How do you ABS Brakes work and how are they different from traditional brakes?
Traditional brakes work by forcing brake fluid to the brake pads-you pushing on the pedal pushes the fluid which pushes the brakes-the harder you push, the harder you brake. You can pump traditional brakes yourself by getting on and off the brake pedal. This is how you attempt to retain some steering control in slippery situations. ABS brakes have a pump built into the system that will do this for you about 5000 times a minute-much more effective than you can do yourself. ABS brakes are activated either by depressing the brake pedal far enough to activate a switch or on some cars a computer monitors wheel lockup to determine when ABS is necessary. This is why auto manuals tell you to brake very hard in slippery conditions- to ensure that your anti-lock is activated-to ensure the best steering control and shortest stopping distance.
Pressing on the brake pedal of a vehicle equipped causes the brake pads or shoes to press on the brake disks or drums, which slows or stops the forward motion of the vehicle. Applying the brakes hard enough on a vehicle equipped only with traditional brakes (more commonly referred to as either regular or foundation brakes), will cause the wheels to stop spinning completely without stopping the vehicle. Instead, when the brakes lock up, the tires will lose traction and the driver will no longer be able to steer, losing control of the vehicle. This is why it is important for a driver without ABS to pump the brake pedal during panic stops. Pumping the brakes allows the wheel to continue spinning during the stopping maneuver. A wheel that's spinning has more traction than a wheel that's skidding. Without traction, a vehicle can not be stopped or steered. An Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) uses a computer to automatically pump the brakes for the driver. Since a computer can pump the brakes more times in a second than a person can in a minute, ABS gives a driver considerably more control over the vehicle when stopping quickly. Some of these systems only pump the brakes for the rear wheels (mostly trucks SUVs), and some pump the brake for all four wheels. Steering can lock up on rear wheel ABS; four wheel ABS allows the driver to continue steering during a panic stop. ABS is not designed to stop a vehicle faster. However, a vehicle with ABS is probably going to stop safer.
Anti-lock brakes work by using a computer to monitor the wheel speed of all 4 wheels at a speed above 20-25 mph. anti-lock does not activate( apply the brakes for you unless it senses a difference in wheel speed of any wheel while stopping. you will know if your abs system has taken over the stopping of your vvehicle by the vibration of the brake pedal and the humming noise the system makes while active. what it does is release a small amount of hydraulic pressure to that wheel and lets is turn and slow the car at the same rate as the other wheels. It also keeps your tires/brakes from locking-up. the abs deactivates when you release the brake pedal.
