Nissan 200SX Club - South Africa

300sx wrote:

my light stays on sometimes, have to turn off then on a few times then comes right?

this sounds like a relay..

i have had 3 sx's and they have all done it, so i just thought it was "one of those things"

300sx wrote:i feel your pain.. keep us updated..

Will do man.

Speaking out of arse I do... but think we don't have one of those.... do we?

Ok... went home in my lunch hour.... started the car... grrrrrr noise. turned of, tapped little relays, started car... noise gone... so just holding thumbs that it's ok now...

is the light off???

cos the dash light could be one of a few things, the first being the ABS fuse. i cant believe noone has mentioned it. although if it is your ABS unit making a noise then i assume it has some power going to it.

the next from hanco would be the place to check. make sure that the plugs for the sensors are all connected correctly. you will find a sensor at each hub, and one on the diff. the hub sensor plugs are inside the engine bay, near the chassis rails - follow the wires to find them. the diff one - i cant remember!

then comes widows idea - although i'm not sure this will cause the dash light to stay on, but it might cause the unit to constantly open and close its valves. those are magnetic sensors and they pick up lost of metal filings and shavings - specially from the hub area!!! if they get too clogged they may send faulty readings to the abs ecu and that could make it repeatedly open and close valves.

there is also the supermegajuntion (or whatever the fukc its called). in the footwell of the drivers side is a massive square connector. it basically joins the ECU the ABS ECU and the wiring harnesses from the engine bay and the car. if there is a faulty connection there it can cause these problems - its happened to me before. make sure its well connected, and free of moisture!

then comes 300's suggestion. the ABS ECU - its located in the B-pillar on the drivers side. you would have to remove the plastic panels covering the seatbelt. the FSM has a list of the error codes and the way to test it.

man - seems complicated!

man - seems complicated!

yeah.. tracing abs faults is alot of fun

maybe you were lucky with the relay thing? holding thumbs for your sake..

what about just disconnecting it?

Anyone done this

Pros / Cons

mine will in all likelihood be removed by the time i'm finished with sr20det swap.

pro's - its a big weight saving. i estimate that abs unit and its bracketry weigh in the region of 20kg's. nevermind the associated wiring and sensors. another pro is a neater engine bay.

cons - well not having ABS means you actually have to be properly awake when you drive. specially if you have upgraded the power!!! ABS is a very important safety feature on a car!!!

but i think i have to justify my case - i've had 3 front end accidents in my sx (yes i'm sure i am quite accident prone - fukc you murphy you C___!!!) none were that bad, in fact the last two were very light. anyway, in all three accidents when i applied brakes (hard!!!) the front wheels/tires just locked up, and i slid into things (1xpalisade fence, 1xditch, 1xpeugeot 307). so my ABS didnt help at all.

strange thing is my ABS is working and i know because i've tested it. in controlled conditions, like the street i live, and in a straight line, the ABS works fine. even on a skidpan, you can hear and feel it working, BUT when i needed it most - it didnt work.

so im seriously considering removing it!

the front wheels/tires just locked up, and i slid into things (1xpalisade fence, 1xditch, 1xpeugeot 307).

ya, ive also had this problem, drifting into poles problem is, abs dont compensate for lack of braking space!

but it helps, and all of those occasions that i mentioned, had my ABS worked as well as it did in my tests, then i am 100% sure that i wouldn't have hit those objects...

so thats 3 for 3, or 100% failure in my opinion!!! it never worked when i needed it, so its probably going!

Thanx guys! really hope it's just the relays... will drive it over the weekend and check what happens... Thanx for all the help!

I heard that ABS is also only designed to be effective at low speeds and that it actually restricts your braking allot at higher speeds?

Dont know how true that might be....

lol - i wonder if the ABS ECU has a "effectivity" modifier in it!!!

i have driven with the abs off and brakes much sharper, but can lock the front quiet easily

It has worked for me and it has cause a aquaplane

apparently one of abs's main perks is that it alows you to manuver while braking hard? (keeps traction by not locking up)

Thats correct, thats the whole idea behind ABS.