ABS Brakes on Ford F-250

rear abs brakes on 87 Ford f250 will not release when applied hard .abs light is on. I replaced controll module. still doesn't work.

Some older controllers are not compatible, but all the current ones are.

I don't think I'd recommend doing that.

My guesses would be 1) one or more trailer brakes not working (check the
system current draw, and the current draw to each brake), 2)brake
controller not setup correctly 3) older brake controller that doesn't work
with ABS, 4) a broken controller, 5) rear truck brakes not working right
.

Hope this is some help TTFN Ralph

--
Ralph Lindberg N7BSN e-mail to (read daily)
RV and Camping FAQ <http://kendaco.telebyte.net/rlindber/rv/
They call it "Sur'n the Net" 'cause you can wipe out so easy

On Sun, 11 Aug 1996, Ralph Lindberg wrote to respond to
Milt Aitken's concerns:

<snipping
Ralph sez:

Agree

Also possible

See below

Possible but improbable

Possible but if so the brakes would also be poor when not towing.

While one or more of Ralph's suggestions may be correct,
we should be aware that conventional electric trailer
brakes (regardless of controller) are NEVER truly "compatible"
with ABS brakes on the tow vehicle. WHY? The ABS system
prevents lockup, so the trailer brakes MUST be set so they
won't lock up. Otherwise with a heavy brake application the
trailer will slide out of control.

Just yesterday I discussed this with a long-haul trucker whose
new tractor has ABS brakes. His complaint: you must watch VERY
carefully that a non-ABS trailer does try to pass you when
stopping abruptly!

FYI

- KD3XR - W F Sill, Tunkhannock, PA

Phooey. The ABS is incompatible with the old hydraulic trailer brake
actuator, not the new electronics. If your goosenecks brakes are up to
par, your F250 should stop it fine with no ABS hassle.

BTW I tow a 33' 5th wheel with a 93 F250 electronic controller, and
have never had a problem.

Mark


| Mark D. Tetrault | |
| 6 Colonial Drive | 1:132/@fidonet.org |
| Pembroke, NH 03275 | aa1ov.ampr.org_44.52.7.8 |
| 603-485-5852 | http://www.mv.com/users/tetrault |

Sorry about the butchered quote. I missed the original post and tryed
to reconstruct it from a response.

Yes, I have experienced exactly what you described. The reason was I
was trying to use a brake controller that required a hydraulic
connection. My brakes were not too bad until I had to make a very hard
stop and it didn't. I nearly creamed a car stopped at the light at the
bottom of the hill (he decided to be a good driver and stop on the
amber without first checking his mirror. I admit I was probably too
close. At least I didn't hit him.)

After that I did some talking to RV service departments. The responses
I got were that normal braking probably won't notice any problem.
Panic stops will produce little or no trailer braking or will lock up
the trailer brakes.

Solution? I went to an all-electronic brake controller. I now have
excellent, smooth, predictable braking. If you're not using a
hydraulic/electric controller, then this obviously won't help you.

Steve

These may be obvious questions but...

Have you checked the trailer brake controller for proper operation/adjustment ?
Have you checked that the connector plug is wired properly?
Have you checked the trailer brakes for proper operation and/or adjustment?
I would check everything before I re-plumbed the truck brakes.

--
Steven Fletcher

Yuba City, North California
Visit My Web Site at- http://WWW.syix.com/fletcher
Visit My Home Town Web Site at- http://WWW.syix.com/fletcher

Milt,
I own a Ford E-150 conversion van with ABS breaks. Before we left on
our trip, pulling our 29 footer, i had the breaks checked. The van had
21,000 miles on it and the front pads were almost completly worn down
and the rear pads were bearly touched. They 'adjusted' the rear pads
but from the feel of driving the van I'm sure that the back pads are
still not beeing used. This is very worry some to me, especially
pulling that trailer. Good luck.
Mike

In < writes:
immediate response dramatically by activating the automatic adujsters.

I had my van brakes adjusted before we left Dallas for the Rockies.
After experiencing trouble during the trip, I had the ford dealership
in Estes Park check and adjust them again. I was told somewhere along
the way that the 'backing up' procedure doesn't work with the ABS
system. Frankly, i have no idea if it does or not. I just know that
my rear brakes just aren't getting much use. I did not use my brakes
very much in the mountains, using low gear instead. thanks. Mike

Michael:

I just delivery of a new camper van on a dodge chassis a couple of
months ago. I immediately noticed that the brakes felt kind of strange
- with moderate pressure on the pedal the braking force seemed to
increase markedly over a couple of seconds. A half hour of backing up
and slamming on the brakes improved the immediate response dramatically
by activating the automatic adujsters. My conclusion was that the rear
shoes were way out of adjustment, and partially rusted that way (the
chassis had obviously sat out in the weather for a couple of months
before the conversion. I would be willing to bet this happens a lot on
motor homes, and not just new ones. My old RV (class C) would seem to
lose braking effectiveness after a couple of month's storage as well.
The same drill would bring them back, too. You might want to give this
a try - just back up and apply the brakes firmly a number of times. The
owner's manual should explain more fully. New shoes/pads don't grab as
well as those that have been broken in for a while. After a trip over
the rockies this summer my brakes work much better, probably because of
the hard braking on the down-hills. I know I have a tendency to baby
the brakes here in (relatively) flat southern indiana, to prevent
complaints from the peanut gallery and flying pots and pans. Your rear
brakes may never have been broken in properly, and may get better with
use now that they are adjusted properly.

Good luck

Joe Near