XJ8 ABS Head scratcher resolved
#1
10-19-2016, 01:25 PM
XJ8 ABS Head scratcher resolved
Originally posted in the wrong forum,sorry.
Hi,
Thought I would post this as it may help someone in the future, as ABS could deserve a forum all of its' own.I have just come to the end of a quick XJ8 project that threw a few curve *****. Long story short, bought (1999 XJ8 3.2) with no MOT and an alternator issue causing some 'limp mode' scenarios. Alternator swapped out and all was good,although the battery was swollen so needed replacing also. Put new discs and pads all round and managed to source a pair of hubs with decent bearings to replace the original ones which were well past their sell by date. ABS light and stability control failure were apparent and had been all along....this is where the fun started. I'd bought a couple of new sensors to replace the battered old ones. ABS light and stability control continued to plague us and also ASC came up which made the car kangaroo.We had codes,then no codes,no signal,no wheel speeds even reading the offside as the nearside. I had some spare connector wires which we swapped around to see if the fault (s) moved,no joy, we used a scanner to read wheel speeds individually...but it could't pick up a signal..and so on. The odds of having not just one but two new dodgy sensors seemed a bit of a reach but to silence the doubt in my head I bought another more expensive sensor and put that on one side....The ASC did not come back but the ABS light and the stability control failure did, however now we only had one side throwing an error....and it was the cheap sensor....we swapped them over just to be sure...and the fault went with the cheap sensor... I bought another expensive sensor, put it in and all was great...no codes,faults,lights...
The cheap sensors were meant to be the right spec and for my model as well as others...we don't know why they wouldn't work. Had we not gone down this particular route the search might have been endless,replace the ABS pump,tracing every wire etc etc. Sometimes you can get a bargain with replacement parts and they do a fantastic job for a fraction of the cost...sometimes they don't. Hope this helps...happy to clarify anything if it sounds confusing..if I can.
Hi,
Thought I would post this as it may help someone in the future, as ABS could deserve a forum all of its' own.I have just come to the end of a quick XJ8 project that threw a few curve *****. Long story short, bought (1999 XJ8 3.2) with no MOT and an alternator issue causing some 'limp mode' scenarios. Alternator swapped out and all was good,although the battery was swollen so needed replacing also. Put new discs and pads all round and managed to source a pair of hubs with decent bearings to replace the original ones which were well past their sell by date. ABS light and stability control failure were apparent and had been all along....this is where the fun started. I'd bought a couple of new sensors to replace the battered old ones. ABS light and stability control continued to plague us and also ASC came up which made the car kangaroo.We had codes,then no codes,no signal,no wheel speeds even reading the offside as the nearside. I had some spare connector wires which we swapped around to see if the fault (s) moved,no joy, we used a scanner to read wheel speeds individually...but it could't pick up a signal..and so on. The odds of having not just one but two new dodgy sensors seemed a bit of a reach but to silence the doubt in my head I bought another more expensive sensor and put that on one side....The ASC did not come back but the ABS light and the stability control failure did, however now we only had one side throwing an error....and it was the cheap sensor....we swapped them over just to be sure...and the fault went with the cheap sensor... I bought another expensive sensor, put it in and all was great...no codes,faults,lights...
The cheap sensors were meant to be the right spec and for my model as well as others...we don't know why they wouldn't work. Had we not gone down this particular route the search might have been endless,replace the ABS pump,tracing every wire etc etc. Sometimes you can get a bargain with replacement parts and they do a fantastic job for a fraction of the cost...sometimes they don't. Hope this helps...happy to clarify anything if it sounds confusing..if I can.
#2
10-19-2016, 01:34 PM
Good information. Started rebuilding cars before I could drive .. as time went on I understood the value of getting quality parts .... after having what you describe happen with various cars and also having to replace a part twice after the first aftermarket failed ... I'm less inclined to "save money" when doing things myself.
#3
10-19-2016, 02:37 PM
I think also the acronym OEM gets thrown in where maybe it shouldn't and can be misleading. I have found other peoples experiences with certain manufactured parts can be a great help, along with suppliers of used 'original' parts. Saying all that, the last coil pack I bought for a previous XJ8 cost £19.98 and came with a two year guarantee.
#4
10-19-2016, 03:59 PM
Until the early 90's -- Mercedes Benz used to kill us in the USA with parts prices .. and the dollar/ mark was not in our favor. There was a whole industry importing parts .. factory labeled MB .. OE and OEM parts were available. OEM -- can be confusing. It was common for Bosch to be sold as an OEM .. and they were ... but they may have never made that part for MB to be installed at the factory.
Some aftermarket parts have a history of being fine -- and your coil example is one I have used.. Lexus gets about $150.00 USD for a V6 coil -- the aftermarkets are about 1/2. Places sell all six for the cost of one aftermarket -- they are also easy to switch out should one go.
Some aftermarket parts have a history of being fine -- and your coil example is one I have used.. Lexus gets about $150.00 USD for a V6 coil -- the aftermarkets are about 1/2. Places sell all six for the cost of one aftermarket -- they are also easy to switch out should one go.