French Car Forum

Jaspwieser · Post by **Jaspwieser** » 19 Jan 2011, 17:39

Have now had the xantia for about 4000 miles, great on the motorway, but not very good when it comes to braking.
The ABS seems to cut in whenever it likes and then fails to stop the car
It did however stop the car when i had to do an emergency stop on the motorway. This it did without fuss and without the ABS cutting in(some idiot changing lanes without bothering to look)

Could it be
1..just my driving style
2..The ABS is just rubbish
3..The abs is faulty

Any suggestions would be welcome

Richard

HDI · Post by **HDI** » 19 Jan 2011, 18:00

That certainly isn't normal for a Xantia's braking system !

The ABS on mine works as well as any car I've used and the brakes are very good.

There must be an ABS or braking fault.

DickieG · Post by **DickieG** » 19 Jan 2011, 18:12

If you are saying that the ABS cuts in just prior to stopping (speed below 10 mph) then its almost certainly down to the airgap between an ABS sensor and the ABS ring on the hub being too large. A common suspect will be one of the front sensors where the heatshield plate has been placed between the sensor and the hub rather than above the sensor.

VertVega · Post by **VertVega** » 19 Jan 2011, 19:25

DickieG wrote:If you are saying that the ABS cuts in just prior to stopping (speed below 10 mph) then its almost certainly down to the airgap between an ABS sensor and the ABS ring on the hub being too large. A common suspect will be one of the front sensors where the heatshield plate has been placed between the sensor and the hub rather than above the sensor.

Mine had this interesting ABS feature, exactly as DickieG described.

Front left bearing has been changed and mechanic put things together in a different way (heatshield plate and sensor placement)

.
It took me long time to find the cause of this problem and fixing it was very simple

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 19 Jan 2011, 19:36

or if you are saying the brakes dont work very well at slower speed, or light braking is virtualy non existant,

this could be air in the brake circuit as hydralic citroen brakes are miles better that most coventional braking systems,

regards malcolm

Jaspwieser · Post by **Jaspwieser** » 19 Jan 2011, 19:56

Thank you for all your comments
The abs is cutting at really any speed, causing the brakes to release..
will check the shields at the weekend
Again, thanx for the advice

Richard

VertVega · Post by **VertVega** » 19 Jan 2011, 20:11

I think your case is not caused by this. As described above mine
had ABS kicking only at low speeds, like while slowing down at traffic lights.
It always stopped and never caused a dangerous situation

Of course it would be good to start by checking the air gap between ABS sensor <--> ABS toothed ring
and compare gap between both front wheels.

Check also the condition of the ring,
- is it fixed tight on drive shaft, CV joint
- no missing material on the ring
- it is not cracked etc.

Also measure resistances of the sensors to make sure that they have reasonable values.

Post by **RichardW** » 19 Jan 2011, 21:04

My money is on a broken ABS ring...I've got one, but it tends only to bring the ABS on at low speeds.

citroenxm · Post by **citroenxm** » 19 Jan 2011, 21:32

My bet is on either the ABS Ring teeth or a Gap between the sensor and teeth.

I had this on a 1999 Xantia, the brakes would release when comming to a junction, result? ABS ring had rusted and had a tooth missing...

After replaceing it, the problem went away.

Air in the system tends to give a delayed pressure in the brake cuircuit when the car is first started rather then releaseing the brakes...

Paul

citronut · Post by **citronut** » 19 Jan 2011, 23:05

Paul
i only sudgested air in the brake system, as it was not exactly clear at the start of this thread what the symtons were,

i do also find that air in the system can give the affect of no first braking presure at all, which then they only function in brakes full/locking up,

i also think air in the braking system could possibly upset the ABS in some way,

regards malcolm