Living in WV we see a fair amount of snow and ice, and having lived here almost 3 years (two winters), I have come to cursing the ABS system my 4runner was born with.
The road to our house is dirt/gravel the last one mile, and it starts out with a fairly steep decline with a rather sharp RH turn in the middle. To the left is a 25' drop and on the right is a deep trench.
Driving down this part of the road when conditions are slippery is a white knuckle experience to say the least, and I tackle it by selecting 4W-L and in 2nd gear, and that works ok, as long as I don't press the brake pedal too hard. Trying to do the same bit of road in 4W-H and using the brake to slow my progress results in the ABS kicking in before it is even needed, and the end result is acceleration instead of slowing down.

After reading about the horrible ABS system on the 3rd gen 4runners, and the various fixes (t100 brakes, remove the fuse etc.), I settled on disconnecting the plug on the ABS module.
I have yet to test it, but the ABS light is now on. I disconnected the lower of the two connectors because it had a couple of thicker wires in it.

2 questions:

1. Did I disconnect the correct plug?

2. I would like to install a switch on the dash to turn the ABS off when I want and back on for normal driving.
Which wire do I cut and extend through the firewall to do this?

Earlier this year I had a minor fender bender because I couldn't stop the car in time with the left side wheels on dirt, and I blame the ABS for this. It was at 25mph and I couldn't stop in time.

Thank you for any help.

 

ABS isn’t a system you can swap back and forth from on the fly. When it does it’s diagnostic on start-up and gets zero value from the abs sensor causing the dash light to come on it should disable the system. The only way to turn it back on would be to shut off the truck and restart with everything hooked back up.

Does your abs over react in situations other than your driveway?

You said you were in an accident because you couldn’t stop fast enough and you thought the faulty abs caused that. ABS doesn’t reduce stopping distance, in most cases it increases stopping distance. What ABS does for you is keep the wheels turning so you maintain steering ability to avoid whatever you are careening towards.

Can you post a picture of the plug you disconnected?

 

It is well documented that the ABS system in the 3rd gen 4runner and Taco is crap. It is way too sensitive and react on the slightest differential in wheel speed, which could or couldn't happen during a tight turn. Also the off-raiding enthusiasts disconnect the ABS system when going off road.
I realize that for the ABS system to work after having been rendered inoperable has to go through the self check with the ignition turned off and on before it will work again.
The ease of having the ability to switch off the ABS from inside the car when needed, is a better option than stopping, turn off the engine, raise the hood and unplug the connector, close the hood and starting the engine again.

It is dark outside now so I'll get a photo tomorrow. The connector I pulled was the lower of the two. It is black and the top one is white.

 

Do a search for the ‘AndyMod’. It’s as easy as interrupting a ground wire near the ABS pump assembly and grafting in an on/off or momentary switch. I came up with this a million years ago (I’m the Andy in AndyMod) and have used it countless times in the snow, in the mud off-road and on the beach.

It does require you to restart the truck in order to bring the ABS/VSC/TRAC back online, but has never failed to perform over many years.



Andreas

 

Here is a photo of the two connectors with the black (lower) one disconnected.

 

Thanks for the suggestion of looking up Andymod, and I'll do just that!

 

From your picture I disconnected the top connector 4 years ago after the first icy day with the truck.
My ABS light has been on since. I just put a piece of tape over it.

 

I just unplug the top connector slightly for 6 months a year after sliding through stop signs with one side on gravel and the other side on ice. but I like the idea of a switch but I'm curious why a switch to ground wouldn't work without having to power it down and up or did i misunderstand, ABS gets disconnected and connected for RR DIFF Lock without a fuss or restart, I'll have to dig into the Andy Mod and try it or is this a VSC mod for 2000+

 

Have you inspected/replaced the ABS sensors in each steering knuckle?