Disconnect ABS - 94 Olds Cutlass Supreme SL

[ssheen]

Hi,

 

My wife's car, 94 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme SL is having ABS problems. The pads and calipers are new. The ABS seems to come on at times when it should not is the best way to describe the issue.

 

How would I go about disconnecting the ABS? Any ideas on why it would be doing this?

[Crazy K]

PHANTOM ABS it is normally the result of a poor signal from a sensor. As the wheel slows the signal drops away and is lost. You can pull the abs fuse to stop it from happening, this disables abs and leaves you with normal brakes.

But I recommend fixing the problem. It could be casued by resistance at a dirty connector. Try disconnecting each connector, cleaning them, and putting some dielectric grease on the metal tabs before snapping them in place. See if this corrects your problem. and give us an update on what you do.

If it still happens,it can it be determined which wheel sensor is at fault I'd have the sensor replaced. - Ken

[birdman]

the sensors come off real easy, one bolt i think and are fairly cheap too.

[ssheen]

Thanks for the input guys.

 

I will try to clean the connectors and see what happens. Is there anyway to tell if the sensors are bad which one? What other years and cars are the sensors on? I can go pull some from my local u pull yard.

[Crazy K]

One other thought.... I have sometimes seen a car run without brake pads, and doing so grinds the rotors and everything leaving a coating/deposit of powdered steel (aka rust ) all over everthing, including the sensor area. (aka my 95 Cutlass Supreme, no pads at the time of purchase!) I believe this can interfere with it's abs signals too!

If you have a digital multimeter in the ohm setting, you could connect it to the abs sensor and slowly turn the wheel and compare the wheels to each other to see if one of the sensors is less responsive. but that would be a hard judgment call.

Best to do is clean the sensors first, ensure no rust deposits are inhibiting the sensors and test drive, then let us know! - Ken

[ssheen]

Thanks for the further info Ken.

[Crazy K]

COOL BEANS! keep us posted.

[ssheen]

What other cars and years would have the same sensors as the 94 Cutlass Supreme SL?

[Crazy K]

Basically any Grand prix(up to 96), regal(up to 97), lumina(up to 99) Monte carlo(up to 99), or Cutlass supreme(up to 97) with ABS will have the same sensors. (a good junkyard would know)

Again, I would attempt to clean the sensors area of dirt/rust, and clean and grease the ABS sensors's connector first...(oh, watch for any damaged wires too.) before you start just replacing parts. - ken

[ssheen]

thanks for the info and advice Ken.

[ssheen]

I forgot to mention that I cleaned the front sensors and all was fine. Thanks again for that advice guys.

[jeremy]

I forgot to mention that I cleaned the front sensors and all was fine. Thanks again for that advice guys.

 

 

Free fixes are always the best ones...

[Crazy K]

sweet! glad it is working for ya!

[Cutlassowner]

I have an 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme S 3.1 with the same issue and been having it for years even with brakes I have tried everything to get this ABS lights to go out Could a shop check my ABS sensor to see if it could be cleaned?

[Schurkey]

7 hours ago, Cutlassowner said:

I have an 1994 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme S 3.1 with the same issue and been having it for years even with brakes I have tried everything to get this ABS lights to go out Could a shop check my ABS sensor to see if it could be cleaned?

Define "tried everything".  WHAT did you "try"?  What were the results?

Yes, a shop can connect a scan tool to diagnose the problem.  When it was MY W-bodies, the sensor wires were corroded, the sensor harness from wheel to chassis needed to be replaced.  In other cases, the sensor may be bad, or the wheel hub.  There are other potential problems that will require other solutions.  That's why it needs to be diagnosed with the scan tool.

When was the last time the brake fluid was flushed through the ABS unit using a scan tool to actuate the valves?

[Nick727]

If you don't care about getting the ABS working and your brakes feel fine, Pull your instrument cluster and take the light bulb out of it for the ABS.

[rich_e777]

Or hell who needs brakes, whatever you hit will stop you.

You can snag a cheap ACTRON 3 with the GM cartridge that will read the ABS codes just fine but I cannot manipulate the master cylinder through it. Most shops probably wont have the OBD 1 tool needed but you can always call around and ask. Budget Brakes should as part of their inventory.

If you can get the codes I`ll post the info from my manual related to them.