Polo ABS warning light on

[penman]

1998 VW Polo 1.4, ABS light goes out when engine started, but comes on after driving 50 yards or so and stays on. Fault code indicates ABS pump failure. Dealer quote £650 to repair.

Someone suggested deliberately "provoking" ABS to operate, not hard to do, so I tried this on a gravel track with no expectation of success - ABS worked normally, light went out and it has been fine ever since (about a week or so). Does this make sense to anyone? Thanks!

[Crasher]

Yes, the pump jams and doing that wakes it up.

[penman]

Thanks Crasher, I guessed it must be something like that. I must admit I thought if the warning light was on, the ABS was electrically disabled, but obviously not. I guess now the pump has jammed once, there's a good chance it'll happen again!