500 SElL,1992,154000km
abs comes on all the time.(each time i brake the car front wheels vibrate)
cleaned the front wheel pickups.the rear pickups are in the rear differential.
what could be the problem.
i drove the car till end january and then started again in may.....nothing in between.....when i restarted in May the problem came up.
also the brakes are a bit soft.any help will be welcome

I had a similar problem on my car where every time I braked from higher speeds I would feel a vibration through the wheel.The vibratrion in the wheel was only really noticable when braking and not just driving which made me think it was a brake problem. Knew it couldn't be the ABS as my 1977 W116 doesn't have it. Solved the problem with a good wheel balance.

Sorry I couldn't be more help but it may be worth considering, especially when rebalancing wheels is relatively cheap and easy and also prolongs the life of your tyres.

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When ABS is activating (which is only very rarely), the brake pedal may "pulse" or vibrate.

If this is not happening, the ABS is not activating, so your problem is nothing to do with the ABS system.


If, as you say, the front wheels vibrate (and you feel it through the steering wheel) that is nothing to do with your ABS.

good luck tracking it down,

Russell

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190E's:
2.5-16v 1990 90,000m Astral Silver
2.0E 8v 1986 107,000m Black 2nd owner
http://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall.jpghttp://www.maylane.demon.co.uk/190esmall2.jpg

i rephrase my question.
the brake pulses. That is for sure.
i know it should do so seldomly but now it is doing it ALL the time.
i have cleaned the front sensors ,slight improvement but still doing it??
any suggestions what to look for??

Start with this: I am no expert but I chased this problem for almost 2 years. Above the 60mph, the pulsation/vibration from braking was intense and dissipated as the speed bled off. I tried new rotors, new pads, even new front calipers because I was sure the vibration was on the front. Only when my ABS light started to come on even before any braking and the pedal went down on the first stop or two did I have my mech get on this for real. He had previously cleaned all 3 ABS sensors and the light went out for about 3 days. (The one in the differential is actually the easiest to clean.) I even had him put in a new OVP relay.
It turned out to be the drivers side ABS sensor-identified by a different resistance reading than the other front one- and the fact that a local gargage I had gone to when my normal mech was out of town had turned the rear rotors instead of using the new ones that I had provided them- with instructions to replace the current ones.

It sure is nice to be able to stop.

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87 300D 265Kmi
Factory rebuilt crate 603.96x engine at 200K

thanks yr msg.
the rear sensors are 2 in number and i have to lower the differential to get to them.
i never get the ABS light and the brake pulsates at ALL speeds.
Strange thing is that this only happened while the car was outside in winter in storage for 3 months..i do notice that the rotors have got a a layer of rust cover on it ...not thick rust but a sheen of brown.

Doesn't sound like you have any kind of ABS problem - leave the rear sensors alone. The rust will likely have formed asymmetrically on the rotors, but all you are seeing now is the re-distributed oxide, which only APPEARS to be even.

Remove a rusty front rotor, clean with alcohol, and check the rust pattern. You could try lightly sanding the surfaces with fine grit paper to see if the rust removes easily, leaving uniform surfaces. If not, replace the rotors or have them ground professionally, clean the pads, and plan on different storage next winter.

Steve

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'91 MB 190E 2.3
'08 RAV4 Ltd 3.5
'83 Lazy Daze m'home 5.7

thanks will do that and report back