peugeot 406 hdi abs problem

This is a strange one! The abs light has been coming on
intermiittently on my peugeot 406 hdi lx estate (x reg. 2000, vin
vf38frhz). Nine times out of ten it comes on in the same section of
road, approx 3 miles from my house, mainly when I'm driving away but
sometimes when I'm coming back. The abs does not appear to be working
when the light comes on (i tried an emergency stop on a quiet stretch
and the brakes locked; they do not do that when the abs light is off).
If I stop the engine after the light has come on and then turn the
ignition key to position I, I get an 'ABS fault' message that
disappears when I turn it all the way and start the engine (and the abs
light does not come on then, at least not until I go over the same
stretch of road).

The other thing I've noticed is that sometimes at low speeds when I
apply the brakes they seem to pulse on and off and it feels really
strange through the brake pedal, like it's on ice (although there isn't
any!), and it doesn't pull up efficiently. This only happens when the
abs light is off, so it may be unconnected to the other problem.

I guess I should take it to my local Peugeot dealer for a Diag2000
scan. I'm not very confident about them though. I've tried them twice
before for other problems. The first time they told me that no faults
had been found. When I asked for a print out they gave me one that was
nothing more than half a page of A4 with 8 headings (BSI, display,
radio etc, no OBD codes). The second time, they said they couldn't
give me a printout because the printer wasn't working. They wrote down
a couple of lines, again no obd codes. Could anyone tell me what I
should be getting for my money?

Finally, will the abs problem be stored in the computer or will all
trace be erased when I restart my car and the abs warning goes off? I
don't want to pay for a diag if there's no trace of anything to
diagnose!

Thanks in anticipation

Neil

Thanks, Marc, I'm going to check out the rings this afternoon and
report back.

Neil
----------------------
Marc Barbour wrote:
> "neild" wrote in message
>
>
> >
> > The other thing I've noticed is that sometimes at low speeds when I
> > apply the brakes they seem to pulse on and off and it feels really
> > strange through the brake pedal, like it's on ice (although there
> > isn't
> > any!), and it doesn't pull up efficiently. This only happens when
> > the
> > abs light is off, so it may be unconnected to the other problem.
> >
>
> > diagnose!
> >
> > Thanks in anticipation
> >
> > Neil
> >
> Neil
>
> I have a similar problem with the ABS on my 406 in that it sometimes
> feels like it's braking on ice at low speeds on perfectly dry roads. It
> appears to be caused by broken phonic rings on both driveshafts (this is
> a toothed ring that the ABS sensor reads). The rings should encircle the
> driveshaft completely but on my car both have splits in them which
> probably fool the ABS into thinking that the wheel has locked. I haven't
> had this sorted yet so can't confirm whether it's definitely the source
> of the problem but it may be worth you checking these.
>
> Regards
>
> Marc