TECHTALK
ANTI-LOCK BRAKING SYSTEMS - PART 1
Having looked at ‘essential electrical skills’ and multiplexing in
previous articles, we now turn to another subject to assist the
workshop technician in the development of electrical and
electronic diagnostic skills: ABS. This will be covered in three parts
- principles, systems and diagnostics.
ABS is designed to prevent wheel/tyre lock-up under heavy braking as a
locked wheel decelerates less effectively. The origins of anti-lock brakes
go back to the 1930s but it was not until the 1960s/70s that they became
more widely used, and then only on top of the range cars. From the mid
to late 80s, anti-lock braking systems became cheaper to produce and
were then made available on entry-level cars.
EXPLODING THE MYTH….
It is often quoted that a good driver will always be able to stop a car
in a shorter distance than an equivalent ABS equipped car. This may
have been true with early systems but it is no longer the case. A driver
with a non-ABS equipped car has a single pedal with which to control
all four brakes in an attempt to achieve maximum deceleration
conditions. Even with cadence braking techniques (pumping the
pedal), this is no match for a system that can affect individual control
of all four wheels and change the braking conditions of each of these
as many as 60 times every second!
WHAT IS ABS?
Braking is achieved through friction being generated at two points:
1. Friction between the brake linings and the brake drums/discs.
2. Friction that exists between the tyre and the road.
Braking can be controlled in a stable
manner as long as the friction created
between the tyre and the road surface is
greater than that between the brake linings
and brake drums/discs. If the opposite is
true, then the wheels will lock up.
When lock up occurs, the friction
between the road and the contact patch
will change in nature – it becomes dynamic
friction (moving) rather than static friction
i.e. the contact patch is being dragged
across the road surface rather than laid onto it.
Think about this:
If a vehicle is doing 60mph (brakes not applied), how fast are the
contact patches going? 0 mph – they are stationary in relation to
the road and the road is not moving at all: static friction.
If the same vehicle now locks its brakes, how fast are the contact
patches going? The same speed as the vehicle: dynamic friction.
Dynamic friction generates much less grip than static friction
so stopping distances increase significantly and directional control
36 DEC 05/JAN 06 MOTOR INDUSTRY MAGAZINE
is lost if the steered wheels lock up.
Anti-lock braking systems control the hydraulic pressure acting
on individual wheel cylinders/brake callipers to prevent the wheels
from locking up under heavy braking.
SLIP RATIO
Slip ratio is a means of calculating and expressing the locking status
of a wheel and is vital to the effectiveness of any anti-lock braking
system.
When a vehicle is being driven along a road in a straight line
its wheels rotate at virtually identical speeds. The vehicle’s body also
travels along the road at this same speed. When the driver applies
the brakes in order to slow the vehicle, the speed of the wheels
becomes slightly slower than the speed of the body, which is
travelling along under its own inertia. This difference in speed is
expressed as a percentage, and is called ‘slip ratio’.
The ideal slip ratio for maximum deceleration is 10 to 30%.
Slip ratio is calculated as follows: -
Slip Ratio % = Vehicle Speed – Wheel Speed x 100
Vehicle Speed
A locked wheel would calculate as follows:
Slip Ratio % = 60 – 0 (locked) x 100
60
Answer = 100%
A freely rotating wheel:
Slip Ratio % = 60 – 60 (free to rotate) x 100
60
Answer = 0%
Maximum deceleration achieved (tolerance of 10 – 30% slip):
Slip Ratio % = 60 – 48 (wheel braked) x 100
60
Answer = 20%
ELECTRONIC CONTROL
ABS is an electronic control system. It therefore consists of an ECU
(computer) that is responsible for making decisions and controlling
the brakes based on these decisions. If control is to be effective,
these decisions must be well informed. Keeping the ECU informed
of conditions applicable to brake control are the sensors. The
sensors are the ‘information gatherers’.
