Best practice with selecting the appropriate guage scale range is to double the value you expect to monitor, ie: if your system is 2500 psi then a 5000 guage range will provide the best accuracy. A pressure guage is most accurate at 50% of range.
This discussion is getting a tad confusing. It's only the accumulator that sits at the 23-2500 psi range, that's the ABS boost source. The rest of the system is basically at atmospheric otherwise your brakes would be dragging all the time?
Adding additional fittings and hardware just increases the potential for leaks and compromising the whole system. IMHO

I find all this monitoring with gauges and such to be the result of some kind of brake phobia. Keep in mind that if the pump stops running that you still have brakes, just not power assisted brakes.

Yes it is a lot harder to stop without power assist but you can stop. I unplugged the pump and drove about 20 miles here in the hills of Tennessee to see what it was like without power assist and you can stop but you have to press the pedal a lot harder. Maybe me being 6'1" and weighing 270lbs helps.

Ronnie.... Try driving 400 miles in the appalatians without the power assist... its not as easy as you may think, your legs get tired. the fact that there are no back brakes makes it even harder... I would for sure not recommmend driving without power assist to anyone.

What do you think we did before power assist?

I don't recommend anyone drive without power assist unless they have to but I don't think there is a need for extra gadgets and gauges to keep an eye on the condition of the brakes all the time. If we are that paranoid of the brakes maybe we should come up with a system like trains have that will automatically apply the brakes anytime pressure in the brake system drops. It all seems just a little bit overkill to me. The CRT distracts me enough telling me things that I don't really need to know. Having an extra gauge to watch would just be another distraction. That's just my opinion and nothing more.

I live in the mountains of Appalachia (the foothills of the Smokey Mountains) and drove for years in these mountains with cars that had no power brakes before I could afford a car with power brakes.

"What do you think we did before power assist?"

Big difference between non-power brakes and power brakes that have lost vacuum assist.

The bad thing is, that ive drivin cars that have vacuum powered power assist that doesnt work/disconnected. The fact that the reatta is missing the rear brakes and that there is more pressure needed from one's legs to stop in the Teves system is what I am refering to.

I've also driven a short distance without boost from the Teves and I wasn't just standing on the pedal, I was bending the steering wheel due to using it as a handle to apply more pressure than my 140 lbs alone could.

The original post indicates a confidence issue in the highly praised (by some) Reatta original equipment. At least 2 of us on this forum don't have to worry about a pump, a motor, 3 relays, several fuses, 6 solenoids, a pressure switch, a brain and a mile of wire going south in the Appalacians. Steak

Sorry guys, but I dumped a good portion of this thread.

It was really hard to decide where to cut, and I didn't have the tool flexibility to dissect the thread, so this is the result.

Feel free to continue from this point of the conversation.


Oh, and for the record I've experienced the "lost" brakes a few times, and while it certainly was not fun (scary actually); I'd rather stick with having the ABS function than downgrading to a system without.

But wat if yo could have both?

Also a gauge would enable you to see a downward slope in the system. Thus enabeling yo to see a potential issue.

Phill I have not forgot your guage, I will get you the part number and specs.

Why does the ABS on the Reatta have a common brake line to both back wheels? Yet it has a separate solenoid and valve for each rear wheel. I don't see how once the ABS is alerted to a rear wheel lockup it can still provide full braking to the wheel that might not be locking. It would seem like each rear wheel should have it's own line to get the maximum amount of braking in those situations. Steak

I have thought about that several times myself. three lines should = 3 sensors and three solenoids.

When the ABS senses that a wheel is locking does it pulsate that wheel or all wheels? I know that it can't only do one rear wheel (because of the single line) but if a rear locks will the front wheels go into ABS mode? Steak

It treats them as three circuits: left front, right front, and both rear. Each circuit can go into anti-lock mode independently.

I never got a chance to find out using a cafeteria tray. Steak

Huh?

I'm confused myself

Sorry. It probably won't work anyway with ABS, but my son and his friends lock up the brakes on a pair of cafeteria trays and enjoy the complete loss of control. I'll get the instructions if anyone wants them. Steak

And we thought our Teves system was dangerous and needs to be replaced.

Oh, you mean downhill racer on the snow using cafeteria trays?

I'm talking year-round irresponsible behavoir. I asked Junior how it is done. It actually doesn't have anything to do with the service brakes. He says you park a front wheel drive car with the back wheels on a couple of trays then set the parking brake. Then you drive off and do some kind of motorized ice dancing on a wide stretch of road. It's what the people of Florida must do to simulate northern conditions. Steak

This kinda reminds me of a go cart my dad and I made when I was little.... just a piece of wood, a seat, and a 2x6 with wheels and a rope to stear... my brakes were a piece of plank on a pivot that when stopping was needed I would lift the one end plank to have the other end hit the sidewalk and pure concrete to wood friction would be break power

I'm talking absence of friction here. Steak