Can you shut off antilock brakes?

[BColburn]

I'd like to be able to shut them off while offroading. On my buddies chevy he spliced a switch on the wire going to the fuse box for the anti's. The only prob. he had was that his cruise was disabled when they were switched off . So anyone tried to shut them off

 

[nickleinonen]

i believe there is a maxi fuse feeding the abs pump assembly. pulling the fuse should disable the abs [but will most likely turn on trouble code or dash lights]

 

[GaryCarter]

I would like the answer to this one too. Antilock nearly killed us once in a Jeep on a gravel road. Had to grab the parking brake to keep from going over a looooooong drop!



Gary

 

[bmoeller]

I don't like ABS on the KW or our new hopper bottom trailers, either. Longer stopping distances, and takes more air pressure (sometimes twice, 20psi instead of 10psi) to get the same amount of braking effort. If I pull one of the older trailers, I can stop a lot quicker.

 

[XJSuperman]

Just a shot in the dark but maybe unplugging the ABS computer? Will probably still get the ABS light but I would think that's just as easy (or easier) than pulling the fuse... depending on where the connector is.

 

[rbattelle]

i believe there is a maxi fuse feeding the abs pump assembly. pulling the fuse should disable the abs [but will most likely turn on trouble code or dash lights]

I agree; just pull the ABS fuse and ignore the trouble light.



-Ryan

 

[MNielsen]

I agree; just pull the ABS fuse and ignore the trouble light.



-Ryan

RBATELLE is right, just remone ABS fuse will disable system and brakes will revert to regular braking syatem:default. Yes, there will be trouble codes and dash lights but it can be done, It is purely up to an individual to disable at ones own risk! Goodluck.

 

[steved]

I would like the answer to this one too. Antilock nearly killed us once in a Jeep on a gravel road. Had to grab the parking brake to keep from going over a looooooong drop!



Gary

They have caused me to slide (coast) through more than one stoplight... and I know how to drive in snow... they are too sensitive.



steved

 

[fox]

Guys, I came up with this idea several years ago and got some critizem for it. But try this, reroute one wheel input into all the input points at the computer. This way the computer will not know if anyone wheel is sliding because it thinks/sees all turning at the same rate.

I agree, the ANTI stop feature is dangerous and will cause harm. It must be designed for one specific situation with no reguard for the other possibilities.

 

[ohnoitsyu]

It is purely up to an individual to disable at ones own risk! Goodluck.

In the case of driving offroad (I haven't driven in snow yet), it's up to one who wants to save their life to disconnect the ABS! That system is dangerous offroad!

 

[steved]

Trust me... drive like you don't have them in snow... feather the brakes yourself... pump them yourself... I panic stopped in a snowstorm... the truck stopped straight, after I went through the redlight (damn kid pushed the button!!)... the ABS basically gave me the finger and I literally "rolled" through that light... I could have stopped better WITHOUT the ABS.



The best part was there was an 18-wheeler beside me when it happened... he stopped with no problem for the light... that was my first experience with ABS on my new truck... I wasn't impressed.



steved

 

[XJSuperman]

Whatever you do... just realize that even if you can lock up the brakes... doesn't mean the truck will stop.

 

[LOtero]

pull the fuse. the light will come on and stay on as long as the fuse is out.

when you want to put it back on the road put the fuse in and you will have to shut the truck off and turn on again to have to light turn off. the abs system goes through a system check everytime the ignition is cycled. it will set a code but once you do the above it will clear from current to a history code, also it will clear from the computer after a set amount of ingnition cycles, usually 20 or more. as a history code it shouldnt cause any problems.

 

[BColburn]

I'll give it a try tomorrow and see how it works :-laf Thanks for the input.

 

[ohnoitsyu]

Whatever you do... just realize that even if you can lock up the brakes... doesn't mean the truck will stop.

Believe it or not, sometimes locking up the wheels can help you stop. In the case of a dirt road, the dirt builds up in front of the wheels, helping the vehicle stop better. I hear this applies to snow as well, but I'm sure people in the snow area can chime in (if that's true).

 

[Gas Man]

Believe it or not, sometimes locking up the wheels can help you stop. In the case of a dirt road, the dirt builds up in front of the wheels, helping the vehicle stop better. I hear this applies to snow as well, but I'm sure people in the snow area can chime in (if that's true).

Locking up the wheels, In soft dirt or sand Yes, Not on snow or ice, I us Gas Man's abs it is far better, I modulate the brakes to just about locking up but not, we have allot of ice on the roads, they salt and sand the middle of the road so allot of times the middle 10-15 ft of the road will be dry and the right side glare ice, so I can stop just fine with my company truck 02 Chev, I took the abs fuse out 60 amp and put tape over the light, come spring I put the fuse back in, I slid through 1 to many intersections because of abs, I just about T boned a lady 1 day, that scared the hell out of me, I drive about 100-150miles a day in all weather, I used to have a Ford van, pulled 1 fuse in the van and only the abs light come on and everything else worked.



I to am very much interested in how to disable the abs on my Dodge truck.



Use of this information is at your own risk. and is for informational purposes only.



Gas Man

 

[RHildreth]

This may be slightly off-topic, but I was wondering if any of you can feel the pulse on the abs. I was driving last Tuesday night in the snow here in Denver. I had just turned a corner accelerating slightly downhill on packed snow with some gravel in it. Was going from 3rd to 4th gear when I got one of those lights that had about a 1 second yellow before it went red. Mashed the brake pedal hard and got big pulses. The truck stopped, but did a 45 degree sideways slide partway into the intersection. I would have ran the light, but there was a car waiting to cross. I wasn't sure whether they would stay stopped or not.



My old Ford Bronco had ABS rears and the manual for it said if you could feel pulsing the abs system needed servicing. Should I be able to feel pulsing in the Dodge system?

 

[BColburn]

Yeah, you'll get a big pulse/push back at the pedal. Locking them up offroad is sometimes the most efective way of stoping the quickest. I went across from my house on the county forest gravel roads and did some stopping tests. With the ABS working I just pulsed along from a speed of 20mph. Pulled #6 fuse(ABS pump) and managed my own impending wheel lockup stop, several truck lengths shorter stopping distance with no ABS! The above tests were on 3 inches of snow on top of frozen graded dirt road. On a spot of road with no snow the truck stopped quicker both by managing lock up and by just stomping on them and managing the slide. Once again ABS had a longer distance. All test data not scientific, just done by a guy with a day off and wife an kids at school.

 

[RHildreth]

Thanks, I did get some pretty hard pulses on the pedal.



I agree that ABS isn't as great as the insurance companies think it is. I was on an ice packed mountain road about 10 years ago going down hill in my 87 Bronco, 4X4 Low range, idling for better engine braking. I came around a corner on a road about 1 and 1/2 lanes wide, and another vehicle was coming up. I pressed the brake pedal to stop and just before I stopped completely, the Bronco started crabbing sideways working towards the edge of the road that was about 200' down, on about a 70 degree angle to the bottom of the canyon. I had to let off the brake and hope the other guy got out of my way so I could roll by. He had just enough room to climb the high side enough to let me pass. He had seen me try to stop and start going sideways. Serious pucker factor there. I had to iron the dimple out of the driver's seat after that experience.

 

[JeepinDoug]

It seems it would be really simple to create a add-in pigtail to override the ABS.

Spade terminals where the fuse normally goes, wired to a fuse (remote) and a switch inline (mounted at your discretion).

Activating the switch to turn off power through ABS fuse and the ABS system.

Should take less than hour to have the power at your fingertips.