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ABS disable round 4

13K views 27 replies 11 participants last post by  Notabiker 
#1 · (Edited)
As many of you know I think the ABS on our trucks is dangerous on the snow/ice. I think they "retuned" the ABS sensitivity around 2007 to be less, and safer, but still not great.
There been 3 methods of disabling the abs.
1-Fuse pull/switch
2-wheel sensor line cut/switch
3-Yaw sensor line cut/switch

Though I have played around with some of these they all have their down falls. Some disable your instruments, and all require you to turn off/on your car to reinstate the ABS functionality. These ABS disable modifications also disable traction control, VDC and other ABS based driving aides.

I have always thought that there was a better way to do this with inputs to the ABS control module, but never spent the time to figure it out.

Well recently a member on thenewx.org did. He cut and switched pin wire #41 which is the brake light switch. Interestingly this is how the control module is told that you are applying the brakes. I always thought cutting the power or the ground to the ABS controller was the ticket, but no.
https://www.thenewx.org/forum/15-how-tos/272656-how-abs-off-version-4-a.html

Anyways I plan on testing this out and modding on my truck soon. I do not plan on using a relay like the OP did but a simple toggle. There is not very much current in the wires to require a relay.

And for the lawyer types reading this about to give a stern warning about liability and such save it. I understand the "risk" and benefits that comes with no ABS, as I already often run sans ABS.
 
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#2 ·
I've always hated abs. If one tire hits sand/gravel while braking then all brakes release and your braking distance greatly increases instead of just having 1 wheel lock up and other 3 braking normally. So your left there looking helpless while you get horrified looks from rearview mirror of person in front of you whilst picking seat cover out of your arse. Keep us updated of your final solution.
 
#3 ·
#4 · (Edited)
That is version 3. The Yaw sensor disable.
My truck doesn't have a yaw sensor or VDC. And from what I can tell my traction control is very light, and it does not cut off power like some people complain about.
Also weird thing about my ABS is that it is still active under 10mph. Not suppose to be per owners manual.
The yaw sensor disable requires you to turn off the engine and back on in order to restore ABS function.
 
#6 · (Edited)
This is familiar to how my 14' feels when a tire locks up. I've never had the sensation that the brakes would release.

.... on another note. I had a Yamaha ADV bike that had no ABS disable. Trick was to throw it on the center stand and click it into gear. the ABS would fault out in a minute or so. Switching the bike off and on would reset. That's the solution .... jack up the rear end and run it in gear for a few minutes ::grin:: ... or do a two minute burn out! >:D
 
#8 ·
I drove in Alaska for 12 years before I got a car with ABS. Never needed it. Everyone just learns how to drive in bad conditions. Pump brakes, dont lock them up - you cant turn if the wheels aren't turning. People dont get that. Crazy how peoples inability to drive well makes the government force the makers to add aids as standard equipment, like rear cameras... really?
soon lane assist because people dont look, then the self-braking will be mandatory for the cell phone addicts. In a way it's good I guess as itll save lives but as I'm getting old it's kind sad to see that everything is getting so wimpy.
 
#9 · (Edited)
Good conclusions phatB. I'm not an ABS hater, but being north of 60 years old, I forget that it's there . Several weeks ago in the mountains, I spun my truck on black ice on a tight curve. Thankfully my speed was low. As the rear end came around, I steered my way back into control and lightly tapped the brakes only once. You're right -- technology can't replace sound driving skills. The ABS played no role in my recovery.

To be clear, it was a frightening experience and we were blessed that nobody was coming in the other direction because I spent a lot of time there regaining control. Not something I want to do again!
 
#11 ·
I'm quite sure that ABS that is functioning correctly does not release the brakes on wheels that are not slipping. My 2017 Frontier is only the second vehicle I've owned that has ABS. Though I try to drive in a manner that doesn't make the ABS necessary, I have occasionally ended up in a "panic stop" situation on snow or ice, and the ABS has performed well on both the Frontier and the previous venicle with ABS, and IMO, it does a better job of it than I would do pumping the brakes manually.

I kind of get that a lot of people don't really like the automated systems taking control away from them, but I find that they generally work very well. I think ABS tends to get blamed when people put themselves in situations where even the ABS can't save them, or where it does, but it's too close to an accident for comfort. They are convinced that their accident or near miss was the fault of the ABS, but the truth is that they would have done no better without it.
 
