ABS disabled on XJ
 

Hi,

In December, I bought a '98 XJ 4.0L. The guy who sold it to me said it has
ABS, and the brake fluid reservoir looks like the ones in the Haynes
manual for cars with ABS. The problem seems to be in the fusebox. It
appears someone has taken out the fuse for ABS. Could I cause anything bad
to happen by replacing the fuse? Is there any reason someone would have
removed the fuse?

On a somewhat related note, do I want ABS on a Jeep? I have plenty of
experience driving without ABS, but only a few winters in cold weather.
There hasn't been much snow in Pittsburgh this winter, but I got a few
chances to test the Jeep on lightly packed or freshly fallen snow and it
stops remarkably well. (At first I thought they had gotten rid of the
pulsing feeling in ABS.) I suspect I do want ABS if only because it can
handle cases where the traction is different on the right and left. But I
thought it's worth asking.

Thanks,
Ivan

Re: ABS disabled on XJ
 

The brake reservior isn't the issue with ABS, it's the ABS controller which
should be located somewhere under the master cylinder. It'll look like a
metal box that the brake lines run into. If it's there, you have ABS. If
you only have brake lines running from the MC to the undercarriage, you
don't.

If there is no ABS fuse and there is no ABS light lit up on the dash, I
would suspect you in fact do not have ABS. ABS was optional that year
according to kbb.com.

PS Haynes manuals suck.

"Ivan Jager" <aij+nospam@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.61-042.0702011710400.30093@unix33.andrew.cmu.edu...
> Hi,
>
> In December, I bought a '98 XJ 4.0L. The guy who sold it to me said it has
> ABS, and the brake fluid reservoir looks like the ones in the Haynes
> manual for cars with ABS. The problem seems to be in the fusebox. It
> appears someone has taken out the fuse for ABS. Could I cause anything bad
> to happen by replacing the fuse? Is there any reason someone would have
> removed the fuse?
>
> On a somewhat related note, do I want ABS on a Jeep? I have plenty of
> experience driving without ABS, but only a few winters in cold weather.
> There hasn't been much snow in Pittsburgh this winter, but I got a few
> chances to test the Jeep on lightly packed or freshly fallen snow and it
> stops remarkably well. (At first I thought they had gotten rid of the
> pulsing feeling in ABS.) I suspect I do want ABS if only because it can
> handle cases where the traction is different on the right and left. But I
> thought it's worth asking.
>
> Thanks,
> Ivan

Re: ABS disabled on XJ
 

The brake reservior isn't the issue with ABS, it's the ABS controller which
should be located somewhere under the master cylinder. It'll look like a
metal box that the brake lines run into. If it's there, you have ABS. If
you only have brake lines running from the MC to the undercarriage, you
don't.

If there is no ABS fuse and there is no ABS light lit up on the dash, I
would suspect you in fact do not have ABS. ABS was optional that year
according to kbb.com.

PS Haynes manuals suck.

"Ivan Jager" <aij+nospam@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.61-042.0702011710400.30093@unix33.andrew.cmu.edu...
> Hi,
>
> In December, I bought a '98 XJ 4.0L. The guy who sold it to me said it has
> ABS, and the brake fluid reservoir looks like the ones in the Haynes
> manual for cars with ABS. The problem seems to be in the fusebox. It
> appears someone has taken out the fuse for ABS. Could I cause anything bad
> to happen by replacing the fuse? Is there any reason someone would have
> removed the fuse?
>
> On a somewhat related note, do I want ABS on a Jeep? I have plenty of
> experience driving without ABS, but only a few winters in cold weather.
> There hasn't been much snow in Pittsburgh this winter, but I got a few
> chances to test the Jeep on lightly packed or freshly fallen snow and it
> stops remarkably well. (At first I thought they had gotten rid of the
> pulsing feeling in ABS.) I suspect I do want ABS if only because it can
> handle cases where the traction is different on the right and left. But I
> thought it's worth asking.
>
> Thanks,
> Ivan

Re: ABS disabled on XJ
 

The brake reservior isn't the issue with ABS, it's the ABS controller which
should be located somewhere under the master cylinder. It'll look like a
metal box that the brake lines run into. If it's there, you have ABS. If
you only have brake lines running from the MC to the undercarriage, you
don't.

If there is no ABS fuse and there is no ABS light lit up on the dash, I
would suspect you in fact do not have ABS. ABS was optional that year
according to kbb.com.

PS Haynes manuals suck.

