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At long last I finally have no faults when driving the car. The last two after I got the timing belt straightened out were the brake pad and ABS faults. ABS in particular was an issue, as the car would try to brake the front wheels until I either hit 30mph or the ABS finally faulted out. Did not light the ABS light on startup.
So after checking the sensors at the wheels and checking the wear indicators I took off the left footrest and checked continuity between pins 19 and 20 on the black plug of the fault computer. Open circuit. Wiring problem. Likewise I checked the 4 sensors on the ABS plug harness (right above the footrest on the left side wall) and found that the driver's rear ABS sensor was open, with the other three reading 1k.
Pulled the wheel, checked both the sensor (1k, ok) and the brake pad (0 ohms, ok). Then followed the wires to the waterproof connection to the inside rear of the car and saw the problem.
The issue was this: Two of the rubber grommets that hold that wire harness up were rotted/gone. As a result the harness fell down right onto the rear axle/inner CV joint assembly. This explains why the ABS failed first, then the brake pad light would come on intermittently (as the wires got worn they would ground the brake pad line) then brake pad fault constantly (as the second wire broke). The CV joint was working on a third wire, so I matched the wires up based on the breaks, crimped the wires together, lifted them up with a temporary pair of zip ties to the rear sway bar, and tried the car out.
Everything's perfect. No ABS faults, ABS works, no brake pad faults.
Hopefully this will help others with ABS and/or pad faults, anyone know where one can get new grommets for the brake harness wires to the body?
You get a gold star for this one. Nice troubleshooting. I've got an intermittent ABS light after start up. I think it's in the rear. The light most often comes on when the left rear wheel hits a bump. It's actually gotten much less frequent since I bought the car, which could make it harder to find...much easier when it's near constant.
Thank you. Yes, those are the ones, but $25 a shot is a bit pricey. Still, need at least two for the front and 2 for the driver's rear, probably another 2 for the passenger rear. Otherwise these cables will flop and eventually short, killing the ABS as well as annoying with the brake sensor messages.
ABS is amazingly nice. Took it out for a sunday drive today and ran into some rain/wet pavement on a side road. ABS works flawlessly, even in turns (gentle ones, I know what happens when the rear kicks out).
At long last I finally have no faults when driving the car. The last two after I got the timing belt straightened out were the brake pad and ABS faults. ABS in particular was an issue, as the car would try to brake the front wheels until I either hit 30mph or the ABS finally faulted out. Did not light the ABS light on startup.
So after checking the sensors at the wheels and checking the wear indicators I took off the left footrest and checked continuity between pins 19 and 20 on the black plug of the fault computer. Open circuit. Wiring problem. Likewise I checked the 4 sensors on the ABS plug harness (right above the footrest on the left side wall) and found that the driver's rear ABS sensor was open, with the other three reading 1k.
Pulled the wheel, checked both the sensor (1k, ok) and the brake pad (0 ohms, ok). Then followed the wires to the waterproof connection to the inside rear of the car
The issue was this: Two of the rubber grommets that hold that wire harness up were rotted/gone. As a result the harness fell down right onto the rear axle/inner CV joint assembly. This explains why the ABS failed first, then the brake pad light would come on intermittently (as the wires got worn they would ground the brake pad line) then brake pad fault constantly (as the second wire broke). The CV joint was working on a third wire, so I matched the wires up based on the breaks, crimped the wires together, lifted them up with a temporary pair of zip ties to the rear sway bar, and tried the car out.
C
+1 on the ABS wire cluster drooping on the rear half shaft and getting banged up. Maybe this should be on the sticky FAQs.
I think it should. Because the ABS light came on again today and I instantly knew what it was.
Took care home, put up on the ramps. Sure enough the *passenger* wire had fallen down and landed on yep the CV coupling at the transmission. Wore through that wire as well. So I took some pics while upside down under there.
Yep, landed on the axle. Oh two of the CV bolts were loose too. Grrr previous owner....
Wow, this one isn't broken!!!!
Another view....
I'm reminded of the line from Galaxy Quest when the Captain asks the navigator:
"DO YOU HAVE TO HIT EVERY.... SINGLE.... MINE????"
But when one fails, they all will fail. Line is crimped, wire is secure (has 3 places it can land on the passenger side, only two driver's) and I'm waiting now for a new set o grommets.
Never dull. But the car is running, ABS works, and the alerts are off.
09-16-2017, 08:32 PM
Brake pad light and ABS errors fixed (86.5 928S)
