97 Legacy brake sound question

[wowie]

Hi there

I have a 97 Legacy wagon with AT. Lately I've noticed what seems to be an electronic sound when I use the brakes. It doesn't happen every time but often enough. The sound changes with brake pedal pressure and fades when brake is released. I suspect ABS but really have no clue. Braking seems to be normal.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

Thanks

[EVOthis]

Next time you hear the sound...try and figure out which area of the vehicle it is coming from...Is your ABS light on?...I believe there was a TSB for some of the Valve Relay's sticking in the ABS system for the 96 Legacy..not to sure if that applies or not here...even if it doesnt some of those relays have a tendency to stick...That should throw the ABS light on though...How many miles are on the car?

[nipper]

Define electronic sound please.

 

 

nipper

[wowie]

The ABS light doesn't come on after the initial ignition on test. The sound is coming from the back and the car has about 123,000 miles.

 

Defining a sound is hard. My feeling was electronic but of course I could be wrong. The frequency changes with pedal pressure. When taking my foot all the way off the brake the tone goes up slightly and fades out. If you pump the brake to see what happens the tone changes with pressure. Sometimes there is no sound at all. My mechanic who is quite trustworthy and drives a Legacy just like mine hadn't heard that before and couldn't tell what the source was from a test drive.

 

I haven't made it to any other shops yet that are more Subaru specialists but it seemed like a good idea to ask here before I did anything else.

 

Thanks for the responses.

 

Where are the relays located? The engine compartment?