ABS Kill Switch mod for 05+ Offroad EASY WAY! (PICS)

Great timing after going up north and our last snow storm I'm putting in an ABS disable switch....

Thanks for the work...........

 

Use a red one - 20-24awg

 

anyone hope for us with base models?

 

Anyone find a switch that fits in the factory slots. I searched on otrattw. Emailed them but never got a response. I want a not lighted switch with a pic of brakes or that says abs?

 

Personally, I don't understand all the whining and complaining about the ABS/LSD/Electronic Stability of the truck. I have been driving a very long time (since 1967) and have lived about 90% of my life where the winters produce snow including the last 19 years in NH. It has been my experience that the traction control equipment/programing on the truck is fine. It seems to work well and I have not had any of the "dire" problems noted here and in other threads.
It is the lousy OEM tires that are the main problem with snow traction. My 2011 DC Offroad Auto transmission came with BF Goodrich tires and they were terrible in the snow and on dirt roads. Once I changed to Michelin LTX the problem went away. The other suggestion I have is very simple: LEARN TO DRIVE IN THE SNOW!
Once you understand how to control your truck in slippery conditions, the "advanced" electronics will be your friend and (hopefully) keep you from doing something really stupid. Of course, nothing works on ice, so be careful

 

Sorry vtdog, but this thread is not about personal appeals or tires, snow driving, etc. This thread is about modifying the truck and taking control! I recently used my ABS kill switch on the trail to Chloride Cliff ruins in Death Valley. ABS on that trail, would have certainly sent me over the cliff's edge and plummet my death. Used correctly this mod is a life saver.

 

Yeah, I have contacted them as well and haven't heard back from them. I'll be pushing a little harder this week and next to get them to provide a Normally closed switch and a nice graphic to go along with it.

 

I'm sure a lot of us would be interested.

 

Want to do this mod but I am afraid to try it myself! subbed for future reference.

 

I'm in the same boat. No one has reported a problem in this thread though and it's 3.5 years old though which looks promising.

I'm wandering if when the rear locker is actually locked, does the OEM system send a ground signal through that exact same wire as it's method to deactivate ABS or is it triggered some other way? I'm figuring the OEM system probably accomplishes it some other way?

Can't grounding this blue/yellow wire cause a short in the computer system? I haven't seen these kind of questions answered in this thread, or an explanation of why grounding that wire wouldn't cause a short. Forgive my electrical ignorance if these are dumb questions!

 

The only normally closed switch we carry is an ON/ON style. The beginning product code is V4D.

http://www.otrattw.com/wiring/V4D2Y7NB.pdf

 

I had the same problem when I installed this mod in my 2005 a few years ago. As it turns out, I tapped the blue wire with a white tracer instead of the blue wire with a yellow tracer! (both wires look the same in dim light!) A fuse blew that caused the 'check engine' light to come on. I used the ODB code reader to find the bad fuse. Unfortunately, I don't remember which one went out now.

 

I installed this mod in my 2005 and it worked great! Unfortunately, without VSC and TRAC, this mod only works in 4WD on the 2005. I wish it did... it would have prevented the ABS system from releasing the brakes from all my wheels, which caused my vehicle to be totaled. This happened in a panic stop on dry pavement.

 

The circuit only has a load of 32ma, which isn't much. 22 AWG stranded wire would be fine. I used 22 AWG on my 2005, but 18 AWG on my 2014 (because of the wire selection I had available). Also, I recommend using the red snap connectors (22 - 18 AWG) instead of the blue connectors (18 - 14 AWG). The red connectors will ensure a better connection (a problem frequently reported in this post).

 

Probably the best mod i ever did to my TRD . Done in 2011 and still works fine.

 

I found a nice switch that fits the center switch area on the 2012-2015 Tacos. The switch has two illuminated areas: Green when ABS is disabled and 'ABS OFF' message when your lights are turned on. The switch can be found at http://www.aironboard.com/online/catalogsearch/result/?q=AOBSW9B83GR

I spent part of the last few days installing the switch in my 2014 TRD OR Access Cab. Unfortunately, in addition to the two wires needed for the mod (Ground and Pin 4 of 1B1 Tap), two additional wires are needed: ILL+ (green) for the illumination and ACC+ for the power for the ABS Circuit. In addition to the 4 wires, either a relay or an electronic switch needs to be added to the circuit in order to 1) allow the switch to be lighted and 2) deactivate the ABS.

I did a couple of things differently. First, I got the ground from the center console after removing it and the center storage box. This allowed me to route ACC+ to my inverter mod so that I could replace the battery with normal power (http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/226311-inverter-questions-3.html#post9574127).

If there is any interest, I can provide schematics for the lighted ABS OFF switch.

The mod works very well, but differently than it did when installed on my 2005 TRD OR Access Cab: The mod on my 2005 only worked while in 4WD, but the mod works anytime on my 2014. The following lights go on when the button is pressed: TRAC, VSC, ABS and 4WDLo.

The installation was a little tricky because I could not figure out how to remove the lower panel where the switches were located. I was unable to pry the blank plates out, so I had to drill a small hole in each and then screw a self-tapping screw part way into the hole. With this arrangement, I was able to pop the blanks out. Does anyone know a better way to do this?

A few pictures follow. Unfortunately, some are a little blurry. You can see that I have not put the ABS OFF switch completely in yet because I don't know how I will get it out if I need to make changes. Also, you will see a USB Power Jack, partially installed in the right-most switch location.

 

Thanks OP! Followed your directions, worked out perfectly.

 

This switch would be great if we needed to switch a positive load but unfortunately that's not the case here. This switch has the positive of the on/off LED tied to the normally open portion of the switch and has to be powered to use that LED. Otherwise it is still just a set of contacts, and rather then go through the bother of switching an external relay to switch a ground, I elected to forgo the lighted on/off button and simply use it to switch the ground for the mod. I performed this today on my 2013. Interesting to note that the dash lights cycle on and off with the new switch, thought I read here the truck key needed to be cycled to turn the ABS, TRAC, etc. lights back off.

Thanks OP for such an important Mod!

 

So I tried to edit my last post to include another picture that I took of my project but was unable to past it there. Note the drivetrain graphic with an X over the rear diff....

 

Possible modification to "improve" this already great mod.

From the looks of this the one disadvantage is that when disabled you also disable all the "limited slip" like traction control and effectively are running open diffs. That's not always what you want off road of course. Running a mixture of flat washboard and occasional sand you'd want ABS disabled but still have "limited slip" enabled. Of course if you start to lose traction you can just hit the switch to enable ABS and traction control again.

Right now the mod wiring is:

BL/YL WIRE ---------------- SPST -------------------- GND

When the SPST is closed ABS and all traction control is disabled, when open everything is enabled.

I'd propose one of this modification:

BL/YL WIRE ---------------- SPST --------------- NO RELAY ---------------- GND

The NO (normally open) RELAY would be driven by the brake lights. Wired in this manner ABS and traction control are only disabled when you actually apply the brakes and the SPST switch is closed. The rest of the time you have traction control still enabled. Since you typically use traction control when pressing on the gas and not the brakes this seems like the best of both worlds.

Notionally that NO RELAY that I propose could be any of a number of brake actuated switches. You could make it a plunger or lever switch that is activated mechanically by the brake pedal itself. Or perhaps there is something better than the brake lights to use for detecting the brake pedal being pressed (I don't have a wiring diagram).

Thoughts? Am I understanding the mod and its effects wrong in some way?

And as many have already said - thanks for posting the great mod and write up. I will be applying this in some form for sure!