My wife's 03 doesn't want to leave the stable!

As I told you guys, I've sold her, but all I've got was a deposit, and the contractual agreement (in writing) that she will be picked up today, and paid in full (otherwise I will keep the deposit). Well,......wife decided to drive her to work (4 miles away) one "last time".

Called me from work, and said she has ABS light on, and "Track/ASC not available on the dash"! Why now!?

This was Monday morning. On Sunday something happened, that almost "made me a Superman" (Christopher Reeve)!

Out riding in the mountains, my mare suddenly went into heat (with women you get some prior warning signs), and started acting up. Not to bore you with details, but she threw my *** in the dirt (VERY rocky dirt!), and I landed on my left shoulder, and hip, skinned my left elbow, and generally took about 5 minutes to get up afterwards. If you ever participated in any martial arts tournaments, you'll know the fall, and the roll I'm talking about, but this was on the dirt and rocks, from the 15 hands horse in full gallop. Nothing broken, but SORE and in PAIN. Painkillers galore, and lounging around the house, when the news came about Tabby throwing a fit.

Wife wanted to take her to the dealer right away, but I am not about to sink 3K into the car that I sold for 3,5K!! So,....after resting on Monday, I loaded some more painkillers, and went to work. My wife (as a health professional) was furious! Called me the "cheap old *******", after her pleads of taking it to the dealer, and/or hiring someone to do it, fell on my deaf ears. Even tried to con me by suggesting to call my mechanic, open a cold beer, and tell HIM what to do, and I can just sit there, sip on the brew, and supervise. Of course I could've done ANY of that, but what about my personal satisfaction, of finding the problem, and fixing it!?

Let's do it!

Step one: Disconnecting the battery, and hooking the neg strap to the positive (hard reset).

Step two: Cleaning the speed sensors. You know the drill,.....pulling all wheels, all sensors, cleaning them over the kitchen sink, "checking all the wires" (and that's where the painkillers did not help!!)

Step three: Reinstalling the sensors, hooking the battery back up, test drive,.......LIGHTS CAME BACK! (Time on the job: 1.30H)

Step four: Disconnecting the battery, ABS module, taking the ABS module out, cutting a "window" in the module, resoldering two terminals inside (one DID look like it was a cold joint). Plastic welding the hole.

Step five: reinstalling the module, battery, test drive,......LIGHTS CAME BACK!

Step six: Calling a friend who is a HAM radio nut, and can solder better than the whole automotive industry in Malasia (where the ABS module was made). He suggested to take the module back out, and instead of cutting the corner, to cut the whole top off ("where is one cold joint, there out to be more")

Step seven: Disconnecting the battery, hard reset, disconnecting the module, cutting the top off with the Dremel (like a tuna can!), taking the module to him (a block away).

Step eight: Watching him looking at the circuit board with a magnifying glass, under the strong light, powering the module, spraying the board with a "cold spray", and declaring that "there is nothing wrong with the module"!!!

Step nine: Reinstalling the module (after it was plastic welded shut), connecting the battery, test drive,.......LIGHTS came back!!!

At this point, the painkillers were wearing off, and I realized that the lights come back ONLY when the car changes direction! I am test driving on the ranch, not in traffic. The ranch has a "circular driveway", about 3/4 of a mile long, with two turns. When I move the car from the shop down the road (straightaway), all is good, the minute I make a LEFT turn, the lights pop back on (nothing happens on the right turn!!)! From that point on, it was EASY. Painfull, but easy.

Step ten: Disconnecting the battery, jacking up the front, removing the right front wheel,.......BINGO!!!!! When I unplugged the speed sensor, I tugged on the cable, and realized that BOTH wires broke inside the plastic insulation. When I checked it in the "Step two", I did not pull on the wires with enough force. At this point, I was at it for about seven hours, in a LOT of pain, and I pulled on that wire, not caring if I break it. That's where I saw the movement (stretching) that was not supposed to be there!!

Step eleven: Cutting the wire, soldering it together, "liquid tape", shrink tubbing, reinstalling the wheel, battery, and the test drive.......NO LIGHTS!!! Driving the loops on the ranch like a madman.

Loading up on some painkillers, hot tub, wife brought take out dinner, finishing off with McCallan...........OUT like a canddle!

Start to finish,.....just shy of nine hours. If I wasn't drugged up, it would've been done in less than two!

When you get these lights (not IF, but WHEN!), pull on those cables like your life depends on it. Using the ohmmeter would not work! The wires are touching just fine when the wheels are straight, but once you make a turn, they separate, and the lights come on, and stay ON. If you reset the system, lights will be off until you make the same turn. You will never find this break with the ohmmeter.

If you pull strong enough on the plug (by the sensor), and hold the wire in your left hand at the point where it disappears inside the wheelwell, any unusuall stretching will be obvious. It breaks right at the sensor (the point where it moves the most when the wheels turn,....logical), and there is barely enough wire poking out of the plug, to resolder. But doable. You don't even have to concern yourself with the rear sensors at all (they don't move). But check, and doublecheck the fronts BEFORE you go any further!!

Sorry about the long post, but it might save you a lot pain if you read it this far.

 

Thanks for the tip. I guess the clue was the light not coming on as soon as started the car.

 

And THAT'S excatly what tripped me!

I need to explain the symptoms in a little more detail.

The ABS was on the dash every time immediately when you start. If the vehicle goes in a straight line up to about 20 MPH, ABS would go out. When you try to turn, ABS pops up again, and Trac/ASC not available comes on the display. Both lights stay on until you reset the system, and all repeats. After reset, display is clear of any messages, but the ABS light is on. You take off, hit 20MPH, ABS light goes out, and all is good until you make a turn (OR, .....hit the bump on the road!!).

