In the development cycle of a certain automobile, it was found that the pump motor for the windshield washer was creating interference and causing an ABS warning light to activate. This vehicle’s brake lines were coated with a new material which had a much higher conductivity than on older models. It was later determined that the pump motor was generating a transient that was directly coupled to the ABS module by the new conductive coating on the brake lines. This transient was interfering with the ABS module and activating the ABS warning light.A capacitor was placed inside the pump motor housing and the housing material was changed from plastic to aluminum to fix the problem. (From: “The Back Page…Examples of EMC Related Problems” in EMC Society of Australia Newsletter, June 2006, Issue No. 33, www.emcsa.org.au)
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