Honda Car Forum

Hello,
When I initially start my '97 Honda Accord EX everything is good. No
lights or signals. After about 1 minute I hear something click once
over in front of the front passenger seat. It may be coming from the
glove compartment. Right when I hear the click an orange "ABS" light
comes on over to the right of the speedometer.

Sometimes when I first crank the car(in the morning) I hear some type
of pump; it sounds like an aquarium air pump coming from the front on
the driver's side. It turns off after about a minute or two. I spoke
with a mechanic and he pointed to a tall cylinder above the front
driver's side wheel. He said that this cylinder may compress the ABS
system. But he doesn't specialize in Hondas or Break Systems. Can
anyone confirm this and how serious is this? Will my breaks totally
fail? How much does it cost to replace? Is this even the
problem?--Thanks in advance!
-will

On 10 Oct 2003 06:59:49 -0700, wfisher@charlottebusinesssolutions.com
(Will) wrote:

>Hello,
>When I initially start my '97 Honda Accord EX everything is good. No
>lights or signals. After about 1 minute I hear something click once
>over in front of the front passenger seat. It may be coming from the
>glove compartment. Right when I hear the click an orange "ABS" light
>comes on over to the right of the speedometer.

The ABS system has failed its self test. Did you check your brake
fluid levels? Is the park brake fully off?

>Sometimes when I first crank the car(in the morning) I hear some type
>of pump; it sounds like an aquarium air pump coming from the front on
>the driver's side. It turns off after about a minute or two.

That's the ABS pump charging the system. It's normal.

> Can anyone confirm this and how serious is this?

If the ABS light is lit you will have no 'stutter' of the brakes when
a wheel locks up. Marginally less safe in some situations, depending
on how good a driver you are.

> Will my breaks totally fail?

No.

> How much does it cost to replace?

Depends what's wrong. It can be expensive.

On 10/10/03 8:59 AM, in article
b53f7005.0310100559.637016bc@posting.google.com, "Will"
<wfisher@charlottebusinesssolutions.com> wrote:

> Hello,
> When I initially start my '97 Honda Accord EX everything is good. No
> lights or signals. After about 1 minute I hear something click once
> over in front of the front passenger seat. It may be coming from the
> glove compartment. Right when I hear the click an orange "ABS" light
> comes on over to the right of the speedometer.
>
> Sometimes when I first crank the car(in the morning) I hear some type
> of pump; it sounds like an aquarium air pump coming from the front on
> the driver's side. It turns off after about a minute or two. I spoke
> with a mechanic and he pointed to a tall cylinder above the front
> driver's side wheel. He said that this cylinder may compress the ABS
> system. But he doesn't specialize in Hondas or Break Systems. Can
> anyone confirm this and how serious is this? Will my breaks totally
> fail? How much does it cost to replace? Is this even the
> problem?--Thanks in advance!
> -will

You can read out the trouble code from it and then make a diagnosis. If you
are hearing the pump for awhile and then the light comes on, that usually
means the system is not able to maintain pressure.

The little can your mechanic pointed out is part of the system, but it is
probably not the cause of the problem.

The ABS module is very expensive (about $1000 US) if it needs to be
replaced. But read the code first and see what its problem is.

On the bright side, the ABS is separate from the main brakes. You can
ignore it forever if you don't want to fix it. The car will behave the same
as if it never had ABS in the first place.

On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 14:29:02 GMT, "E. Meyer" <e.meyerNOSPAM@ieee.org>
wrote:

>
>On the bright side, the ABS is separate from the main brakes. You can
>ignore it forever if you don't want to fix it. The car will behave the same
>as if it never had ABS in the first place.

Is that true? My impression was that the proportioning valves / some
other aspects of the braking system are different if you have ABS. Am
I wrong?

On 10/10/03 10:58 AM, in article imldovof3oiu8gv9jlhqqc4r0jgkqhh9h8@4ax.com,
"TL" <tlehman@visi.com> wrote:

> On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 14:29:02 GMT, "E. Meyer" <e.meyerNOSPAM@ieee.org>
> wrote:
>
>>
>> On the bright side, the ABS is separate from the main brakes. You can
>> ignore it forever if you don't want to fix it. The car will behave the same
>> as if it never had ABS in the first place.
>
> Is that true? My impression was that the proportioning valves / some
> other aspects of the braking system are different if you have ABS. Am
> I wrong?
>

In the system Honda was using in '97, the important thing is that the main
brakes are separated from the ABS such that if the ABS stops working, the
main brakes are unaffected.

There are some physical differences, but when the ABS is not engaged, the
main brakes pass straight through and there is no difference in behavior
from a car that doesn't have it.

Either a communication failure between the components of the system itself
or fluid levels. I have a '95 Passport and my lights come on
intermittently. I'm told it's a wheel sensor or, from my book, the system
sets the ligth off when it can't "authenticate" to its own system components
at various checks along the way. Wheel sensor quoted to me at about
$80-$100, but no guarantee it's the sensor. Some people have said they've
been able to clean their sensors and have the problem disappear altogether.
I haven't had time to perform this operation yet.

