ABS or not?

If ABS is fitted as standard then it needs to be working for the MOT, unless you take it off totally.

Personally I would try and get it working, it's a god send in the wet :)

Of course it will only fail the MOT should the MOT tester spot it, if the light is not on the dash, chances are he wont check it.

I've only ever had the ABS cut in once (on an icy hill) so I can't vouch for how good it is normally but I didn't hit anything. I would try to get it working but I don't expect it to be very cheap unless you can pull the fault codes yourself.

If you're gonna leave it off, then you need to connect the dash ABS light, to the airbag light or something, so it comes on with the ignition, then goes off. Otherwise it's an MOT fail.

It's probably just a dirty sensor/ring on one of the wheels. Common fault with ABS systems - check for corrosion, and give them all a really good clean.

Get it fixed. ABS is a really excellent invention, and it'll bail you out one day when you're carrying too much speed for .

Thanks for the reply.

Thankfully it went through the MOT a couple of weeks ago with no problems so I'm assuming the tester didn't notice it because, as you say, the light on the dash doesn't come on.

I'd like to get it working, if it's not going to be too difficult or expensive, because I may, at some point before I kill myself in the coming winter months, fit a traction control system that utilises the ABS.

Thanks for replying.

Fortunately I have a full list of fault codes in the Service Manual that I d/loaded from the internet so, assuming the control unit is still on the car, it shouldn't be too hard to diagnose the problem. Fixing it is another matter of course!

The most common fault is a sensor problem as they live in a hostile area.

If you've got electronic test gear it should be possible to find out which one is faulty. Failing that, a diagnostic check should be cheaper than just guessing and throwing parts at it.

Are you sure it isn't working? I've been told that the ABS on the Celica doesn't pulse as aggressively like a lot of the overactive modern ABS systms do. And it doesn't hav ean accumulator and pump either. It has a servo and very complex distibution network of pipes under a cover inside the engine bay.

Are you sure? We have put two cars through with non functional abs and they didn't pick up on it? One quite blatantly has the abs light on!

There you go, boys and girls. Never buy a car off Remus.

Obviously the first reason is that he's a mechanical chimp, but he also seems to be using a dodgy tester.

Are you the only gay in the village?

See my other post, re sensors !

You can do your own diagnostic check with a multimeter (=A33 from Maplin)

Find where the connectors are for the sensors (normally the front ones are around the turrets, between the wings and the scuttle panel). The rears can be under the boot carpet or under the rear seats.

Unplug them and check the resistance with the multimeter. They should all have a steady ohm reading provided the car is stationary!! The ohm reading for each sensor should be the same and give a stable figure that doesn't keep changing.. If one of them has a reading that is different to the others or keeps changing, you've found the rogue sensor.

That's the easy bit - taking the bust ones off is a nightmare!

Thanks. I'll get the wheels off this weekend and get the multi-meter out. There are a list of resistances that the sensors should show, so I'll clean them up and see if they're ok.