Anti-lock braking system

Sooner or later, everyone finds themselves in a situation where emergency braking is necessary. Braking on a wet or slippery surface can cause the vehicle’s wheels to lock. This reduces the adhesion between tires and the road surface and makes the vehicle unsteerable.

Thus, the antilock braking system (ABS) has a very important role in maintaining the safety of your vehicle as it prevents the wheels from locking and enables safe braking.

ABS constantly works by monitoring the rotational speed of each vehicle’s wheel. If it senses that any wheel is rotating at a slower speed than the car’s speed, then it will automatically release braking pressure on that wheel to prevent it from locking up.

How does an Anti-lock braking system work?

The Anti-lock braking system sensor is located on the brake caliper. It is part of your car’s electronic stability control (ESC).

The ESC helps prevent problems such as oversteer or understeer. It is linked to the engine control unit (ECU), called the car’s brain. The ECU reads the signal from each of the speed sensors of the wheel. When brakes are suddenly applied, the wheel decelerates faster which may cause it to lock. ECU then sends a signal to the valve, which makes it close, and the pressure to the brake pad reduces and prevents the wheel from locking. When the wheel starts to accelerate again, the signal is sent; this reduces the wheel’s speed and tries to make it stop.

Due to this, the locking of the wheel prevents the car from skidding and ensures that you regain control of the vehicle.

What are the signs of a faulty Anti-lock braking system?

The obvious signs that can help to detect an ABS brake system issue are –

1. ABS warning light glows – If you are driving and the ABS light suddenly glows, this indicates a failure with any ABS components in your vehicle.
2. An Unresponsive Brake Pedal – Your brake pedal may slowly become unresponsive over time. It means you are passing your brakes multiple times to get it to work. This can be the sign of a deteriorating ABS system. TIRECRAFT recommends you have your vehicle serviced as soon as possible.
3. Speedometer failure – A faulty speedometer can be a reasonable cause to have your car checked out for ABS.
4. Brakes lock up – The ABS is specifically designed to prevent any wheel from locking up during heavy braking. So, when the abs automatic braking system fails, you feel that you are braking heavily.

What does an Anti-lock braking system do?

Several benefits of anti-lock brakes are-

1. Shorter stopping distances – Anti-lock brakes reduce the braking distances as the wheel of your vehicle do not waste distance skidding.
2. Stopping on the wet surface – ABS lowers the risk of wheel lock-up on wet surfaces. This can be life-saving as it helps drivers maintain control and steer out of potentially dangerous scenarios.
3. Decreased insurance cost – Cars with this ABS technology keep your auto insurance payments down because anti-lock brakes have been proven to lower the risk of accidents.
4. Steer under braking – Anti-lock brakes allow you to steer your car around objects, as there is still a grip on the wheels under intense braking.
5. Higher resale value – The resale value of your car is higher because of anti-lock brakes. If you do have no ABS, this can compromise the total resale value of your vehicle.

If still in doubt, TIRECRAFT is here to keep your anti-lock braking system and the rest of your vehicle in optimum working condition so that you can always drive with confidence. Bring your vehicle to your nearby TIRECRAFT if you ever feel your braking system isn’t working as it should.