T5frankie]

out come all the misery guts, "don't race on a public road" blah blah blah every time without fail, lol

[Ed.]

I had a close friend kill himself by driving dangerously on a public road. He wasn't even racing anyone at the time. Stories like this should serve as warning, people may not be so lucky next time....

[mr shifter]

You see a few 850s on ebay with the abs and or tracs light illuminated on the dash. Would you buy one of those?

[JamesT5]

I had a close friend kill himself by driving dangerously on a public road. He wasn't even racing anyone at the time. Stories like this should serve as warning, people may not be so lucky next time....

Well said Ed!

[t5steve]

Steve.. I dont doubt that you had it set up correctly, Im not implying that you are an idiot. Just trying to make sure you dont kill yourself on accident !

Did the fronts lock ? Or was it just the rears ? If you locked all 4 well there isnt much you can do really, although Id personally increase the rear bias a bit. If only the rears locked then Id definately look at rear bias. Its a fine balancing act, but if you get enough rear bias to drag the rear of the car down ( think how it feels when you drive with the handbrake on.. the rear of the car sits down, its this effect that helps keep the weight on the rears under braking and so makes them less liable to lock ) Too much rear bias and it will lock all the time. Dont take someone elses word that your brakes are right, you know your stuff, and you know your car and how you drive it, set it up for your style, youve spent the money to have that facility, may as well use it :-)

If the brakes are right even without ABS the car should still slide in a reasonably straight line.

Peace :-)

it was stopping well and straight untill abs light came on............the rears locked for a split second only before i released them............but it was long enough to start the car going sideways (it was on a slight bend and camber is a bit more than normal but not excessive so this probably didn't help)
maybe you are right and a little rear end adjustment is needed...................

[Aydenapp]

I thought the ABS worked on my T5 when i bought it, didnt even think to look for the light when i switched on the ignition, wasnt until i was braking for a roundabout in the damp and locked the front wheels up that i realised someone had REMOVED the bulb for the ABS completely, when i put a bulb in it was permenantely on......

So on another note, check it comes on first aswell !!

[d2k]

scooby driver was anything but laughing............he didn't make roundabout and ended up in the flower beds in middle of roundabout...............at least i drove mine home..............he had to wait for tow truck

soooo..... you both crashed.

[wegal]

Steve, Im wondering if maybe when it was set up with the bias valve the pads were new ? Its possible that they have bedded properly now and your fronts are out breaking your rears... just a thought, its worth a check.

Off camber roads are a biatch !

[t5steve]

Steve, Im wondering if maybe when it was set up with the bias valve the pads were new ? Its possible that they have bedded properly now and your fronts are out breaking your rears... just a thought, its worth a check.

Off camber roads are a biatch !

ha ha ........ain't they just....................fronts weren't very old when they were set up so it is a possibility.....................

[mhill53]

i do believe that braking hard on a bend with adverse camber which would totally unload the inside rear wheel, would be a no no any way?however well you may think the car is set up may i suggest you concider basic driving principles first? ultimatly the car wont get you out of ever situation? abs or no abs,personally i hate abs which is why i removed it from my R.
try driving your sons mk2 like your volvo and it will bite you in the §§§§ big time.