Brake problems

Dempsey

Member
Ok this may be a dumb question but i'm no brake expert.

Occasionally when driving at speeds any where from 10 to 40 mph and slightly tap the brakes my brake pedal vibrates and feels like the jeep is sliding. For example when slowing down to turn onto a residential road. For those of you that have driven on ice before its kind of like being on ice and trying to stop. However if i slam on the brakes jeep comes to a complete stop no problem it seems. I've tried to recreate that pedal vibration/slipping, but it wont do it if i hit the brakes hard.

I looked at the surface of the front rotors and it doesn't look bad, and i recently just installed new rotors and pads in the rear. (had to replace the rear ones first cause i got small rock caught in there after wheeling). The front rotors have never been changed and i'm at about 36k miles.
 
x2 that's your stability control, used to get it all the time with my 315's until I did the steering wheel dance to disable it.

If you have a Rubicon (not sure if other models have this) you can turn it off with the switch but it gets enabled with each key start.

I think there is also a fuse you can pull but not sure which fuse.
 
x2 that's your stability control, used to get it all the time with my 315's until I did the steering wheel dance to disable it.

If you have a Rubicon (not sure if other models have this) you can turn it off with the switch but it gets enabled with each key start.

I think there is also a fuse you can pull but not sure which fuse.

Is there a way to determine for sure that is stability control and not something else? Wanna make sure its that before i go and mess with it. But i suppose the best thing to do would be to pull the fuse for it and then drive it for a while to see if it keeps doing it.

The back of my head is telling me its finally time for new rotors and pads. I have been thinking this for a while, and was told i was going to need to replace them soon by a mechanic. So maybe this is just my mind telling me to finally get my new drilled and slotted pro-stop rotors to match the rear.

I got a run I'm doing a run with people from this forum next weekend, and would really like to figure this out before i drive 3+ hours to Hidden Falls.
 
Is your steering wheel straight? Is it worse one direction or the other?

I have notice it is a bit off (sloping to the right) but nothing crazy and hasn't gotten worse over time. And it appears to even vibrate if im driving straight. But does seem to happen more when i am turning in either direction.
 
make sure your steering wheel is centered. even slightly off, the larger tires will affect the abs and you'll get a pulsating feel in the peddle.
the noise you hear is probably the abs pump
 
Is there a way to determine for sure that is stability control and not something else? Wanna make sure its that before i go and mess with it. But i suppose the best thing to do would be to pull the fuse for it and then drive it for a while to see if it keeps doing it.

The back of my head is telling me its finally time for new rotors and pads. I have been thinking this for a while, and was told i was going to need to replace them soon by a mechanic. So maybe this is just my mind telling me to finally get my new drilled and slotted pro-stop rotors to match the rear.

I got a run I'm doing a run with people from this forum next weekend, and would really like to figure this out before i drive 3+ hours to Hidden Falls.

I also have this problem, it doesn't happen all the time, mostly when i'm going into a corner with a little speed and i'm braking while cornering. I hadn't even thought of stability control but it makes sense. Glad you brought this up!
 
make sure your steering wheel is centered. even slightly off, the larger tires will affect the abs and you'll get a pulsating feel in the peddle.
the noise you hear is probably the abs pump

Unfortunately im still riding 32s :9lame: but am lifted 3 inches. 35s will come soon.

As for now ill correct my steering wheel see if that helps.
 
Dempsey, I have this exact same problem. After throwing on my EVO leveling kit my steering wheel was off slightly. But I've noticed it before the install as well.

Not sure what it is, but it doesn't seem bad enough for issue. Happens maybe once a month or so.
 
Could really use your help on this one guys.
Recent development:

Now the ABS sensor keeps coming on as well as traction control light.

I checked my tires and steering wheel and everything looks good. I did however see that my rear ABS line came loose and got crushed by my bump stop. Thinking this caused enough damage to the wiring to short out and give me the ABS light. Cause it looked pretty flattened. So i zip tied that back up out of the way to see if it would fix itself..... so far no luck, may need to replace the wire.

Here is my real problem (and they might be related):

The crazy thing happening now is the red light that reads "BRAKE" when you pull your E-brake comes on randomly, and then my speedometer will shoot down to 0 mph. This will happen while i'm still driving. It will come on and off multiple times all while my speedometer jumps from 0 to whatever speed i'm actually travelling at.

The brake isn't actually engaged, and i lose no power and don't slow down due to it. Purely computer issue it seems.

All this and i gotta get it inspected this month.....
 
Could really use your help on this one guys.
Recent development:

Now the ABS sensor keeps coming on as well as traction control light.

I checked my tires and steering wheel and everything looks good. I did however see that my rear ABS line came loose and got crushed by my bump stop. Thinking this caused enough damage to the wiring to short out and give me the ABS light. Cause it looked pretty flattened. So i zip tied that back up out of the way to see if it would fix itself..... so far no luck, may need to replace the wire.

Here is my real problem (and they might be related):

The crazy thing happening now is the red light that reads "BRAKE" when you pull your E-brake comes on randomly, and then my speedometer will shoot down to 0 mph. This will happen while i'm still driving. It will come on and off multiple times all while my speedometer jumps from 0 to whatever speed i'm actually travelling at.

The brake isn't actually engaged, and i lose no power and don't slow down due to it. Purely computer issue it seems.

All this and i gotta get it inspected this month.....

Sounds like you just need to replace that sensor.
 
Sounds like you just need to replace that sensor.

Would that be the cause of the E-brake light coming on too though? Or is it possibly a separate issue?

You happen to know how involved it would be to replace an ABS sensor?

This would all happen the month i have to get it inspected too......:banghead:
 
I would guess that all your symptoms are related to that crushed wire. You can either replace it or carefully cut the insulation back and make sure the two wires inside are not touching and repair it.
 
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