ABS light on and pedal soft with long travel

Definition of Diagnostic Trouble Code C1226 Buick: Right Front Excessive Wheel Speed Variation Cadillac: Right Front Excessive Wheel Speed Variation Chevrolet: Right Front Excessive Wheel Speed Variation Chrysler: Brake Pedal Travel Sensor Circuit Dodge: Brake Pedal Travel Sensor Circuit Ford: Brake warning indicator output short circuit to ground. GMC: Right Front Excessive Wheel Speed Variation Jeep: Brake Pedal Travel Sensor Circuit Lincoln: Brake warning indicator output short circuit to ground. Mazda: Brake warning indicator output short circuit to ground. Mercury: Brake warning indicator output short circuit to ground. Mitsubishi: FR inlet valve Oldsmobile: Right Front Excessive Wheel Speed Variation Pontiac: Right Front Excessive Wheel Speed Variation Saturn: Right Front Excessive Wheel Speed Variation Toyota: Open or short in hydraulic brake booster solenoid circuit (SA2/SPC/SPFR/SPFL/SMV1/SMV2/SBAL)

Locksmith East Aurora Ny 24 Hour Locksmith 716 249 2944 in East Aurora Ny

Did you bench bleed the MC before installing it? If not, that's the problem. MUST be bench bled or you'll always have air. If brakes lights are on, the brake switch is out of adjustment OR (since you replaced the MC), the push rod is out of adjustment

e-brake pedal should go farther- is either out of adjustment or cable frozen- secondly sounds like only front brakes receiving enough pressure to "activate" properly- bleed all four brakes starting rear pass,then rear drive ,then front pass, then front drive- use plenty of fluid- bleed till fluid is clean without bubbles- will that long at first- this will insure not bubbles and no moisture- if a pro valve dies,you would have more problems- pedal would be really soft,would have both a brake light and abs warning lights

Hi,
sound as if you really do have a problem!
From your description I presume that you are confident in doing your own work?
The quickest way to check your system is to use brake hose clamps to isolate each section of the braking system. I would suggest that you rent or buy a set of the clamps.

Put the truck on axle stands and make sure it's safely secured. ]
If possible have an assistant to sit in the cab and depress the brake pedal on your instructions.
Place a brake hose clamp on both front brake hoses and the rear axle hose.
Depress the brake pedal firmly.
The pedal should have minimum movement, and be rock-solid and you should not be able to depress it further.
If the pedal does go down when you apply it, the likely reason is that the Brake Master Cyl is by-passing internally, ie, only one section is active.

You stated that the M/C had been replaced. so we shall presume that the brake pedal is rock hard.
Go to the rear brake hose clamp and release it. Instruct your assistant to depress the brake pedal. If the brake pedal moves a significant distance, then (a) your rear brake shoes require adjustment (b) rhere is a leaking brake cyl, (check for brake fluid in the drum) or (c) you have a "lazy' or a piston (s) which have siezed during a brake actuation. That problem will require removing the rear brake drums for further inspection. Not the problem? Then adjust the rear brakes if required, then depress the brake pedal again. The downward travel should now be noticeably reduced.

If all is well at the rear brakes. refit the brake hose clamp. Go to the passengers side front brake and have your assistant apply the footbrake. Pedal rockhard/minimun movement? Release the brake hose clamp whilst your assist has pressure on the pedal. spin the front wheel by hand, and note if (a) the brake pedal has excessive downward travel. (b) the brake pads are contacting the brake disc, (the wheel will cease rotating and you will hear the pads contact the disc.)

Pedal displays limited downward travel and pads contact disc? Refit the brake hose clamp and go to drivers side brake and follow the same procedure. If the pedal has excessive downward travel then you have found your inital problem.

If releasing both front brake hose clamps results in excessive brake pedal travel, then the problem will be easier to address if you deal with one side first, complete the resolution, test by using the brake hose clamps, then start / complete the other faulty brake.

Whichever side you start to work on, be methodical, boring as it sounds.
remove the road wheel, but before doing so, place a hand on the top and bottom of the tyre and rock the wheel away from you and check the bearing play. If memory serves me correctly, that year Dodge has the discs in one piece with the hub.

You have removed the wheel. Now, have your assistant turn the steering onto full right lock. Before continuing, I would like to remind you that the vehicle is up on axle stands and you have secured it safely, in order to conform with accepted safety parameters, correct?

The steering is now on full right lock and you can see both disc pads. Now, very carefully check the position of the caliper in relation to the disc pads. Is there and equal spacing on each side? Now, have your assistant release the brake pedal and very carefully observe the travel of the disc pad pistons. They should retract and the hub should turn freely by hand. A very light drag is allowed between disc pad and disc, but it should NOT be discernible when you rotate the hub by hand.

