i have a 1996 Chevrolet Beretta coupe. It has the 3100 V6/auto. Here's the problem... as you're slowing down on the brakes, I can hear something clicking either in the dash or on the firewall (almost sounds like whatever fires off the ABS). It's drawing enough load to get the headlights to flicker a bit. The dashboard is not displaying an ABS warning light and the anti-lock appears to be working. I checked the connections from harness to hardware and all seem fine. The fuse is on the same one as the gauges, so I don't think it's a blown fuse. Now, the front brakes are getting down there and the rotors are warped, but i don't think that would have anything to do with it. In the past with the 96 and 98 Cavaliers I have owned, if there was a problem with the hardware on the axle, and ABS warning light would display. With this car, nada. Now, the particulars occur once you're under 40mph or so and stops once you're under 15-20mph. What the hell could that be?

This is driving me fucking batty.

Anyone?

Brake Light Switch? Maybe the more you push on it it shorts and as you release pressure a little (as you slow down more) it doesn't. Does the Brake Light Switch on those go to a relay? I don't know enough about those cars really, but I have had some weird brake light switch issues with other cars.

Do me a favor...put a multimeter on the 12v accessory socket and when it happens, see how low it dips.

Posted by Agent Skelly Do me a favor...put a multimeter on the 12v accessory socket and when it happens, see how low it dips.

i don't own a multimeter. I don't even have a good toolbox.

Posted by Samurai i don't own a multimeter. I don't even have a good toolbox.

What...you of all people I picture would not only have a mutlimeter, but a good toolbox along with a cardboard cut out of Bob Villa hawking Craftsmen tools in his garage!

Kinda like a mechanic Al Borland?

Posted by Agent Skelly What...you of all people I picture would not only have a mutlimeter, but a good toolbox along with a cardboard cut out of Bob Villa hawking Craftsmen tools in his garage!

when i finished tech school in 1995, i was awarded a pretty sweet Snap-On toolbox. In 1996, it was stolen out of the trunk of my Buick never to be replaced. I don't have a garage, either.

Posted by Samurai when i finished tech school in 1995, i was awarded a pretty sweet Snap-On toolbox. In 1996, it was stolen out of the trunk of my Buick never to be replaced. I don't have a garage, either.

Well I know you have an award winning front lawn, but SOMEONE BUY THIS KID AN 150 PIECE SET!

x2

Posted by Agent Skelly Well I know you have an award winning front lawn, but SOMEONE BUY THIS KID AN 150 PIECE SET!

i'm a long time removed from being a kid, Skelly. I'm riding the middle age coaster now.

it was a the park switch relay or something like that. My brother diagnosed the fucker over the phone.

Posted by Samurai it was a the park switch relay or something like that. My brother diagnosed the fucker over the phone.

I was thinking that...I wanted to check voltage to see if it was another issue with the alternator diodes.

after some fooling around, checking connections and wires in the console and dashboard, we decided to unhook the ABS computer and see what did. Sure enough, the problem was with the ABS (had a feeling). What happens is kind of only a problem we see where i live. The town puts tailings leftover from iron ore mining all over the roads. They get all over the ABS gear on the axle and because its magnetic, it screws up the reading. A little brake-kleen, high pressure hose and problem solved.

Posted by jeepdave Kinda like a mechanic Al Borland?

this was suggested to me as a haloween costume. Im either A ) Winning or B ) a fat fuck with a beard

Posted by Samurai The town puts tailings leftover from iron ore mining all over the roads.

WTF WTF WTF

Posted by Louie WTF WTF WTF

um... i live in the hamlet of Mineville in the town of Moriah. For almost 100 years, iron ore (adirondack magnetite) was hauled out of the ground. As a result, there are huge piles of gray tailings everywhere:

(this:

click to view

)

the town uses it in the winter for sanding, for road repair, for filling potholes, beds for sidewalks, the shit is always everywhere! Anyways, the stuff gets all over the ABS apparatus on the hub and screws it up so the ABS computer can't get a reading from the gear. So the ABS computer fires off the ABS when it's not needed due to false readings. This is what the clicking was; the solenoid for the ABS trying to fire off.

Posted by Samurai um... i live in the hamlet of Mineville in the town of Moriah. For almost 100 years, iron ore (adirondack magnetite) was hauled out of the ground. As a result, there are huge piles of gray tailings everywhere:

It sounds a lot worse than it looks. Anyways, disposing of "toxic waste" as road repairs sounds like a bad idea to me. (but may work for you obviously)

Posted by Louie It sounds a lot worse than it looks. Anyways, disposing of "toxic waste" as road repairs sounds like a bad idea to me. (but may work for you obviously)

It's even beach sand. Sandy beach aka Bullwagga Bay Campsite was built with fill from the tailings piles.

My mom used to bitch about washing our clothes after a day at the beach, how they were full of black ore sand and stained.

My grandfather had a coworker at GE who believe it or not, would commute from Moriah to GE R&D on River Road in Schenectady and had this issue where those tailings would accelerate the rust decay on the floor pan of his '63 Impala. My grandfather could not believe it!

They do that in Sudbury, too. If you've ever owned a car that's lived in Sudbury for a few years, it's a whole different kind of rust- I had a Tercel you could literally snap the body panels off of. There was no bubbling or anything, and the metal under the paint was smooth, but brown and brittle as hell.