Patsum

I have a 1991 ls400 with Trac and ABS

I made sure the fuses are all good...the abs light comes on when you start the car like every other light on my dash just for a second while engaging the starter and then it goes off.

I have no check engine or ABS or Trac light error on my dash

all systems indicate a go.

I slam my brakes and she can squeal rubber while the front end takes a big dive.

Still no malfunction or indicator light comes on for ABS

but ABS obviously does not work

what gives?

I know all it takes is for one little bitty thing to be out of whack for the CEL or ABS check light to come on....so this is strange

Hilux22RE

I Have the Same Issue with My Traction Control No Malfunction Indicator or anything and the System does not seem to Kick In.. Our Rides are old so its going to be hard to find the Problem...

Kansas

Patsum, have you tried slamming on your brakes on wet pavement to see if the ABS kicks in? I don't think I've ever felt ABS kick in on dry pavement in the 20+ years I've driven LS400's.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

squealing rubber doesn't necessarily mean the ABS isn't working. you need to try and lock the wheels, and i find doing so on wet pavement works best. don't do this in traffic for obvious reasons. i'd hate to be following you just for you to test your ABS!

deanshark

My 93 will do the same thing. No lights to indicate any problems but when I'm sliding on snow into a snow bank I know that the ABS aint working. There's got to be something for him to check on his car like if the sensors aren't working right.
Personally, I don't care about mine not working b/c I like to be in control of my vehicle at all times. I know when to pump the brakes or slam them and when to just cut the wheel and floor it to spin out of the slide. Didn't have to worry about this 30 years ago.

Patsum

I tried it in the rain. No abs. no fault lights. nothing

what in the world?

JimsGX

I don't have a lot of knowledge as to the workings of the early LS's ABS system, but I believe there's an ABS actuator that has valves in it that is located down low near the radiator on the passenger side. I have a 91 with ABS, but no traction control.

I also had no ABS. It's not that easy to lock up the early first gen brakes with the two caliper setup... It can take significant force on the brake pedal... I have all new brake pads, rotors, stainless brake lines and a new master cylinder. I also have new DOT3 fluid in the whole system. I got it to working and once I got it to work, it became progressively easier to get it to kick in.

I'd read some message threads in the past in the Nissan forums that talked about "exercising" the ABS solenoids. Apparently on some Nissan's, the ABS valves get stuck over time from lack of use, so I gave it a try.

Not sure if the Nissan problem applies exactly to our early gen cars or not, but mine now works quite well after a lot of 35mph to 0 quick stops using both feet on the brake pedal, so maybe there's some truth to it.

Jim

Kansas

Did you absolutely "stand on the brakes" to simulate a panic stop on wet pavement?

The reason I ask is that I felt the ABS on the 90 LS I drove for 13 1/2 years kick in only a few times during all that time I owned it. I don't fully understand the technology differences between the gen 1 LS400 ABS system and later ABS systems but the ABS on our Camry and 2000 LS400 are much more noticeable.

By the way, ABS senses a loss of traction when braking. If your tires are worn out or if you are driving on snow without snow tires, ABS won't be doing as much because all it is sensing is sliding. It has to sense traction and then a loss of traction for it to work.

Hilux22RE

Do the ABS And Traction Control Systems work Together??

Kansas

ABS and traction control systems share components such as the sensors that sense loss of traction during both braking and accelleration.

I am only assuming that ABS and traction control have become more integrated on newer cars since ABS has become rarely available without traction control and vice versa. Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) systems share some of the same components with Traction control and ABS.