With no pressure on the brake pedal, and using an appropriate tool, attempt to have the caliper pistons retract into their cylinders / bores. Completed? Use caution as it is very easy to break / damage a disc by using undue force when retracting the pistons.

There is now an obvious gap between disc pads and disc (or rotor..sorry) Now, carefully check that the pad guide pins are not deformed and that the pads ride easily on them. if a pad jams when the brakes are applied, then, when the piston retracts, when force is removed from the brake pedal. There is an appreciable gap to close, upon the next application of the brakes!

Some types of disc pad retaining /guide pins are a tight fit, and it is very easy to tilt a pad when fitting the pins, causing the disc pad to fail to retract fully, and again, displayed by a brake pedal with excessive travel.

When the brake pedal is applied, the brake fluid has to fill the caliper piston bores, then exert pressure on the piston to force it against the disc pads, and they in turn are forced into contact with the disc. If the piston has to move an appreciable distance before contacting the disc pad, that takes more brake fluid to fill the bore of the piston, and the master cylinder piston has to travel further,resulting in a brake pedal that displays excessive travel .

I notice that you did not mention the type of effort or number of applications of the brake pedal which resulted in a firm pedal.

If you fitted replacement calipers, can I presume that you fitted new guide pins to the calipers?
Last but not least, (a) are they the correct calipers for the vehicle as regards piston bore size? The brake Master cyl will not be able to fill the bores of the calipers with enough fluid to drive the pistons out to apply the disc pads, if the bores are oversized. The pedal will also display excessive travel.
(b) If the brake master cyl is overfilled, when the brakes are applied, the master cyl will force fluid to the calipers, expand the caliper pistons, but will be unable to release the application to the pistons due to the fluid being unable to return to the master cyl as the allotted reservoir space has been filled with static fluid. When the brake pedal is depressed again, the Master cyl cannot service the caliper pistons on the first stroke as the pistons are locked at full stroke / travel in the bores, resulting in the brake pedal going to the floor, or giving that impression.
HOWEVER, that condition, if the vehicle is driven any distance, will result in the obvious odor of overheated disc brake pads, and the vehicle struggling to display any state of acceleration.
(c) Are they in fact the correct disc brake pads? It would be wise to remove a guide / retainer pin and check for free movement of the pad on the remaining pin. All ok, then refit the pin which you removed and test again. The pads have to be free to move on the pins, and thus align themselves with the face of the disc / rotor when the brakes are applied. Some people coat the pins with never-seeze or hi-temp grease when fitting them, others prefer them to be dry.

In closing, I would recommend that you check the full travel AND RETRACTION of the caliper pistons in their respective bores. It is not unknown for re-built / new parts to be defective.

It would be interesting to hear if any of the above proved to be beneficial in resolving your problem.

strip out the front pads and fit new pads in also clean up abs rotors

Disk brakes are automatically self adjusting. If you have too much travel in the pedal, bleed the brakes. Let us know if you need the procedure.

Try having the dealer flush and bleed your system. It is very hard to bleed ABS systems yourself and have safe brakes that still work afterward. Bleeding non-ABS brakes yourself is easy not the same for ABS brakes. Valving, sensors and what-not require a tech and the correct equipment in my opinion. You do it wrong and you could ruin your ABS system. Do that and see if they firm up. I replaced my brake shoes/pads at the same time all new everything in back, drums/springs everything and new rotors up front. then I had the chevy dealer flush, refill and bleed system. Stiffer pedal and brakes work better. Keep in mind the brakes on 99 Tahoes are inaedequate, require new rotors often, heat up and fade/glaze pads regularly. I replace my pads long before they wear down because they glaze up and start fading early. I'll rough em up once maybe, next time, new ones. Every two brake jobs, new rotors for me. Just how it is. They will stiffen a bit and work better but they will never be awesome brakes. Just how it is on 99 and earlier Tahoes. Hope it helps. Very important to bleed correctly though. I'll bleed my 83 Toyota 4x4 myself but not the Tahoe.

Because of the ABS system if you press the brake pedal with too much pressure then it will give you the illusion of a soft pedal. Does it feel like a soft pedal when the vehical is in motion and you then press on the brake pedal (normal)? The other thing is if your pads and/or caliper were frozen, when you changed them out. The brakes are not going to feel or brake exactly the same, after the repair. But you are there, if the pedal is real low or goes to the floor then there is still air in the system or for some reason, your master cylinder is defective.

the brakes will get hot ??? before you go any further drive it around then stop on a level road and try pushing the car to see if the brakes are binding,noise from brakes at front ??? were the disks worn or grooved ??? what make of pads have you used ???are they too hard for the car ??how much copper in the pad material??were they made in china???have a good look