Selectable ABS system????

[Doctor W]

I am seriously considering wiring in a disconnect or ON/OFF switch for the ABS braking system in my 97 ZJ......I've had good "Off-road ABS" systems , on a 1996 Range Rover 4.6 HSE and find the Jeep ABS excellent for sealed roads but downright scary/dangerous on deep gravel, sand, loose rock etc - I'd much rather use cadence braking or some other way of my own brain and foot controlling the braking when I deemed it neccessary.

So, I'm considering wiring in a STDP switch and warning light and maybe a buzzer to break power supply to the ABS system when I choose to turn it off when driving such surfaces.

Has anybody done this?.....Any comments?.......Any advice?

Looking forward to all you people's advice......many thanks!

 

[reece146]

I think you are on your own with this as far as integrating an on/off switch.

Pull the ABS system altogether? ChryCo systems of his vintage suck so no great loss.

 

[Hill Bill E.]

I just removed the ABS from my TJ. 99% of the vehicles I've driven/have driven, never had ABS, so driving on the street is no problem.

I actually have problems driving the wifes VUE because of the ABS! I'm just not used to having it. LOL

Not sure if that's an option for you, but it's easy to try it and find out. Pull out a fuse or relay for the ABS, and drive it on the street for a while, see how it works.

Otherwise, wire up a switch to cut power to the ABS fuse, and the "ABS" light will light up on the dash, so you will know when it's switched off.


I pulled everything (wires/sensors.tone rings) except the ABS motor under the master cylinder. No problems driving/stopping, other than having the ABS light on on the dash all the time.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

I am seriously considering wiring in a disconnect or ON/OFF switch for the ABS braking system in my 97 ZJ......I've had good "Off-road ABS" systems , on a 1996 Range Rover 4.6 HSE and find the Jeep ABS excellent for sealed roads but downright scary/dangerous on deep gavel, sand, loose rock etc - I'd much rather use cadence braking or some other way of my own brain and foot controlling the braking when I deemed it neccessary.

So, I'm considering wiring in a STDP switch and warning light and maybe a buzzer to break power supply to the ABS system when I choose to turn it off when driving such surfaces.

Has anybody done this?.....Any comments?.......Any advice?

Looking forward to all you people's advice......many thanks!

Why not simply pull the relay and fuse when you don't want it and install it when you do? Neither of my ZJ's have ABS and life is good.

 

[Doctor W]

I have pulled the main ABS fuse in the PCM, and tried it out ......works great where ABS sucked on down hill loose gravel - it took forever to slowly stop- downright dangerous.

Sure the ABS failure warning light comes on and stays on till you reconnect power to ABS and restart engine from ignition "off"......No problems it seems.

So this'll be put on the to-do list.....until then I'll pull the fuse when needed.

 

[iMTB]

On the KJ abs/stability control disables when the brake sensors get too muddy. It is great in mud because you can induce more wheelspin, bad when you get wheels off the ground because you lose electronic brake locking, and scary on the road when it's wet!

 

[1stDeuce]

I have also noted that the older Teves Jeep ABS systems don't do downhill stops on loose gravel or sand very well. We spent considerable time at my last job making sure our abs system (TRW) stopped on loose downhills! We also went to wheel lock at a higher speed and added some extra slip when the t-case was in low range, which really helps out. You can thank FMVSS rules for not allowing us to just shut it off in low, which would have been way easier and much preferred.

All you have to do to kill abs is pull the 10A fuse, so I have added a switch over the fuse circuit, so the switch just acts like pulling the fuse. (Don't switch the big fuse, that only runs the motor, and won't shut ABS off until you're part way through a stop and have already messed your pants!) The abs warning light comes on immediately, so you don't have to worry about forgetting that it's off. If you wanted to get really tricky, you could tie a relay to the 4wd light so that the ABS was disabled in 4wd. Works particularly well in jeeps that have the 242 t-case, where you can use "full time" mode with abs, and have the "part time" and low range positions (which also lights the part time light) shut abs off.
Chris