AJPDLA

"Will" <wfisher@charlottebusinesssolutions.com> wrote in message
news:b53f7005.0310100559.637016bc@posting.google.c om...
> Hello,
> When I initially start my '97 Honda Accord EX everything is good. No
> lights or signals. After about 1 minute I hear something click once
> over in front of the front passenger seat. It may be coming from the
> glove compartment. Right when I hear the click an orange "ABS" light
> comes on over to the right of the speedometer.
>
> Sometimes when I first crank the car(in the morning) I hear some type
> of pump; it sounds like an aquarium air pump coming from the front on
> the driver's side. It turns off after about a minute or two. I spoke
> with a mechanic and he pointed to a tall cylinder above the front
> driver's side wheel. He said that this cylinder may compress the ABS
> system. But he doesn't specialize in Hondas or Break Systems. Can
> anyone confirm this and how serious is this? Will my breaks totally
> fail? How much does it cost to replace? Is this even the
> problem?--Thanks in advance!
> -will

On 10 Oct 2003 06:59:49 -0700, wfisher@charlottebusinesssolutions.com
(Will) wrote:

>Hello,
>When I initially start my '97 Honda Accord EX everything is good. No
>lights or signals. After about 1 minute I hear something click once
>over in front of the front passenger seat. It may be coming from the
>glove compartment. Right when I hear the click an orange "ABS" light
>comes on over to the right of the speedometer.

As others have said, your ABS system has thrown a code and failed to
activate... probaly because it couldn't get the system up to working
pressure.

>Sometimes when I first crank the car(in the morning) I hear some type
>of pump; it sounds like an aquarium air pump coming from the front on
>the driver's side. It turns off after about a minute or two. I spoke
>with a mechanic and he pointed to a tall cylinder above the front
>driver's side wheel. He said that this cylinder may compress the ABS
>system. But he doesn't specialize in Hondas or Break Systems. Can
>anyone confirm this and how serious is this? Will my breaks totally
>fail? How much does it cost to replace? Is this even the
>problem?--Thanks in advance!
>-will

The pump you hear is the ABS pump trying to pressurize the system - it
should not last more than a few seconds. Check the ABS brake fluid level
*and* condition - if the level is low and/or the fluid is dark looking, you
*may* be able to avoid costly work if you change it. The modulator unit,
pic here: http://makeashorterlink.com/?L20561D26, is probably not holding
pressure at its seals and leaking internally back to the reservoir - very
expensive to replace.

Also check for any fluid leaks around the modulator - those models have
plugs in the modulator which can leak and if caught early can be
re-adjusted.

Your brakes should continue to work OK without the ABS system in action.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

On 10 Oct 2003 06:59:49 -0700, wfisher@charlottebusinesssolutions.com
(Will) wrote:

>Hello,
>When I initially start my '97 Honda Accord EX everything is good. No
>lights or signals. After about 1 minute I hear something click once
>over in front of the front passenger seat. It may be coming from the
>glove compartment. Right when I hear the click an orange "ABS" light
>comes on over to the right of the speedometer.

As others have said, your ABS system has thrown a code and failed to
activate... probaly because it couldn't get the system up to working
pressure.

>Sometimes when I first crank the car(in the morning) I hear some type
>of pump; it sounds like an aquarium air pump coming from the front on
>the driver's side. It turns off after about a minute or two. I spoke
>with a mechanic and he pointed to a tall cylinder above the front
>driver's side wheel. He said that this cylinder may compress the ABS
>system. But he doesn't specialize in Hondas or Break Systems. Can
>anyone confirm this and how serious is this? Will my breaks totally
>fail? How much does it cost to replace? Is this even the
>problem?--Thanks in advance!
>-will

The pump you hear is the ABS pump trying to pressurize the system - it
should not last more than a few seconds. Check the ABS brake fluid level
*and* condition - if the level is low and/or the fluid is dark looking, you
*may* be able to avoid costly work if you change it. The modulator unit,
pic here: http://makeashorterlink.com/?L20561D26, is probably not holding
pressure at its seals and leaking internally back to the reservoir - very
expensive to replace.

Also check for any fluid leaks around the modulator - those models have
plugs in the modulator which can leak and if caught early can be
re-adjusted.

Your brakes should continue to work OK without the ABS system in action.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

wheel sensor is just an inductive magnet - dirt doesn't affect it. clearance
between teeth on the wheel hub/ halfshaft is supposedly 1-2 mm, therefore if
teeth are rusted, there is too much clearance and magnet doesnt pick up
teeth movement.

pdla" <ajpdla@pacifier.com> wrote in message
news:voe6068jncll6e@corp.supernews.com...
> Either a communication failure between the components of the system itself
> or fluid levels. I have a '95 Passport and my lights come on
> intermittently. I'm told it's a wheel sensor or, from my book, the system
> sets the ligth off when it can't "authenticate" to its own system
components
> at various checks along the way. Wheel sensor quoted to me at about
> $80-$100, but no guarantee it's the sensor. Some people have said they've
> been able to clean their sensors and have the problem disappear
altogether.
> I haven't had time to perform this operation yet.
>
> AJPDLA
>
> "Will" <wfisher@charlottebusinesssolutions.com> wrote in message
> news:b53f7005.0310100559.637016bc@posting.google.c om...
> > Hello,
> > When I initially start my '97 Honda Accord EX everything is good. No
> > lights or signals. After about 1 minute I hear something click once
> > over in front of the front passenger seat. It may be coming from the
> > glove compartment. Right when I hear the click an orange "ABS" light
> > comes on over to the right of the speedometer.
> >
> > Sometimes when I first crank the car(in the morning) I hear some type
> > of pump; it sounds like an aquarium air pump coming from the front on
> > the driver's side. It turns off after about a minute or two. I spoke
> > with a mechanic and he pointed to a tall cylinder above the front
> > driver's side wheel. He said that this cylinder may compress the ABS
> > system. But he doesn't specialize in Hondas or Break Systems. Can
> > anyone confirm this and how serious is this? Will my breaks totally
> > fail? How much does it cost to replace? Is this even the
> > problem?--Thanks in advance!
> > -will
>
>