"Ivan Jager" <aij+nospam@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.61-042.0702011710400.30093@unix33.andrew.cmu.edu...
> Hi,
>
> In December, I bought a '98 XJ 4.0L. The guy who sold it to me said it has
> ABS, and the brake fluid reservoir looks like the ones in the Haynes
> manual for cars with ABS. The problem seems to be in the fusebox. It
> appears someone has taken out the fuse for ABS. Could I cause anything bad
> to happen by replacing the fuse? Is there any reason someone would have
> removed the fuse?
>
> On a somewhat related note, do I want ABS on a Jeep? I have plenty of
> experience driving without ABS, but only a few winters in cold weather.
> There hasn't been much snow in Pittsburgh this winter, but I got a few
> chances to test the Jeep on lightly packed or freshly fallen snow and it
> stops remarkably well. (At first I thought they had gotten rid of the
> pulsing feeling in ABS.) I suspect I do want ABS if only because it can
> handle cases where the traction is different on the right and left. But I
> thought it's worth asking.
>
> Thanks,
> Ivan

Re: ABS disabled on XJ
 

The brake reservior isn't the issue with ABS, it's the ABS controller which
should be located somewhere under the master cylinder. It'll look like a
metal box that the brake lines run into. If it's there, you have ABS. If
you only have brake lines running from the MC to the undercarriage, you
don't.

If there is no ABS fuse and there is no ABS light lit up on the dash, I
would suspect you in fact do not have ABS. ABS was optional that year
according to kbb.com.

PS Haynes manuals suck.

"Ivan Jager" <aij+nospam@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.61-042.0702011710400.30093@unix33.andrew.cmu.edu...
> Hi,
>
> In December, I bought a '98 XJ 4.0L. The guy who sold it to me said it has
> ABS, and the brake fluid reservoir looks like the ones in the Haynes
> manual for cars with ABS. The problem seems to be in the fusebox. It
> appears someone has taken out the fuse for ABS. Could I cause anything bad
> to happen by replacing the fuse? Is there any reason someone would have
> removed the fuse?
>
> On a somewhat related note, do I want ABS on a Jeep? I have plenty of
> experience driving without ABS, but only a few winters in cold weather.
> There hasn't been much snow in Pittsburgh this winter, but I got a few
> chances to test the Jeep on lightly packed or freshly fallen snow and it
> stops remarkably well. (At first I thought they had gotten rid of the
> pulsing feeling in ABS.) I suspect I do want ABS if only because it can
> handle cases where the traction is different on the right and left. But I
> thought it's worth asking.
>
> Thanks,
> Ivan

Re: ABS disabled on XJ
 

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/ABS_offroad.html
http://www.naxja.org/html/techarticl...ll_OEM_ABS.htm
God Bless America, Bill 0|||||||0
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

"Ivan Jager" <aij+nospam@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.61-042.0702011710400.30093@unix33.andrew.cmu.edu...
> Hi,
>
> In December, I bought a '98 XJ 4.0L. The guy who sold it to me said it has
> ABS, and the brake fluid reservoir looks like the ones in the Haynes
> manual for cars with ABS. The problem seems to be in the fusebox. It
> appears someone has taken out the fuse for ABS. Could I cause anything bad
> to happen by replacing the fuse? Is there any reason someone would have
> removed the fuse?
>
> On a somewhat related note, do I want ABS on a Jeep? I have plenty of
> experience driving without ABS, but only a few winters in cold weather.
> There hasn't been much snow in Pittsburgh this winter, but I got a few
> chances to test the Jeep on lightly packed or freshly fallen snow and it
> stops remarkably well. (At first I thought they had gotten rid of the
> pulsing feeling in ABS.) I suspect I do want ABS if only because it can
> handle cases where the traction is different on the right and left. But I
> thought it's worth asking.
>
> Thanks,
> Ivan

Re: ABS disabled on XJ
 

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/ABS_offroad.html
http://www.naxja.org/html/techarticl...ll_OEM_ABS.htm
God Bless America, Bill 0|||||||0
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

