I have a question about how the ABS system in a car works. Here's why... I was traveling at MAYBE 60 to 65, when an old man in a Cadillac pulls out in front of me, crossing my lane to turn left (he came from the right side). I swerved left to miss him (around the front of his nose) but he never stopped and I clipped him with the front end of my car on the front of his.

The impact was pretty severe, it pushed the passenger side front wheel backward almost a foot (roughly where the door hinges are), destroyed the front fenter, the door skin and more. The car is totalled. But after impact I had NO brakes. NONE, ZIP, NADA.

Here's my question... If the engine has been running, but dies, does the ABS system continue to function as it should? Will it modulate brake pressure with just the key on, or does the engine HAVE to be actually running for it to operate?

See, in the accident, the front passenger side wheel was pushed backward and was wedged against the chassis of the car and it stopped turning. The only thing I can think of is that when that one wheel stopped turning, the ABS system modulated the brakes and reduced the fluid flow to the remaining wheels, keeping me from stopping the car. The only thing that stopped my car was the one jammed wheel skidding on the ground.

So, does anyone know if the ABS system will continue to function after the engine stops running?

Is there any other logical reason that I could not stop the vehicle even though I was pressing the pedal to the floor as hard as I possibly could?

 

It is possible you had brakes all the way up until you hit the car, and then the wheel moving back "almost a foot" destroyed the brake lines? ABS tries to modulate the wheel that is locked, not the 3 that aren't.

 

I suppose it's possible, but the brake pedal has been pressed several times since the accident and it's not pushing fluid out, and there's still fluid in the resevior (sp?). The rubber line at the wheel appears to be fine.

Someone on FRRAX mentioned an ice mode?

here's a link to pics of the car and damage: http://www.willmannwebsolutions.com/.../car/index.htm

 

Link doesn't work. Sorry to hear about the car man. As far as I know the engine doesn't have to be running for everything to work. With everything off your abs might not work, but you still should have brakes. I used to turn my engine off half way down my road because my car woke everybody up. I still had breaks when I coasted into my driveway.

 

Link is fixed now.