#13 ·
I'll tell my story. I have a 2006 nissan frontier 6m. Lived in Alaska for about 8 years. North pole for the first bit and Anchorage for the second bit. Driving in Anchorage where the speed limits are 45 and the stoplights don't have countdown timers. Well most experienced winter drivers know that the tire ruts are usually devoid of gravel and full of packed snow/ice. Coming to a light that quickly changed and I move over slightly to run in the powdered snow/gravel mix that used to be in the tire ruts and the ABS will cause me to blow through intersections as it freaks the F out. Stay in the icy ruts and the same thing would happen. I got so if it was those kinds of conditions I'd run in 4x4 and use the handbrake to assist the regular brakes and keep the ABS from causing me to blow lights. I recently took the back rotors off to see about adjusting the brake pads and they looked to be in great shape still. I finally had to adjust them because I moved to colorado and go camping in the rockies often and when I'd have to get out to clear some brush and branches, the ebrake wouldn't be enough to hold the truck on decent inclines. I'd have to have it in 4 low and shut the truck off and leave it in gear otherwise it would creep with the ebrake fully pulled.

Anyway I knew I didn't have to take the rotors off to adjust the brakes but I wanted to look at them regardless. I did adjust some while off and then tweaked them once the tires were back on and I tried it out. I have a very slight squeak once every couple weeks and I'll have to pull the handle and release quickly to get it to go away so I probably could back them off one notch, but I'd rather have a seldom squeak than roll down a mountain!!

What I'm saying is that my occasionally using the ebrake in 4x4 while slowing down on bad roads hasn't caused any issues or extra wear. By the way the truck has something like 135,000 miles and this was the first time I've messed with the parking brake adjustment.



And yes I'm curious about the mod and I'll put a switch in the area where the ebrake is located for a quick disable.. Even though I run a full set of firestone studded tires (sucks to be East of the Mississippi river and any other state that outlawed studs!!) I still hate the aggressive ABS intrusion on minor slips!
 
#15 ·
That too!! I've had the truck keep going when trying to stop because I was on rocks and gravel and it sensed a little slip and cycled the abs. That's why I try to be prepared to grab the ebrake handle to help stop!

And if you've ever driven in snow and ice you'll appreciate the ability to shut that crap system off.
 
#16 ·
This morning was ICY and I thought of this thread. ABS'ed all over the road till I got into the town limits where they do a much better job of sanding the ice.
I have not swapped on my blizzaks yet, though I am running a studdable snow tire (Master Craft Courser MSR not studded). I need to do a long trip for work next week and would rather not out on my sticky rubbers yet.
Am curious if it is possible for a nissan dealer to "reprogram" the ABS computer.
I have still to do the wire #41 ABS mod.
 
#17 ·
This morning was ICY and I thought of this thread. ABS'ed all over the road till I got into the town limits where they do a much better job of sanding the ice.
I have not swapped on my blizzaks yet, though I am running a studdable snow tire (Master Craft Courser MSR not studded). I need to do a long trip for work next week and would rather not out on my sticky rubbers yet.
Am curious if it is possible for a nissan dealer to "reprogram" the ABS computer.
I have still to do the wire #41 ABS mod.
A Nissan dealer cannot and would not reprogram the ABS control unit. For starters, it's not a control unit that's "programmable" by using a CONSULT II or III or aftermarket scan tool and if it were, it would open the dealer up to liability issues if done in any custom manner.
 
#18 ·
I really should have taken a video today of my "brake check" of the road. Rained till about midnight yesterday and then the temps got to 29 or so in the middle of the night. Driveway was icy. Road looked wet but I knew better. Going 25 mph ish. Jabbed the brakes. ABS kicks on and we go pulseing down the street. Maybe 10 second go by and it finally slows down. The worst part is, when speeds are lower than 10 mph we should not have the ABS working (per the owners manual). Not mine. ABSes all the way till I come to a dead stop.
 
#19 · (Edited)
I wonder if you have to release the brakes and re apply them when under 10mph?

Yea, mine is in the garage now and I'm going to cut the blue wire with SINGLE silver dot. There's two blue wires twisted with pink wires in the harness that's attached to the abs pump, the one with one silver dot and the one with double silver dots.


The one I'm doing.

Well I attempted it with the blue wire with one silver dot trace and it didn't quite work. The ABS and SLIP lights came on as well as the 4x4 light and the 4x4 indicator panel in the tach area went blank and the speedo stops working and the MPG and MPH average meters in the speedo area reset too... Everything starts working when I reconnect except I have to cycle the key once in order to get the abs and slip lights off.

I have a volant airbox and I'll have to pull it tomorrow to test out the other blue wire and see if that one is the correct one, it is blue with a double silver dot trace.
 
