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RABS Puzzle .....

I went down a steep hill maybe 6 mo. ago (I'm near San Francisco), and by the time I got to the bottom I had a lot of brake fade, severe pulling to left, and some smoke and a lot of burning brake fluid smell coming from the Right Front Tire/Brake. I went shopping and let things cool off. There was still a bit of pulling but the brakes worked again.

I made a mental note to have them looked at, but they weren't really pulling much at all after that and I didn't do anything more about it (yeah, yeah, procrastination....).

A week ago the slight pulling Stopped!!! The brakes have never worked better !@!@!

OK, here is the first part of the mystery: Right about the time the brakes miraculously cured themselves, I get BOTH the Break Warning AND ABS warning lights coming on and staying on !!!! (The ABS flashes off for a moment and then comes on again when I start up).

First thing I did was check the fluid, which didn't need topping up.

I did a bit of net research and found instructions to ground the single wire by the foot parking brake pedal, and then turn on power (but not start) the car to initiate RABS code read-outs (I DO have the code list).

Now things get stranger: I am not getting ANY code read-out at all (16 flashes is supposed to be normal, but I'm not getting ANY flashes!).

I had the brakes looked at and there is NOTHING that seems to be wrong with them. The mechanic concluded that there is probably a bad sensor somewhere or a wiring fault. I have a '92. I am not going to put money into this just to get these lights to go out. I would like to have these lights go off, so they would have some utility, however small, in informing me of REAL problems in the future.

The only cheap/quick fix I can think of so far is to take out the light bulb under these warning lights ;)

ANYBODY HAVE ANY BETTER IDEAS FOR ME ????

TIA,

Bob G

PS: Bonus Questions ( ;) ): I don't seem to be getting the hill holding on my automatic transmission that I used to (a bit of back sliding on the steepest hills unless I use the brake -- Is that indicative of some problems ??? (My idle is normal).

Reply to
BobsHere
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Let's address the "hill holding" with the trans first..... even when the car isn't moving backwards, there is more heat being generated in the torque convertor than there would be when using the brake. This is bad kharma.... especially given the delicate nature of the A4LD.

As always, a tech can only fix a problem that is apparent (waiting until it "fixes" itself is a fools game)..... my only guess is that a caliper either siezed or more likely barfed fluid onto the brake pads.... this would give smoke and/or pulling to the affected side. Once the fluid had been leached from the pads through repeated thermocycles, the pulling would likely stop but I would imagine a badly glazed pad or swept surface.... The likeliest thing to turn on both warning lights would be low fluid (backing up the fluid puking theory or abject lack of proper maintenance).

Since you wish to retain the functionality of the lights, i.e. having them come on together or singley to warn you of a problem, I would submit that the lights are on, ergo there is a problem....... if your tech inspected the brakes without checking fluid level and condition, he deserves a sound spanking (this being step one in any brake inspection).

A word of advice.... when you notice a problem with your car, have it addressed as soon as possible. I can't count how many times I have seen something that would be an inexpensive repair needlessly left unattended that snowballs into a major financial decision. A $10 exhaust hanger that turned into a $300 exhaust replacement or a $200 seal repair that turned into the replacement of a major assembly. Add in the safety/inconvenience aspect and the cost can escalate.... the missed job interview, the wife giving birth on the side of the freeway, or the premature meeting with St. Peter.

Don't mind me.... I'm always blunt...

-- Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

Reply to
Jim Warman

Thanks for the thoughtful reply Jim !! I shall investigate further....

Bob

Reply to
BobsHere

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