Brake Problems...

[1997reduxe]

Hey all.

This is on my 95 Legacy wagon.

A month or so ago I had my mechanic replace the front disks and calipers/pads.

When he did he said the abs sensor on the left one had broken off due to its being so corroded, which is probably true. It's a New Hampshire car originally.

Right after he fixed it there was squealing and grinding from the front left brake, which went away after a day or two. But the ABS light comes on after driving it about a mile or so. And until the ABS light comes on there is hesitation in the braking when coming to a stop.

But this morning I took it to the store, I didn't notice it before going in the store, but upon getting back in the car there was this droning sound coming from the brake hydraulic control unit, this was even before the car was turned on. It stayed on all the way home and after I turned the car off, till I disconnected the battery, then when I reconnected battery it wasn't there, nor when I restarted car.

I just wonder what would be the best first thing to check on the brakes? I don't really know about the ABS of the brakes, so what should I be looking for in this situation? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

dan

[Fairtax4me]

This is a somewhat common failure (which really isn't very common) of the ABS control module from what I remember. The car will still dive fine without the ABS, simply pulling the fuse is an option if you're comfortable driving without ABS. However, it will need to be repaired properly if you need to pass state safety inspection.

 

These don't go bad very often, so a used control module should be a cost effective option.

Edit: Subaru calls it a hydraulic control unit.

 

 

Found the procedure to read ABS codes in the FSM.

Under the drivers dash there is a diagnostic plug for the ABS. Its a small black plug taped to the main harness. Unwrap the tape and the plug becomes accessible along with two small black wires with spade terminals, unwrap those as well. Take either one and plug it into pin 6 of the diagnostic plug. If the lock tab is on top pin 6 is the lower far right pin.

1 2

3 4 5 6

Turn the key ON and the ABS light will flash up to 3 stored codes. (It only stores the most recent 3 codes) it will first display a code 11, two quick flashes, to show it is in code read mode.

After that long flashes are the first digit of the code, short flashes are the second digit. Count the flashes to get the codes.

You can post the codes here and ill post the definitions if you'd like. Or you may be able to google the codes to get definitions.

Edited January 19, 2013 by Fairtax4me

[nipper]

Can just be a bad relay on the ABS pump itself, another common but rare failure.