FJ ABS Kill Switches

[Mosalf]

@WASIF and @ Hawk - would love to see you guys cone with a solution for the 2012 FJ.

[Darshan]

Now the only drwawback is that the traction aids get switched off but the ABS stays active and the only time it switches off is when you are in 4 Low and using A Trac. Have been looking at setting up a individual switch to disconnect the ABS independantly of other systems but have still to find the ideal solution.

In the meantime try to apply the brake gradually so the ABS doesnt kick in too much ! Thats it for now

Spot on!! We do have the option of using the factory switch to disable some of the nannies (long press on OE switch) , but for some reason ABS stays very sensitive even when doing this. I just pull the plug on the master cylinder and then log press on the VSC switch and it disables most of the nannies.

ABS is till active, but i think for some reason it is way less sensitive than with the plug connected. Yes, i love the ATRAC and do miss it with the disconnected plug, but from research and from experiences of a couple of friends i know that they are bad for you CVs, especially so if you are lifted and have heavy tyres.

ABS is tightly tied up with ATRAC, i should be able to rig up something to diable ABS but i am sure that will disable Atrac aswell. I will do some testing this weekend and come back on this.

I Like the 2008 and 2009 models for the feel of the drive. The low down torque is also very good compared to 2010+ models. But there are more important changes in 2010+ models (important for me) with regards to chasis and engine- the details of which can be a subject for another thread.

[caprihorse]

Guys, keep sharing, it's very good for others education and mine as well.

I heard little bit before about these magic buttons in FJ before and I was looking like Alice in Wonderland, as my Nissan is a very basic car, without any magic buttons.

On the last trip we had a Newbie in brand new FJ, who got sitting on the top of A shaped dune, horizontally. Naturally as he stopped, the sand went down from under his tyres and he was sitting like a duck hunting ducks in Pakistan. I was already pulling out my Viking, to get him out, but then I changed my mind and asked him over the radio (I'm lazy to walk up the dune) to switch on 4L, difflocks on and A-Track, put in reverse and turn the wheels from left to right and to stay stable on 1500 rpm. To my surprise and probably to Newbie's surprise as well, after 5 minutes, he came out! I'm sure he didn't know what these all settings are for, but if I would be in such situation with my car, only rope would be able to save me.

[alshamsi_m]

Dear Big Red

Having the ABS locking is not that bad even if feels irritating for a new driver. After driving all these years in UAE and driving the FJ since 2008 I can tell you that FJ is an amazing machine and you need to put the attraction off and enjoy the ride

So kill switch is not recommended with all respect for old off-roaders who disable it

Regards

[Wasif Ahmed]

LOL...thats what makes teh FJ so much fun ...all the electronic aids and if you know how and when to use them you will hardly ever get stuck.

Once trying to climb a high ridge straignt up in 4 Lo I recollect I had my front wheels over teh top and the rears were starting to spin....just hit the A TTAC and the guys on the ridge said the FJ practically clawed its way up with all the power going to teh front wheels and the rears just dragging along.

A TRAC is a system that uses iteh ABS sensors on the wheels to sense which wheel of teh wheels is spinning / loosing traction. It then cust the power to the wheels without traction and send teh power to the wheels that actually have traction.

This is one of teh reasons the FJ doesnt have a central locker or a front locer as the A TRAC acts like a virual locker doing the same job.

If even when the power is supplier to the wheels which have traction there is still no movement then the A TRAC starts to send teh power out in surges, this makes the car start to bounce and it will then wriggle out of the stuck situation !

If you disable the ABS by removing the fuse the A TRAC will also be disabled.

on any FJ if one pulls the plug under the Brake Oil reservoir only the TRAC & the VSC are disabled. The only way to actually disable the ABS is to pull the fuse in the box.

Mind you if you disable the TRAC system then teh A TRAC is also disabled. This is the reason the 2009 and up FJ came with the switch in the cabin for the VSC and TRAC. Now it would be really nice to see another switch right next to that for ABS too !

Aggressive use of the A TRAC on lifter FJ's will destroy your CV so be carefull .......Darshan is talking about me in his earlier post LOL !

[Sarookh]

Dear Big Red

Having the ABS locking is not that bad even if feels irritating for a new driver. If you put a kill switch for ABS you are going to stop the gear oil pump which will lead to gear over heating. After driving all these years in UAE and driving the FJ since 2008 I can tell you that FJ is an amazing machine and you need to put the attraction off and enjoy the ride

So kill switch is not recommended with all respect for old off-roaders who disable it

Regards

Bu Salem, i once was driving kind fast as i had an urgent nature call, while driving i was surprised buy a ditch, i pressed the brake to the max and the car did not stop until i jumped the ditch and that was due to the ABS...ask Caprihorse he witnessed the scene. Since then, i have searched a way to disable the ABS while offroading and it’s working marvelously, if I press the brake it will lock fully and the car will stop instantly. So maybe the theory differs from a car to another.

