Audizine - An Automotive Enthusiast Community

Results 1 to 4 of 4
  1. #1
    Active Member One Ring dramala21's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 07 2024
    AZ Member #
    995996
    Location
    Málaga, Andalucia, Spain

    ABS fuse removal affects quattro EDS???

    Guest-only advertisement. Register or Log In now!
    So I bought an Audi with Quattro a few months ago (A4 B5 1.8T from the year 2000). Great car, and I recently started experimenting to understand how the AWD system behaves.

    Here’s what I’ve noticed: when I accelerate hard while turning, the car just fights for grip and doesn’t slide at all. This is on wet asphalt with 195 tires, so I expected at least some wheel spin or slip, coming from a 50/50 AWD system, even if it only has 150cv.

    I’ve been testing this in a closed area with no traffic, just to experiment safely.

    My car doesn’t have any button to turn off traction control, so I was wondering if there’s something else going on. I read that some of these newer B5 models came with a non-switchable system called EDS, which works with the ABS to prevent wheel spin.

    So I was wondering:

    If I turn off the ABS by removing the fuse, would the system let me slide the car more freely?

    And also, would this cause any harm to other systems in the car?

    Thank you.

  2. #2
    Veteran Member Four Rings walky_talky20's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 30 2008
    AZ Member #
    30427
    Location
    Erie, Pennsylvania

    I would probably recommend unplugging a wheel speed sensor (under the back seat is an easy spot) to kill EDL instead of pulling fuse.
    **Not sure if you need to unplug 1 sensor per-axle. I believe I've unplugged just 1 rear sensor and it all goes dead.

    There is some other safety system offered by the ABS unit, namely the Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD). This basically acts as a dynamic "proportioning valve" that reduces brake pressure on the rear axle under hard braking. You can actually hear it ticking away whenever you do a hard stop. This is active even when wheel speed sensors are unplugged and all the other features are dead (ESP/ABS/EDL).

    This proportioning of brake force away from the rear axle is really important so you don't lock up the rear wheels, especially on slippery surfaces. So keeping the fuse IN, but cancelling the unwanted features by just unplugging 1 speed sensor is my recommendation.
    ^Don't listen to this guy, he's not even a mechanic.
    2001 Laser Red A4 1.8TQM, 5-Speed Swapped, 4.11 Final Drive, APR 93, 2.5" Exhaust, ST Coilovers, 034 RSB, A8 Brakes Front & Rear
    2006 Passion Red Volvo V50 T5 AWD 6MT
    2000 Satin Silver Passat 1.8T FWD Wagon, Slippy Tiptronic, 15" Hubcaps
    2001 Aluminum Silver Metallic A4 Avant 1.8TQM (winter sled)

  3. #3
    Veteran Member Four Rings
    Join Date
    Jun 23 2015
    AZ Member #
    339002
    Location
    Michigan

    I've always been very confused as to the extent of the stability control systems on the B5 A4. I was under the impression that there were none other than ABS.

  4. #4
    Veteran Member Four Rings walky_talky20's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 30 2008
    AZ Member #
    30427
    Location
    Erie, Pennsylvania

    Standard equipment is ABS, EDL and EBD. ESP is optional for 2000 and 2001 only.

    EDL is pretty weak, but it does help a tiny bit. It is a basic traction control that works across each axle. It ONLY transfers across the 2 open diffs (left to right) - it will not act to transfer power forward and back across the Torsen center diff.

    ESP is very nice optional feature, but rare on B5 A4's. It is a full stability program that uses steering wheel angle and yaw rate, and has wide brake and throttle authority. If you command a turn, but the car isn't actually turning, it brakes various wheels kind of like a skid-steer (ie: a Bobcat, a tracked vehicle), to force the car to the angle you've requested. It does things you absolutely cannot do as a driver. You have 1 brake pedal, but ESP has 4 individual brake pedals. It has saved me a couple times from getting dragged off the road by piles of snow and slush. Also good for killing oversteer and keeping the back end *behind* you during quick avoidance maneuvers (ie: Moose Test).

    EBD is basically just the proportioning valve that is dynamic. As the nose dives, it lightens brake pressure to the rear. As long as the ABS unit has power, it will perform this function. I was surprised at this, but it makes sense as the wheel speed data is not required for this function.
    ^Don't listen to this guy, he's not even a mechanic.
    2001 Laser Red A4 1.8TQM, 5-Speed Swapped, 4.11 Final Drive, APR 93, 2.5" Exhaust, ST Coilovers, 034 RSB, A8 Brakes Front & Rear
    2006 Passion Red Volvo V50 T5 AWD 6MT
    2000 Satin Silver Passat 1.8T FWD Wagon, Slippy Tiptronic, 15" Hubcaps
    2001 Aluminum Silver Metallic A4 Avant 1.8TQM (winter sled)

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


    © 2001-2025 Audizine, Audizine.com, and Driverzines.com
    Audizine is an independently owned and operated automotive enthusiast community and news website.
    Audi and the Audi logo(s) are copyright/trademark Audi AG. Audizine is not endorsed by or affiliated with Audi AG.