IF the ABS was off as well (until the car turns) I would've recognized the connection with the direction (and if I wasn't drugged up, maybe). See,.....when I take the car out of the garage, I have to turn the wheel right away (so it seemed the lights come on as soon as I move the car). Few times that I left it outside to troubleshoot, the car was lined up with the main road on the ranch. I drive off, hit 20 MPH before I get to the gate (all nice and straight), ABS idiot light goes out, I go through the gate, make a RIGHT turn, (all still good), make SEVERAL right turns, and the soon I make a left turn, all lights come back! It all seemed pretty random, and I haven't recognized the symptoms until I started working on her outside of the garage, and driving on the ranch only.

Basically,.......ABS light means "open electrical circuit in the ABS system", and the car "sees" it as soon as it finishes the self diagnostic (on startup). It's seeing the last status of the system when it was shut off. As you drive away, the connection on the wheel sensor is reestablished, and the light goes away. You make a turn, the ECU sees the broken circuit, and reports again, with the ABS light + the Trac/ASC message on the display. Once you disconnect the battery (and discharge the capacitors by doing the "hard reset"), ONLY the messages on the display, get wipped out of the memory, but NOT the "idiot lights" (which ABS light actually is).

On the top of all that, OBD scanner didn't see any codes (and I have the GOOD one). No codes at all!

Like I said,......I hope all this writing helps someone. The car was picked up (and paid in full) last night, and it went to a young nurse, that will love it to death. I refered her husband to this forum, and he said that he will sign up, and LEARN. They seemed like people of modest means, and if one wants to drive these cars "on the budget", this forum is a LIFELINE.

 

I have almost the exact same issue (happens when turning) and I am going to tackle this as soon as monsoon season ends here.

1" of rain in Socal= monsoon season.

 

No rush. The car is perfectly driveable with ABS light (+messages) on. Brakes work as they should, and the only thing that's missing is automatic brake engagement, if the sensors report one wheel about to slip (MAYBE needed on slippery surfaces, with inexperienced drivers). Since I learned to drive, WAY before the ABS was invented, I actually never liked it in the snow. Regular brakes (with no "assistance") gave me much better control over the slipping vehicle, than the computer "doing it for me" (and that's what that "Track Off" button on the dash is for!). But I'm sure YOU know all that. I'm typing this for the new guys on the forum, that might read it.

When you check the front wheel sensors, and if you don't find the break in the line, test the resistance on the sensors themselves. It's a good idea to clean them all anyway. Once you have them on the bench, they should all have the same reading on the ohmeter. If one is off........get another one!

If all that comes back good (and the lights persist), it will be the time to open up the module (and you DON'T have to remove the brake lines, no matter what "they" tell you!).

If the lights come on ONLY in the turn (after reset), it's 100% the sensor cable, and it will be on the wheel that is turning inward (lights on in the left turn = right front wheel, and the opposite).

 

Whereabouts was the break Dan? There's a number of important cable ties that fix inside the 'shoulders' on the wishbone for the wiring. If they're not present then I guess it can lead to this fault. If the fault was consistent, I'm not going to remind you how much time you wasted! Good info.

 

Hi Sean!

Two points in my defense:

First, I have to point out that this was my wife's car, and I rarely drove it.

Second, I was LOADED with painkillers, and not my usual self, and it took me a while to realize that the lights come back on (after reset), only when the car changes direction. All the cable ties are present, and the break was 2mm above the plug (barely enough wire showing (after cleaning the insulation) to solder. Combined with "liquid tape", and some strong shrink tubing (wide enough to grab the plug too), I don't think the new owner will have issues with that.

In any case,.....new cable is cheap.

Time? WAY too much time wasted, but since I didn't have anything better to do (except lay on the couch in pain), it didn't matter. David (DSnyder) says above, that his cat is doing the same, so maybe this is not isolated problem? I HATE the fact that I had all cables in my hand, and looked them over (without pulling on them, just twisting and looking for breaks, cracks, etc.). IF I pulled on it hard enough, it's pretty obvious when the cable is separated.

Anyway, I'll chalk this to just another experience, and move onto another fix. I just missed the opportunity to score a nice XJR, and that pisses me off more!

 

Daniel which code scanner do you have?

 

Great thread and some great ideas. My wifes ABS light has been coming on periodically for the last two weeks. I haven't looked at the wheel sensor yet or the connections since I'm doing a brake job on it this weekend and I knew it. Been waiting on parts and the rain to stop. I had a feeling is was a bad connection on the front since I could back out of the driveway with it off, but when I turned the wheel to get on to the road the light would come on.

 

I'll let you know when the rain stops! (it's POURING right now). My cars are in the barn, about 100 yards from the main house, and the scanner is in the trunk of the S430. It's a kind that lets you choose from MANY makers (alphabetically), and the Jag is on the list, .....come think of it, I haven't seen ANY brand that's not on the list,......correction,.....a friend asked me to read KIA, and it's not on the list. But since I'll NEVER own any car made in Japan/Korea/China,.....I'm all set! LOL

 

Done that two years ago, same signs and exact the same attempts to repair it (taken out the modulator electric box, cut a small window on the plastic cover only, re-soldering the pins but they were OK) but using the trick to measure the resistance of the sensors on the modulator big plug; my story is somewhere on the forum. Found the left front cable broken , replaced with one from an old lamp. Because of the heat coming from the brakes, in one year it becomes very brittle, but replaced later with a second hand one.