Now regarding the gear overheating, apart from the dashboard notifications how can i know if it is happening to my car or not and what can be the symptoms ??!

Ps: I drive a 2006 Toyota Tundra

[caprihorse]

LOL...thats what makes teh FJ so much fun ...all the electronic aids and if you know how and when to use them you will hardly ever get stuck.

Once trying to climb a high ridge straignt up in 4 Lo I recollect I had my front wheels over teh top and the rears were starting to spin....just hit the A TTAC and the guys on the ridge said the FJ practically clawed its way up with all the power going to teh front wheels and the rears just dragging along.

A TRAC is a system that uses iteh ABS sensors on the wheels to sense which wheel of teh wheels is spinning / loosing traction. It then cust the power to the wheels without traction and send teh power to the wheels that actually have traction.

This is one of teh reasons the FJ doesnt have a central locker or a front locer as the A TRAC acts like a virual locker doing the same job.

If even when the power is supplier to the wheels which have traction there is still no movement then the A TRAC starts to send teh power out in surges, this makes the car start to bounce and it will then wriggle out of the stuck situation !

If you disable the ABS by removing the fuse the A TRAC will also be disabled.

on any FJ if one pulls the plug under the Brake Oil reservoir only the TRAC & the VSC are disabled. The only way to actually disable the ABS is to pull the fuse in the box.

Mind you if you disable the TRAC system then teh A TRAC is also disabled. This is the reason the 2009 and up FJ came with the switch in the cabin for the VSC and TRAC. Now it would be really nice to see another switch right next to that for ABS too !

Aggressive use of the A TRAC on lifter FJ's will destroy your CV so be carefull .......Darshan is talking about me in his earlier post LOL !

Pls kindly can you stop speaking Chinese and give us, uneducated, the explanation, watafaka is TRAC and VSC?

[caprihorse]

Bu Salem, i once was driving kind fast as i had an urgent nature call, while driving i was surprised buy a ditch, i pressed the brake to the max and the car did not stop until i jumped the ditch and that was due to the ABS...ask Caprihorse he witnessed the scene. Since then, i have searched a way to disable the ABS while offroading and it’s working marvelously, if I press the brake it will lock fully and the car will stop instantly. So maybe the theory differs from a car to another.

Now regarding the gear overheating, apart from the dashboard notifications how can i know if it is happening to my car or not and what can be the symptoms ??!

Ps: I drive a 2006 Toyota Tundra

Sarookh, I will never forget that metallic sound crashing stones, which was coming from behind us standing nicely in a row, that time (I refuse to go mere in details, why we were standing in a row...):011:

What I believe, it's hardly to break, when all the wheels are in the air, with or without ABS. I don't enjoy on my car this hi-tech feature called ABS, but I can ensure you, that in the sand the breaking line is long, long, long, very long, if your speed is higher as it should be. Ask Fida on many occasions :001:

[Darshan]

Not just you Wasif Bhai: There were a couple of others who had the same issue before and after you reported it. I am scred to use it now :029:

@Bu Salem: You live another day, you learn another thing :038: I am interested to know more on your point. "If you put a kill switch for ABS you are going to stop the gear oil pump which will lead to gear over heating." Actually, Nevermind, i will call you to understand this, I have never heard it before and don't see how it is related to trans (or the diffs you that is what you mean by gear).

[Darshan]

Pls kindly can you stop speaking Chinese and give us, uneducated, the explanation, watafaka is TRAC and VSC?

VSC is the normal stability control that you have on many vehicles. It cross checks the wheel speed and when it detects irregularity it tries to correct it by pulsing brakes around to make the vehicle stable. When the vehicle loses stability under slipperry conditions (Rain/Snow etc) the vsc engages in an effort to save the day.

On sand this engages all the time if not switched off and will bog you down.

ATRAC is advanced traction control, which works on an FJ at driver's discretion when in 4lo. It pretty much works the same way as VSC/ABS. When in stuck conditions on slippery/loose sand/rocks like terrain, if you switch on ATRAC, it senses which wheels are losing traction and pulses the brakes to be applied on the tractionless wheel so that the power is not lost but transferred to the other wheel on the other end of the same diff. So it works much like diff lock but in a different way. In sand however, the side effect is that ATRAC thinks that other wheels also does not have traction and cycles the brakes alternating between both front wheels (if rear diff lock is engaged) if not it cycles all wheels.

EDIT: This link explains it way better than i can. http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/t ... -lock.html