It was raining very hard this morning, and my car was almost if not sitting in a light bath of water (I don't think it reached the bottom of the rims, but loads of water none the less). When I got in my car all was well, but when I pulled up to the stop sign and was heavy on the brakes, traction fail and anti lock lights came one, as well as a bad braking noise from the front end. Slightly worried I turned the car off/on, lights went off. Braked again, lights back on. Thinking it was just the brakes, and they only had a little issue under heavier braking, I drove a bit where I was certain that I wouldn't have to do any heavy/immediate braking. By now, the brakes were/should have been dry. I braked, everything was fine, and again rather heavily (but cautiously), everything was fine. No lights. Is this something to worry about? Or should I just be cautious when wet?

The front brakes are Akebono ceramic (only a year old), and I believe the rears are Jaguar brand (still in good shape). I'm thinking all of this was wet pads/rotors on the front, but since brakes are almost more important than the engine (no point in getting going if you can't stop), I want to make sure here.

Thanks,

Steven

 

Steven, I always thought the horn was redundant to brakes......

Just a guess but maybe moisture causing one or more wheel sensors to give an "out of range" value, thus the module declares Trac/ABS fail?

 

As has been mentioned, it is most likely an out-of-range reading from one of the wheel speed sensors, although it is possible that it is the ABS control module itself, which is a fairly common failure point in these cars (but can usually be repaired by resoldering bad connections in the module). You can test the wheel-speed sensors by removing the multi-pin connector at the ABS module and testing the resistance of each sensor. If one of the sensors is bad, you may experience the ABS randomly kicking in during normal stops on dry pavement (this, or the cycling of the ABS valve block, is likely the "bad noise" you describe). Similarly, you may feel the traction control engaging at random times, even though there is no wheelspin. This was the case on my car, and I discovered that the resistance of right rear wheel-speed sensor was out of spec. I haven't gotten around to replacing it yet, but the random engagement of the ABS and traction control was disconcerting and, in my opinion, potentially dangerous, as it could increase stopping distances on dry pavement.

Until I get around to replacing the faulty speed sensor, I have simply disconnected the 2-pin connector to the ABS pump. The ABS and "Trac Fail" warning lights remain lit, but the system otherwise functions just as a conventional (pre-ABS) braking system would. No annoying noises caused by random cycling of the ABS pump, no random engagement of the ABS or traction control.

 

It seems like this is a common problem with the cars. Mine randomly goes on and off as well. I've cleaned the fuses etc, and checked for corrosion. The next thing I am going to try is checking out the moduals and stuff. It's annoying to see your interments cluster clear and then randomly see those orange lights coming on and off.
If I cant get mind fixed I may just disconnect it and black out the lights on the dash lol! I just had the break lines re done in my car and stuff and it stops fine.

 

Alright, I suppose I'll give everything a once over when I get a spare bit of time. Just one more thing to add to my list.

 

It seems to me these are one of Jaguars best models made. They have little problems here & there, but seem like one of the best to own & drive. I just bought mine and it's had a lot of LITTLE things to fix. I'm getting everything done slowly, and its all coming together. My next big projects are the exhaust system, and the paint job. My clear coats in bad shape because the car sat for awhile before I purchased it.
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