typical ABS issue with a weird wrinkle

KTris

Registered User
For a few years my '90 SC had the common condition where the ABS/brake light would go on under hard braking. That usually indicates an accumulator ball problem so about a year an half ago I replaced it with one of spinningwheels' aftermarket ones. Since then until just recently everything's been fine.

Now here's what's happening: I start the car and the ABS/brake lights don't go out, the pedal is rock-hard, and (here's the weird part) the turn signals don't work but the hazards do. For about half a dozen trips I would turn the car off and start it again, and after a few tries everything would work fine. But it seemed like each time it took more restarts before I get normal brake feel, and last night even after the brakes felt normal the two warning lights still wouldn't go off.

I've read enough of these threads to know the usual culprits (accumulator, which hopefully it isn't since I just replaced it; ABS relay, etc.). But I'm wondering if anybody has any ideas based on the weird behavior of the turn signals. It does not seem to be coincidental - there is a 100% correlation between the two phenomena so that if I turn the car on and the signals don't work, I know when I step on the brake it will be hard, and if the signals work the brake will feel normal. Does any part of the ABS self-check run through the steering column or multifunction stalk so that one could be affecting the other? Any suggestions appreciated - I'm really hoping not to have to do a non-ABS conversion.
 
I wondering if it could be the ignition switch maybe? They're inexpensive and easy to replace. With the battery disconnected you could try unplugging and reseating all of the plugs including the 2 relays and the control unit under the rear window. Clean the connections with brake parts cleaner if they're cruded up.
 
Yeah, I'm hoping the answer isn't "something electrical"...

...because those are a bitch to diagnose. It took me 5 hours to trace out a slow battery discharge to the passenger power seat, and I "fixed" that just by unplugging the dang thing.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll probably start in the steering column and work my way out from there.
 
My ignition switch separated a few days ago. The first thing I notices was that the Brake and Anti Lock lights were solid on my dash. Turn signals wouldn't work but the radio would. After taking apart the steering column and removing the switch, I noticed that it was splitting in two, so I just pounded it back together with a dent hammer and put it back into the car. Took 20 minutes and was free.

Hopefully your situation is equally as simple.
 
My ignition switch separated a few days ago. The first thing I notices was that the Brake and Anti Lock lights were solid on my dash. Turn signals wouldn't work but the radio would. After taking apart the steering column and removing the switch, I noticed that it was splitting in two, so I just pounded it back together with a dent hammer and put it back into the car. Took 20 minutes and was free.

Nice. I'll check that out this weekend and update the thread for anybody else searching the problem.
 
And that was it.

Nice. I'll check that out this weekend and update the thread for anybody else searching the problem.

My ignition switch was so bad it fell apart when I took it out. Replaced it and both the ABS and turn signals came right back. Hope this helps somebody else.
 
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