How to tell if vehicle has ABS?

[delicajohn]

Hi all

Sarah and I are new to the forum and neither of us are very mechanically inclined. We do however hope to change that and become more knowledgeable about our new Delica.

Can anyone tell us if there is an easy way to check if a Delica has ABS? Our vehicle is a 1996 L400 hi-roof lwb Exceed. The vehicle did not come with a manual so we can't check that. Any ideas?

Thank you
John & Sarah

[mararmeisto]

Drive down a quiet gravel road, jam on the brakes, and if the brake pedal pulsates beneath your foot - ABS.

[Mr. Flibble]

When you insert the key, into the ignition and turn, you should see a number of lights blink on. One of these will be a yellow circle with "ears". It should say ABS inside the circle. It just blinks for a split second then goes off.

If you see that, you have ABS.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Drive down a quiet gravel road, jam on the brakes, and if the brake pedal pulsates beneath your foot - ABS.

Or slightly warped rotors?

[delicajohn]

Thanks for the suggestions. Can't get away to drive down a gravel road at the moment but did check to see if there was an ABS light and there wasn't. So, I have to assume there is no ABS on the vehicle.

Thanks for your help.

[fredt]

you should have that lump of alloy along with a load of brake lines stuck in the engine bay if you have ABS?

[mararmeisto]

Now you're just getting technical fredt, what with a picture and all.

[fredt]

Now you're just getting technical fredt, what with a picture and all.

a few years back a friend of mine bought a car and asked the same question! as it had just failed its MOT (yearly inspection) on ABS not working! he swore blind it had not got ABS and was about to take a swing at the tester! it wasnt till he bought the car round to see me and I pointed at the ABS pump mounted on the wing that he finally admitted that it did have ABS! turns out the garage he bought it from knew it had a fault so they pulled the warning light from the clocks and sold t an non ABS model! where as My late father swore blind his deli (now mine) had ABS as the wheels juddered and he could feel the brake pedal kicking back! after I changed the warped discs and pads he knew it hadn't

[delicajohn]

you should have that lump of alloy along with a load of brake lines stuck in the engine bay if you have ABS?

I've had a look in my engine bay and can't see anything like the device you pictured. So, with the absence of that, and no ABS light in the dash, I think I'll have to concede the fact that my Delica does not have ABS.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

[nxski]

you should have that lump of alloy along with a load of brake lines stuck in the engine bay if you have ABS?

I've had a look in my engine bay and can't see anything like the device you pictured. So, with the absence of that, and no ABS light in the dash, I think I'll have to concede the fact that my Delica does not have ABS.

Thanks to everyone for your help.

That's a good sign, less to go wrong!

I can't believe the vehicle failed for ABS not working, the ABS never worked in my Mighty Max and it passed just fine.

[delicajohn]

That's a good sign, less to go wrong!

Yep, less to go wrong but also less to help you avoid death when you're skidding towards a jack-knifed semi on a slippery highway.

[nxski]

That's a good sign, less to go wrong!

Yep, less to go wrong but also less to help you avoid death when you're skidding towards a jack-knifed semi on a slippery highway.

ABS has its ups and downs, on some surfaces it's better, on some surfaces it's worse.

[glenn]

There are very few people that have the level of finesse to sense when their wheels are locked and are able to back of on the brakes enough to maintain braking, while ensuring that wheels are still turning enough to maintain steering (if anyone). So, all you can do is pump the brakes (brake,steer,brake,steer . . . ) And trying to do this during split second collision avoidance is that much more challenging.

It's true, that in some situations, a vehicle with it's wheels locked up will stop faster than one with it's wheels not locked with ABS - BUT that vehicle with it's locked wheels is an uncontrolled projectile.

The real problem with ABS brakes is the proverbial nut behind the wheel. ABS cars tend to roll over more because steering is maintained and many people over steer when they panic. High speed panic stopping should be a basic part of all driver training. Highway speed to 0 at maximum braking is adrenaline inducing at the best of times.