#20 ·
You should check the wiring diagram to find out what circuit you are cutting before doing so. Blue and pink twisted wires are CAN (Controlled Area Networking) communication wires. Those are wires that the ABS controller uses to communicate with other control units. You don't want to mess with those wires, because all it will do is trigger a CAN COMM trouble code (among other codes) and cause a lot of systems to not work properly that require input from the ABS controller.
 
#21 ·
Update..
2006 Frontier 6 speed nismo.

Wire #41 does nothing on my truck. No lights and abs still kicks in. Not sure if I have the yaw sensor or not and honestly cycling the engine while driving isn't hard but would be difficult in a panic situation I suppose.

The other wire I tried was #11 and that killed the speedo input as it's how the "unified meter control unit" connects to the can system. I didn't check out the abs operation when I did that one as not having a speedo or other gauges kind of sucks.

I'm wondering if wire #4 would do anything as it's labeled "ignition switch on or start" or if that's just to trigger the warning lamps. If not has anyone tried to put a relay on the main power wires #1 & #32 yet?
 
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#22 ·
Update..
2006 Frontier 6 speed nismo.

Wire #41 does nothing on my truck. No lights and abs still kicks in. Not sure if I have the yaw sensor or not and honestly cycling the key while driving isn't hard but would be difficult in a panic situation I suppose.

The other wire I tried was #11 and that killed the speedo input as it's how the "unified meter control unit" connects to the can system. I didn't check out the abs operation when I did that one as not having a speedo or other gauges kind of sucks. And having to cycle the key isn't the greatest.

What DOES mostly work is wire #4 "ignition switch on or start" wire on the E125 plug on the abs pump contraption. Instantly kills abs though speedo and 4x4 indicator blanks out, BUT I'm still able to switch from 2x4 to 4x4 but not into 4 Low as that I think wants your speed to be under a certain amount and because it's getting no input it won't shift. As soon as I flip the switch and connect #4 I hear the transfer case motor switching into or out of 4 Low.

If you reconnect #4 then everything comes back to normal and no need to cycle the ignition to re-enable abs or anything like that.
 
#23 ·
Well that sucks.

For some reason the blue wire in the OG write up looks more "blue" than yours.

Yesterday I was driving at fairly high speeds and pulled off a dirt side road. It was raining and the muddy. Almost ABSed myself into an irrigation ditch as my truck did not even try to slow down.
 
#24 ·
No speedo does kinda suck but the fact that it will kill the abs damn near immediately is great. I have two blue wires and one sky blue wire and neither of them worked. The ignition one is white with a red stripe or red with a white stripe. Kills the average mph or mpg if it's selected on the display, does nothing to the others and doesn't reset mpg or mph if you have it on another setting while the abs is off.

I ran wires through the hood release grommet that's behind the brake booster, go from inside with a solid wire and then tape wires to it and pull them all back inside the cab. Ran my switch to just in front of the ebrake handle. Easy to get to as all those parts pop off easily but fyi there is two layers of plastic in that area so you'll need a long switch body or drill one hole for the switch and a bigger one for the switch guts to clear the inner layer. I picked up a bunch of parts when radio shack was closing stores so I just picked a little single pole switch. Up is on with ABS crap and down shuts it off, it's really easy to hit right there and no need to hunt on the dash for a switch!! Definitely DO NOT want to hunt for that switch as you're sliding!! The black one is just a momentary one hooked up to my led lights up front.

Kid and I just got back from the mountains and the stupid abs sucks as per usual! Slowed way down to go through a gully in the road and the pump starts pulsing, hit the switch quick and I can stop so I don't nail the 1 foot deep x 2 foot long trench at speed (5mph but still fast enough to not feel good).



So, just do it and put the switch there so you don't have to lean forward and hunt when you're sliding towards a cliff..
 

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#25 ·
I went x-mas tree cutting this weekend with the fam. Deep snow trenches and Ice so we took my truck. On the way out (downhill), I shifted into 4low and rear locker so that I had teh ABS delete on. My wife noticed and thought it was odd that I used low range and a rear locker as the terrain was not very difficult.
 
#26 ·
Dang Nissan4Life, you started this thread over a year ago and have yet to do the mod!?
 
#27 ·
Nope never did the mod. I put blizzaks on and don't have too much of a problem anymore. Unless i hit mud on the side of the road. I have a stack of projects that I am over due on too. Parts I have bought more than a year ago.

You post about wire #41 not working doesn't help me get motivated either.
 
#28 ·
I hear you, I do the same.. buy parts for projects and then sit on them for ages. Just do the wire I said and it's easy, I also run fully studded winter tires but when the stupid abs kicks in I'd still rather have the defeat right there by the ebrake handle.
 
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