Brake control is affected by the ABS ECU through the
application of the slip ratio formula. The ECU has been programmed
with this formula and will apply it when the ABS is operating. In
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 order for the ABS ECU to use the slip ratio formula it must be told
wheel speed and vehicle speed. We therefore need wheel speed
sensors and a vehicle speed sensor. In reality the wheel speed sensors
provide sufficient information for the ECU to calculate vehicle speed
through the use of an average, so an independent vehicle speed sensor
is not required.
The ABS ECU must have a means of actually altering braking
pressure applied to the brakes and for this it uses an ABS actuator
(sometimes referred to as a modulator).
LIMITATIONS OF ABS
It should be noted that when a vehicle is driven on slippery or snowy
roads, it might actually have a longer stopping distance than one that
DEAR DAVE
A Fiat Punto 1.2 is misfiring both at idle and at speed. There are no fault
codes found, and spark plugs have been replaced with manufacturer’s
recommendations, together with crank sensor and HT coil. I think the
problem is with the ignition system because the primary scope trace
shows some missing on numbers 2 and 3 cylinders.
The ECU is the most likely cause. Send it for testing first, and if your unit
is reconditioned then you will not have the problem of re-coding.
Alternatively you could buy a free-running ECU that does not make use
of the immobiliser system to work.
The radiator fans on a Peugeot 406 run all the time, but I can’t find
what controls them. I disconnected the two temperature sensors, to no
effect. The car is fitted with air conditioning – is the air con model meant
to do this?
No. The cooling fans are switched from a bitron ECU that is under a
plastic cover on the inner near side front wheel arch. This is a common
failure point on the 406, causing the fans to be switched full on.
A customer’s 1.5 diesel Corsa is a real pig to start in the mornings.
Sometimes the battery goes flat before it will start. The engine is an
Isuzu model. We have fitted new glow plugs with very little
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is not equipped with ABS. This is due to the fact that a vehicle without
ABS locks its wheels and therefore creates a ‘snow plough effect’ i.e.
snow builds up in front of the locked tyre slowing it down, which
cannot happen on an ABS equipped vehicle.
It should also be noted that no matter how advanced such systems
become, the laws of physics still apply! If there is no grip available, the
ABS cannot create it….
SUMMARY
Through this article we have seen that anti-lock braking systems use
a simple formula to improve braking efficiency in emergencies.
In part 2 we will study the systems found on modern motor
vehicles to see the different ways that manufacturers apply the theory
discussed here.
If you would like to study anti-lock braking systems in more detail
we would be delighted to provide you with a place on one of our
technical courses. Please see details below on how to contact us.
ProAuto is an automotive technical training company
based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, that runs courses from
numerous select venues nationally. For further details, visit
www.proautotraining.com, email info@proautotraining.com,
or telephone 01743 709679.
improvement. The starter motor gave out on us as well, probably
because of all the abuse it had in the mornings. We have also checked
for air in the fuel line to the pump – there was a little; changing the fuel
filter cured this but not the problem.
Check compressions on all cylinders. Expect about 400 psi. If you
find all or some cylinders a lot less than this then the cause is almost
certainly tight valve clearances. On the Isuzu engine the valves recess
into the head with age. Often the inlets are fine – it’s just the exhausts
need re-shimming, no doubt due to the higher temperatures here.
The Isuzu valve clearances should be checked every 20,000 miles. If
left too long then there may be burnt valves to replace as well. Before
removal of the shims record all the valve clearances, and keep shims
in order so you can take the offending ones to the machine shop for
surface grinding to size. (This may be the most economical way to
do the job as the last time we did one the dealer wanted to sell us
a shim selection kit).
A V6 Omega is overheating badly. So far we have fitted a new thermostat
and radiator, to no avail. I don’t think the fault is due to the water pump
because there is a good water flow through the radiator, so I suspect
the head gasket. Is there any way to determine which head is at fault?
I really wouldn’t advise doing just the one cylinder head – while it may
be perfectly OK afterwards, there is a chance that whatever made the
first head go has weakened the second head. To find which head is
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