^

 

I have ABS on my 97 and would LOVE to ditch it. Ill be watching this one closely.

 

If for some strange reason it's not working properly, you can disable it without affecting your normal braking by simply removing the two ABS relays inside the PDC (Power Distribution Center) located just in front of the battery.

 

My TJ was purchased new in Minnesota and is probably the the most "Plain Jane TJ" ever built, the ONLY option it has is ABS, figure that one out. The original owner took it to Burnsville Off Road in the Cities with roughly 60-70 thousand miles on it and had them install Dana 44 axles front and rear along with a mild lift kit. At that point I can only assume they pulled the fuse on the ABS since the new axles had no provision for ABS. The brakes always worked fine but I hated having that ABS unit on the inner fender because it took up valuable real estate for mounting other items like my ARB compressor. When the parts from a donor jeep came along I figured it was time to scrap the ABS unit and replace the brake lines wit the ones off the donor Jeep. Now my ABS unit is gone but I'm still stuck with all the wiring, and there is ton of it on the ABS unit. I'm wondering if I can peel back the harness and stat trimming wires and if so how far back can I cut them? Is there another box under the dash that controls the brakes? I want it all gone if possible!

Hoping someone has some advice and can help both of us out!

jon

 

^

 

Removing the wiring from the fender shouldn't cause anymore problems than you possibly have already created. To do this properly, you need a factory service manual.
Think of ABS as an add on device. Pull a fuse or relay and it's disabled, your brakes work like its not there. Removing the unit only entails new brake line routing and proper valves.
From an electrical point though it taps into sensors to monitor (depending on system) wheel speed, axle speed, transmission output, power ground and sometimes it has to talk to the engine computer. Removing the under dash wiring means you need to just make sure you don't sever something you need for PCM, speedo, ect..
Depending on how the brake system is set up for normal sensor's, the ABS can monitor master cylinder reservoir level, park brake and possibly a switch on your combination valve also. These on a non ABS will be tied into the "Brake" light on the dash. If you want these safety features, you will have to wire them back ( I would make sure the park brake light works at least). If not, just check your brake system like you should be doing during maintenance.
I doubt this is the case with Wranglers but, if the PCM is programed to see the ABS, you will have to find someone to program the PCM to ignore it or replace with a non ABS computer otherwise it will leave the check engine light on.
The comment on how dangerous an ABS system can be after putting over sized tires is correct. You want to tell the abs system you changed the tire size, but it wont know how to compensate other than pulsing at a set speed. I bought my Wrangler without it and would have disabled/removed it if mine came with it.
As for what to do with your O2 sensor, removing your sensor and depending on what smog items you removed will normally cause the computer to meter fuel poorly. Remember the system was designed to work as a whole unit. What that means is you are going to want to change the programming on your computer. Someone else will have to chime in on what is best in that area for your Wrangler. Because I have to smog mine here I just leave mine alone. The guys at my shop mod their cars for racing and run either reprogrammed or custom computers.

 

The comment on how dangerous an ABS system can be after putting over sized tires is correct. You want to tell the abs system you changed the tire size, but it wont know how to compensate other than pulsing at a set speed.

While that might be true for some other ABS systems, it is not true for the Wrangler's ABS system. It is only looking for a difference in rotation rpms between the tires to figure out something isn't right like one of the brakes is locked up. There is no way to recalibrate the Wrangler's ABS system for different tire sizes. It doesn't know and it doesn't care what tire size is installed.

 

That,s too bad. I have never had to deal with Wrangler ABS but with all the tire size variation's, one would think they had that option. I have dealt with most manufactures abs systems over the years and two things I've learned are, they are all similar but not the same and NEVER say "why did they design it like that", just see what they did and deal with it.
edit: I was generalizing on the wheel speed, trying not to sound too complicated. Thank you for pointing out where I missed that point.

 

I have never had to deal with Wrangler ABS but with all the tire size variation's, one would think they had that option.

I would guess it got kept simple because its not an option that ended up in many jeeps. When I purchased mine with ABS I assumed it was something all of them had. It was only a couple years later I learned how rare it really is. Seems like I recall some pretty experienced people on this board saying they have never physically seen a jeep with it installed.

 

Sounds like the best option is to install an ABS kill switch to disable the relay when off road.

 

Don't worry about it, the ABS system automatically disables itself at speeds under 5 mph.

 

ABS sensors also regulate the traction control off road.
No working ABS results in spinning wheels in the terrain.

Pete

 

TJs do not have traction control.

 

Hey, does anyone have a pic of the 1 or 2 relays that get removed or can it be described by location?

THX!

WSS

 

The 2000 TJ has two relays in the under hood PDC. One large relay, furthest from the battery. One smaller relay, next to the starter relay.


Open your PDC and look on the underside of the lid, they should all be labelled.

 

The 2000 TJ has two relays in the under hood PDC. One large relay, furthest from the battery. One smaller relay, next to the starter relay.

Open your PDC and look on the underside of the lid, they should all be labelled.

Yes, they are labeled. One is for the "ABS pump" (large one) the other is for "ABS system"

With any combination of them pulled, the ABS dummy light is still on. The delete went great except for that.

 

My opinion, your jeep!
I wouldn't cut any wires, unless you are simply making an off road jeep.
Run the unused wiring back over the wiring harness at tape or zip tie it off, in case the next guy wants ABS. Removing the O2 sensors, will give you a forever CEL, and destroy your fuel delivery, as the computer will have no idea how much fuel the engine needs, because it can't check the oxygen content past the cat, which also isn't there. I hope your direction doesn't give you more problems then it could ever save you from.
Just gonna add, the computer can't be reprogrammed on a TJ, it's very limited on what it does anyway.
I have never seen it done, I'm not sure it can be done, you might find a late carborated intake and do away with the injectors all together.
Personnally, I would put a high flow cat on, and have a easy to deal with Jeep.

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

 

I'm very confused. What does cutting the ABS sensor wires have to do with the 02 sensors? And a carb'd intake on a TJ? And what does the cat have to do with anything in this thread?

 

It's all right here!

Sent from my SM-T530NU using Tapatalk

 

References to 02 sensors and cats have absolutely zero to do with ABS. If you want to start a different thread to discuss that subject go for it.

 

@WSS
Exactly what all did you do for your ABS delete?

 

Changed ABS prop valve for BASE prop valve and plumbed in all new BASE SS brakelines. Also removed ABS pump.

Air compressor in the spot where ABS pump was

 

Did you unplug the ABS control module? It's located under the instrument panel, to the right of the steering column.

 

Ahh, Probably why it is not WORKING. lol

I'll pull it in the morning and see if it works.

THANKS!

WSS

 

The ABS light in the instrument cluster is hard wired, it uses the Run/Start power input to the cluster and the lamp ground leg is controlled by the ABS controller. Unplugging the controller should make the light stay out.

 

FWIW in my 06 pulled the two fuses mentioned above and the light went out.

 

For an '06 the two PDC fuses power solely the ABS controller, so pulling them works without any side effects. For an '00 like WSS has, the fuse that powers the ABS controller powers your back up lamps and rear defroster relay as well, so you have to unplug the controller to disable it.

Just to add, it appears the '06 also uses the ABS relay in the PDC to control the indicator lamp instead of the controller itself.

 

Can you remove the bulb from the cluster?

 

Yes, I can pull it from the dash. Good idea, I did not think it through enough. I have these to install, ABS is not one of the lights I chose for the dash. I did LH, RH, HI beam, 4lo, 4hi and check engine.

You can just see the indicators, they are led and hook to dimmer switch