Brake Wires

[ntl5002]

So I opened up my hood when I was home last weekend to check something out. I noticed something weird. There were two female connector ports with nothing in them, I look down and there are two male connector ports. I just didn't want to plug them in. So I got a mechanic that lives near me to look at it. He wasn't sure and just said to plug them in and if something fealt weird to switch them. Then I got to thinking that my ABS has never worked, I know b/c I would slide down my hill going to school in the snow. Would this be why they didn't work? Also the family digital camera wasn't available while I was home and I just now borrowed one for our Car Show and decided to take a picture. I want to know if these are in the right connectors or not. Both have a black wire and one has a green wire and the other has a blue one. They are labeled which one has which in the pic.

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y101/MaliciousX/Grand%20Am/DSC00217_2.jpg

[mrjoecanadian]

Do you realy want ABS.....mine doesn't work and I'm not even going to think for 2 seconds on how to fix it.

But I will look under my hood and see what why the wires are hooked up for you.

[mrjoecanadian]

Yea that is the way mine is hooked up, my abs might not work but my light on the dash doesn't stay on.

[ntl5002]

Cool, thanks for checking.
It's just weird b/c my ABS has never worked but the light has never come on. The place where I get stuff done on my car said they couldn't see anything wrong.

[rixGAphx]

Originally posted by ntl5002
Cool, thanks for checking.
It's just weird b/c my ABS has never worked but the light has never come on. The place where I get stuff done on my car said they couldn't see anything wrong.
Does the ABS work now?

When you first turn the ignition 'on' (without cranking the starter motor), does the little ABS dash Icon illuminate?

Very weird that these cables could have been disconnected without the ABS light 'on'.

Hope all is well now.
-Rick

[mrjoecanadian]

Originally posted by rixGAphx
Does the ABS work now?

When you first turn the ignition 'on' (without cranking the starter motor), does the little ABS dash Icon illuminate?

Very weird that these cables could have been disconnected without the ABS light 'on'.

Hope all is well now.
-Rick

Mine doesn't work and the light does come on for a few seconds, but I HATE ABS and always will hate ABS.

ABS is for people that don't know how to drive.

[ntl5002]

To tell you the truth I have no idea if that is for the ABS system or not. I just figured it did since it never worked and I never noticed the wires disconnected.

I haven't "tested" to see if it works or not. The only time I thought it would kick in is when I would slide in the snow.

I don't even know if the light comes on or not when I turn the ignition on, never really paid attention.

[Matt95GT]

Originally posted by rixGAphx
Very weird that these cables could have been disconnected without the ABS light 'on'.


Pretty sure those are the connectors for the ABS solenoids... the module wouldn't be aware that they are disconnected so the light wouldn't come on... it would just have no way to pulse the brakes during a lockup.

Originally posted by mrjoecanadian
ABS is for people that don't know how to drive.

Do I have to search for the numerous articles with conclusive test results showing how that is not true? I specifically remember the results... in order from shortest stopping distance to longest: ABS w/ skilled driver, ABS with uneducated driver, non-ABS with skilled driver, non-ABS with uneducated driver. That doesn't even take into account the ability to control (i.e. steer) the car in a panic stop... which is really the purpose of ABS.

[carlover626]

Yeah, the ABS really does help in hard braking. I had a 76 Mercedes 450 SEL that I had to try to stop for a light (Yeah, I was going too fast) and I slid into the intersection sideways with the wheels locked, turned out okay luckily.
Had to stop quickly in the GA a couple of nights ago, no wheels are locked and I kept it in a straight line fairly easy.
I would check into weather the ABS is working or not. If you are sliding in the snow you'll know it's working cause the brake pedal vibrates and makes some weird sounds!

[rdgrandam92]

That is the ABS module, green wire is hooked to the connection towards the front of the car. You have it right (i went out and checked my car)

If you are not the first owner of the car, and the brakes worked before you plugged it back in, someone else may have unhooked that intentionally because it could be a bad module. It is an expensive part (around $500.00 new). If you plug it back in pay close attention to the consistency of your brakes and listen for clicking / grinding noises.

Also, check the bulb in the dash behind the ABS light, and maybe have the computer scanned for codes.....

[MantaGreen97]

Originally posted by Matt95GT
Do I have to search for the numerous articles with conclusive test results showing how that is not true? I specifically remember the results... in order from shortest stopping distance to longest: ABS w/ skilled driver, ABS with uneducated driver, non-ABS with skilled driver, non-ABS with uneducated driver. That doesn't even take into account the ability to control (i.e. steer) the car in a panic stop... which is really the purpose of ABS.

^Agree 100% with the above. ABS being a significant advantage to any driver, has nothing to do with "knowing how to drive" or not. There is just no physical way for any driver to be able to pulse each individual brake many times even in the duration of only one second.

ABS isn't banned in motorsports like F1 because the drivers "know how to drive" it's because it's considered an advantage to the driver. Anyone else remember the Williams "cheat-machine" that Nigel Mansell took all the way to winning the F1WC in 1992? Active-ride height, traction control and ABS... Mansell was never that great an F1 driver but the car certainly made it look like he was. (Prost was only too eager to come out of retirement and ride in a similar cheat machine a year later. Prost was a much better driver, IMO; and the Williams car just made it easier for him to take another F1 Crown.) In any case the point is even F1 drivers can benefit from technology from ABS and they are a far, far cry away from "not knowing how to drive"!

In most conditions, ABS helps both knowledgeable/experienced drivers and novice drivers alike. However someone driving a car with ABS has to really understand it, given bad weather conditions. For example, ABS on ICE is killer--an ABS-equipped car will take considerably longer to stop on black/sheet ice than will a non-ABS car at full-lockup, on ice. A driver that doesn't understand this may seriously underestimate their stopping distance in such conditions, if their car has ABS and they don't understand its operation.

The main consideration of ABS, as Matt said, is retaining vehicle control. Eliminating wheel lockup/slippage/sliding under braking is the "priority" of an ABS system, stopping distance is not. (Though on dry and wet surfaces, ABS usually does net better stopping distances and with far less drama than in a non-ABS stop.)

Getting back on the [direct] topic, yes certainly the disconnected connectors would inhibit ABS. In fact, with them disconnected the EBCM should command the IPC to turn the ABS telltale light on--it is interesting that yours does not stay on. If the light doesn't "bulb check" when you start the car, that means the previous owner not only disconnected the motorpack but they also removed the bulb from the cluster! If that is what they did, it's a pretty sneaky/sleazy way to sell the car off to someone and have them not know about the ABS malfunction/problem.

If you have the bulb illuminating at startup and it doesn't stay on, that is a little odd considering the connectors were off. In that case, if you want ABS you'll have to get it diagnosed to see if there are any problems. However it may be expensive to repair so you might want to forego it--your regular brakes will work fine (as they have been until now), just keep in mind you don't have ABS.

[ntl5002]

I bought the car from a dealer who got it at an auction.
The wiring on the car is pretty F'd. When I test drove it the horn and radio didn't work, dealer replaced the part. The stereo in the car was screwy, two speakers where the same volume and the other two a different one, the ones that where the same were diagonal from each other. Got that fixed by getting a new stereo and speakers at Best Buy. I ran into a problem shortly after in which the fuse for my headlights would go. Turned out that there was some bare wire that the tech missed. The people who had it before must've put in an aftermarket system and decided to not put it back together right and F'd all the wiring.

Are there any places that will check for codes for free?
I'll check the bulb on the cluster this summer when I plan to paint the interior.

[evlhamstr]

any local car parts store should let you use their reader for free, i know mine did....