Need help with Trans Am......

[04fullitgt]

My gf has a 2000 Firehawk Trans Am. It was parked for the winter and she just got it out last week. For some reason the ABS INOP light is on.

It isnt on when you start the car, but when you start driving it and stop at a stop sign or something the pedal pulses like the ABS is activing then the light turns on along with the TCS OFF light and the pedal feels fine the next time you stop. What could this be? Is it a wheel speed sensor? or something else?

Thanks again!

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

Tell her not to drive the car until this is resolved, or find a way to disable the ABS in the meantime. Braking issues are not something to play with when it could put lives at stake!

You'll need to pull the ABS codes (not sure how on her car) to find out what's up. I had a 97 Bravada that did the same thing, except I would have to literally STAND on the pedal to get it to stop, while fighting the ABS system. After activating I think 3 consecutive times, it system will become disabled, hence her ABS light. In my case, it was a ton of debris that had built up on the right front ABS sensor causing it to think the wheel had stopped rotating. Everytime I would hit the pedal, the system would react by activating and preventing me from stopping safely. A can of brake cleaner and half an hour of my time solved the issue, but hers could be something different, so you'll need to do some investigating.

Here's a decent link I found regarding the GM/Bosch ABS system:
http://www.babcox.com/editorial/bf/bf20136.htm

 

[04fullitgt]

:damnit:

I was hoping I could get away with not doing anything.

Do you think it could possibly be rust build up from sitting outside since October?

 

[BlownFiveLiter]

The debris that built up in the sensor on my Bravada was rust, so I'd say it's a definite possibility. It looked like flakes of rust that had come from the rotor or something.

 

[04fullitgt]

Good to know. I'll check it out tonight