And now, the brakes....

[Badwolf]

The warm starting issue is supposedly solved (haven't had the car to test that theory), but went to the shop to pick it up, and the brakes were nigh-on non-functional. The brake pedal is hard (same as it's always been) and the e-brake works correctly - however - there's no stopping power behind the brakes. Press hard from 3 mph and the car gradually comes to a stop - not road-safe at all.

Any ideas? The car is still at the shop, but if it's obvious, I want to know if the mechanic is coming up with a similar problem, or if there's "snow" in the forecast.

Thanks.

[s900t8v]

is it ABS ? I think 90 is right?

likely bad accumulator .... a GM one will fit IIRC

[peva]

is it ABS ? I think 90 is right?

likely bad accumulator .... a GM one will fit IIRC

If it's faulty ABS accumulator the ABS light won't go out. If it is an ABS fault you can pull the codes from it.

[Badwolf]

If it's an accumulator, will the "Brake fluid" light be on as well? There's plenty of fluid in the reservoir, but the light won't go off. There are no apparent leaks. Of course, could it be completely unrelated and just a bad sensor in the reservoir?

[euromobile900]

ABS low-pressure problems light up both lights, IIRC. I don't know why this was, but I once had a car with a weak ABS pump and it would have both lights lit until it got up to pressure. I think it will also light up both lights if the whole thing's somehow disconnected. Could it be that they pulled a fuse or plug in their quest to fix/diagnose the fuel pump and forgot to replace it? The ABS pump connections often get dirty or fouled. You should be able to hear it run briefly when you turn the key to "running" position without starting it.

I don't suspect the accumulator for the following reason: usually accumulators (or as I like to call them, "bombs") fail slowly. You don't just go one day to drive and find out it's no longer working. The way to test an accumulator is to turn the key to "running" position, but not start the car, wait for the light to come on and turn off, then stomp on the brake pedal several times in quick succession until you see the light come on again. If it happens after less than 5 stomps, accumulator probably toast. If it happens before 10, accumulator marginal. Above 10, I think you're fine. If you do end up replacing the accumulator, do the stomp a bunch of times with the key off to make sure there's no residual pressure left in the system, and wrap the joint with a rag so that brake fluid doesn't spray everywhere when you remove it.

[Badwolf]

I talked with the mechanic yesterday - they found a relay in the ABS system that had gone bad, and had locked in the "on" position (at least that's how I understood it). They are in the process of trying to locate an exact duplicate relay, but they've bee kind of slammed this week. No worries, I told him (the longer it takes, the bigger the delay till I have to shell out). At any rate, that's the current sit-rep. As far as the mechanic was concerned, he didn't think it was the accumulator.

I just want to drive it again.

[euromobile900]

Ugh, mechanics. They're always right, but they take so long and so many dollars to get there!