ABS lamp on - not whilst braking

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Panda
1.8 8v
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ABS lamp on - not whilst braking

Post by Panda »

Whilst gingerly descending an icy hill yesterday in 1st gear (without touching the brakes) the ABS warning light on my 2003 406 came on. It was accompanied by a warning beep and message (that I didn't get the chance to read) on the multi function display. It did feel like the car slipped sideways a little but I resisted the urge to brake and came to a fairly dignified stop when the road levelled out again. Could this have been caused because one of the driving wheels ended up turning at a different speed to the other one due to one wheel slipping? I stopped and restarted the engine and the warning lamp went off and the ABS seems to be working normally again.
Don't know what anyone else thinks but my 406 is pants in the snow (205/55/16 Michelin Primacy HP tyres).
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steve_earwig
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Re: ABS lamp on - not whilst braking

Post by steve_earwig »

Mine's excellent (196/65 15 Sava Eskimo snow tyres and they're well past their prime 8) :P ) I'd reckon you're right, as you were sliding about the wheels were turning at different rates without you touching the brakes and the ABS will see this as a fault. I bet it cleared when you went over 10kmh :wink:
Unskilled meddling sin©e 2007

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teamster1975
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Re: ABS lamp on - not whilst braking

Post by teamster1975 »

Same thing happened to me in the ice last week after the ABS triggered. Not seen it since!
1996 406 1.8LX Got a bad case of hydro lock!
1996 406 Executive 2.0 Turbo XU10J2TE No longer hangin' on in there :(
1997 Honda CB500V
2003 Volvo V40 1.8 GDi SE killed by a nutter in a beemer 5 series
2008 Mondeo 2.0 TDCi Titanium X

"Always look on the bright side of life, dedo, dedo dedodedo"
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mjb
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Re: ABS lamp on - not whilst braking

Post by mjb »

Panda wrote:Could this have been caused because one of the driving wheels ended up turning at a different speed to the other one due to one wheel slipping?
Yes, that's exactly why it happened
<steve_earwig> I think this forum is more about keeping our cars going with minimal outlay than giving our cars more reason to go bang
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