"Ivan Jager" <aij+nospam@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.61-042.0702011710400.30093@unix33.andrew.cmu.edu...
> Hi,
>
> In December, I bought a '98 XJ 4.0L. The guy who sold it to me said it has
> ABS, and the brake fluid reservoir looks like the ones in the Haynes
> manual for cars with ABS. The problem seems to be in the fusebox. It
> appears someone has taken out the fuse for ABS. Could I cause anything bad
> to happen by replacing the fuse? Is there any reason someone would have
> removed the fuse?
>
> On a somewhat related note, do I want ABS on a Jeep? I have plenty of
> experience driving without ABS, but only a few winters in cold weather.
> There hasn't been much snow in Pittsburgh this winter, but I got a few
> chances to test the Jeep on lightly packed or freshly fallen snow and it
> stops remarkably well. (At first I thought they had gotten rid of the
> pulsing feeling in ABS.) I suspect I do want ABS if only because it can
> handle cases where the traction is different on the right and left. But I
> thought it's worth asking.
>
> Thanks,
> Ivan

Re: ABS disabled on XJ
 

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/ABS_offroad.html
http://www.naxja.org/html/techarticl...ll_OEM_ABS.htm
God Bless America, Bill 0|||||||0
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

"Ivan Jager" <aij+nospam@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.61-042.0702011710400.30093@unix33.andrew.cmu.edu...
> Hi,
>
> In December, I bought a '98 XJ 4.0L. The guy who sold it to me said it has
> ABS, and the brake fluid reservoir looks like the ones in the Haynes
> manual for cars with ABS. The problem seems to be in the fusebox. It
> appears someone has taken out the fuse for ABS. Could I cause anything bad
> to happen by replacing the fuse? Is there any reason someone would have
> removed the fuse?
>
> On a somewhat related note, do I want ABS on a Jeep? I have plenty of
> experience driving without ABS, but only a few winters in cold weather.
> There hasn't been much snow in Pittsburgh this winter, but I got a few
> chances to test the Jeep on lightly packed or freshly fallen snow and it
> stops remarkably well. (At first I thought they had gotten rid of the
> pulsing feeling in ABS.) I suspect I do want ABS if only because it can
> handle cases where the traction is different on the right and left. But I
> thought it's worth asking.
>
> Thanks,
> Ivan

Re: ABS disabled on XJ
 

http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/ABS_offroad.html
http://www.naxja.org/html/techarticl...ll_OEM_ABS.htm
God Bless America, Bill 0|||||||0
mailto:-------------------- http://www.----------.com/

"Ivan Jager" <aij+nospam@andrew.cmu.edu> wrote in message
news:Pine.LNX.4.61-042.0702011710400.30093@unix33.andrew.cmu.edu...
> Hi,
>
> In December, I bought a '98 XJ 4.0L. The guy who sold it to me said it has
> ABS, and the brake fluid reservoir looks like the ones in the Haynes
> manual for cars with ABS. The problem seems to be in the fusebox. It
> appears someone has taken out the fuse for ABS. Could I cause anything bad
> to happen by replacing the fuse? Is there any reason someone would have
> removed the fuse?
>
> On a somewhat related note, do I want ABS on a Jeep? I have plenty of
> experience driving without ABS, but only a few winters in cold weather.
> There hasn't been much snow in Pittsburgh this winter, but I got a few
> chances to test the Jeep on lightly packed or freshly fallen snow and it
> stops remarkably well. (At first I thought they had gotten rid of the
> pulsing feeling in ABS.) I suspect I do want ABS if only because it can
> handle cases where the traction is different on the right and left. But I
> thought it's worth asking.
>
> Thanks,
> Ivan

Re: ABS disabled on XJ
 

On Thu, 1 Feb 2007, Matt Macchiarolo wrote:
> The brake reservior isn't the issue with ABS, it's the ABS controller which
> should be located somewhere under the master cylinder. It'll look like a
> metal box that the brake lines run into. If it's there, you have ABS. If
> you only have brake lines running from the MC to the undercarriage, you
> don't.

I meant to take pictures, but forgot. There is a small metal box with
brake lines running into it, but it doesn't look like much more than a
splitter of sorts. There are 3 lines running out, one towards each front
wheel, and one towards the back. I'm guessing that means no ABS. There is
a big cylindrical thing I'm guessing is just for power brakes.

> If there is no ABS fuse and there is no ABS light lit up on the dash, I
> would suspect you in fact do not have ABS. ABS was optional that year
> according to kbb.com.

Yeah, that's why I asked the guy. He said he would check, and then later
he said it did have ABS.

> PS Haynes manuals suck.

I saw they had a different manual at Advance Auto. Don't remember what it
was called. Is that any better? As you can tell, I don't know much about
cars. Before about a year ago, the only maintenance I had done myself was
adding fluids and changing wipers and bulbs. I'd like to learn more, but
lack of a garage is kind of discouraning in the winter. I changed one of
my front hubs in the cold, only to later find out the replacement was also
bad.

Ivan