Its not like the mush pedal is really a performance issue. I can still make abs come on even with the 275 hohos. I just like my pedal so crisp that everyone else who drives the car complains that it has the touchiest brakes of any miata they've ever driven.

 

Yep, that part is super easy. Once the lower bracket is unbolted and one of it's mounting tabs cut off, you're left with a nice flat-bottomed bracket that retains the OEM rubber isolators.

 

Back to bleeding I had an idea. My diagnostic lines are just kind of taped off at the block I wonder if there's a combination or grounding and powering the two wires that will make the stupid thing cycle.

 

+1
Moved my ABS unit to the pass floor to make room for the Jenveys.
5 new lines through one of the AC holes.
I cut the rear line and placed a joint in te engine bay.
No pics of course :-)

 

Though the power of the internet I found it. Drop the TBS lead to ground (in the diagnostic box if you did a stock like install), step on the brake, turn the key to the on position, makes the pump cycle all channels.

 

Theoretically, yes.

When we tried it on my car we had very mixed results. I'm about 90% sure I got it to do that two or three times, but was unable to make it consistent. It didn't make any noise while doing it -- I needed to have someone else power it on while I tried to turn the wheel with a breaker bar between the studs. It would release for half a second, then grab again. No pump noise, and my assistant didn't report any pedal pulsations. I tried using a clamp-on ammeter to look for power consumption, but by that point it had decided not to do it any more.

It cycles one channel at a time, each for half a second with a 1.5 second gap between each channel. IIRC it's front left, front right, then rears.

One thing to note is that supposedly the ABS system needs to be clear of codes in order to do it. I'm not sure exactly how you clear the codes, but bouncing power on the 10A electronics line does not seem to do it by itself (I have that line hooks to the unused cruise-control switch on my dash). I think you probably need to bounce the power on the 20A and 40A/fusible link lines as well, but I haven't confirmed whether or not this will make it reliable.

Anyhow, next time I have an available assistant I plan to try this again after clearing codes by disconnecting the battery.

--Ian

 

Whats the list of ABS codes, if there's one for no ABS light mine failed that one.

 

If you look on page 04-01-5 of the "1999-2001 mazda miata service manual" in the stick thread section (actually 99-00, does *not* cover 01), there is a list of ABS diag codes. I don't know if they're the same as the codes for an 01-05 or not (my unit is out of an 03).

The codes mine reports are (I think) 43 and 44. It blinks "5 4 3 5 4 4" and then repeats that pattern. Given that 54 and 35 are not listed as valid codes, I'm guessing the 5 is a separator (since it flashes 5 times when the codes are cleared) and 43 and 44 are the codes. That suggests mine is unhappy with the rear wheel speed sensors for some reason.

I notice now that the 99 manual has a trouble code clearing procedure involving pressing the brake pedal 10 times in 10 seconds. I'll have to try that.

--Ian

 

I tried the code clearing procedure -- it turns out that 5 is not a separator, it's a code. 05 is "brake switch open or short", so I must have a loose connection in there somewhere. The code clearing procedure makes it go away, and now I can engage the diagnostic procedure. It's not subtle, it's really obvious when it engages. More details are in my build thread.

The bad news is that it didn't help the pedal feel -- it still sucks. :(

--Ian