Low traction light flashing, and ABS inop, ASR off stay on...

BradZ28 · 03-09-2004, 07:28 PM

My low traction light constantly blinks, and my ABS inop and ASR off lights stay on all the time. What's weird is that when I hit the brakes after a few seconds they all go off and everything goes back to normal. None of my spark plug wires are near any ABS wires/module and all the fuses are good. I think this all started after I hit a pothole. Anybody got some advice?

Thanx, Brad

EDIT: Also all my brake lights work (even the 3rd) and all the sensors for the wheels are plugged in.

OBE1 95Z28 · 03-09-2004, 09:38 PM

Remove the ground post on the passenger side fender , next to the positive red "cap". Clean the paint off the fender under the post, clean the post and re-assemble. The ground returns for you flakey systems are likely the culprit.

rlax31 · 09-07-2004, 09:50 AM

Hey BradZ28, did this work for you? I'm having the same problem, going to try the out after work if it's not still raining it's a$$ off outside

bski224 · 09-07-2004, 10:31 AM

i have the same problem my ABS will actually activate when i pull up to a stop light at very low speeds, you can feel a little pulsate on the pedal. Once the ABS inop light comes on my traction control turns off (which i would turn off anyway) and im unable to turn it back on. They say sometimes that the wheel sensors get "crap" in them and this can cause it also, im going to try the ground situation first if no good im going to take off my wheels and blow out the ABS plug on the calipers . THANKS

slopokrodrigez · 09-08-2004, 06:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BradZ28

My low traction light constantly blinks, and my ABS inop and ASR off lights stay on all the time. What's weird is that when I hit the brakes after a few seconds they all go off and everything goes back to normal. None of my spark plug wires are near any ABS wires/module and all the fuses are good. I think this all started after I hit a pothole. Anybody got some advice?

Thanx, Brad

EDIT: Also all my brake lights work (even the 3rd) and all the sensors for the wheels are plugged in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bski224

i have the same problem my ABS will actually activate when i pull up to a stop light at very low speeds, you can feel a little pulsate on the pedal. Once the ABS inop light comes on my traction control turns off (which i would turn off anyway) and im unable to turn it back on. They say sometimes that the wheel sensors get "crap" in them and this can cause it also, im going to try the ground situation first if no good im going to take off my wheels and blow out the ABS plug on the calipers

Sounds like you have debris in one of the wheel sensors. If you're lazy, just put a scanner on the sensors and put all 3 or 4 (if traction control) signals next to each other and find the goofy one. If the sensor is the problem though, this is a soft failure and the ABS INOP light should go out until the car is driven a short distance. If the light is on immediately when the car is started up before driving off, a sensor is not the problem.

Dave

bski224 · 09-08-2004, 11:12 AM

my light is on the second i fire her up, gonna pull wheels and clean sensors

slopokrodrigez · 09-08-2004, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bski224

my light is on the second i fire her up, gonna pull wheels and clean sensors

Your wasting your time. Hope it makes you feel better though. Sensor problems are soft codes and will not light the ABS INOP light until you start to drive. You need to pull the code and begin a good troubleshooting method similar to my replacing the EBCM 2 years ago.

bski224 · 09-09-2004, 12:01 AM

Can it have anything to do with my caliper grinding to accomodate my Weld rims, if that was the case im sure it would have began right after that, i did the caliper grinding like a year ago and now the light is on. How much was the EBCM and what is that??? Thanks for your help

slopokrodrigez · 09-10-2004, 06:46 AM

Well if you ground it a year ago, the symptom should have showed up a year ago. As I stated, wheel sensors generate a soft code. It's cleared everytime the unit is shut down. Since you have a hard code, it is not the sensors and you need to retrieve the code first. My code was like that and I reset it several times and every time it came back the same code. I then trouble shot the circuit in question and ruled out everything but the Electronic Brake Control Module. I took a week to trouble shoot it to be absolutely sure it was that. At the stealership it was worth $700.00 but at a junk yard (the idiot didn't know what it was) I payed $25.00.

I don't think you have the same problem, but I know you have the same type of problem. You need to retrieve the code and clear it. See if it comes back and if it is the same code if it does. Then you or we can go through the process of finding it. It's easy when you take methodical steps. We'll help.

Dave

BlownF1 · 09-10-2004, 09:16 AM

As suggested, try the ground behind the battery...many of us have had similar problems and that's all it was. The ABS system is fairly involved and you can guess and wonder all day long, but that's a good first start and free and easy to try. Check/clean the connections to the wheel sensors as well...

bski224 · 09-10-2004, 11:42 AM

I will hook it up to my friends laptop and see what code im throwing, As far as the ground, yes i did that wire brushed the conection and cleaned paint off fender well attached everything back up and still same crap when i fired car up. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HELP!!!

rlax31 · 10-04-2004, 01:41 PM

I fixed this problem, finally. What i did was clean the wheel sensors out. It was one of my front wheels. It took 3 driving cycles for the code to clear. During those cycles the Brake and LOW TRAC lights flashed constantly, then they finally went off about 10-15 minutes of driving the 3rd time out. They havn't come back yet

1SlowFormula · 03-04-2005, 12:36 PM

OK sorry to bring this back from the dead but obviously I searched and this one seams to be the most fitting to my situation..

For the past year if the car was sitting for a few days, especially with moisture around my ABS Light would be on as well as the "TCS OFF" light.

I would drive forward or backward, depending on how I was parked, then shut the ca down and when I restarted it everything was fine, I always asociated it with rust or something else with the moisture in the air!

Well the past few days it has done it every time I let the car sit for a few hours, like when I was in work, or overnight.. Then yesterday my trick stopped working and it was acting differently, When I shut the car off it went out but as soon as I moved the car more then a foot forward or backward it would come back on

So my first thought is the sensor is going or something, but what? I found on tire was low on air (only had 8 psi), so I thought I would fill it before going to work the next day (today), and maybe it was throwing the code because it was seeing different readings or something

I got in this morning and the lights were on immediatly without moving the car, I moved a littlle shut it down and restarted the car, and nothing they were still on.. I thought that was strange so I moved further down the driveway shut it down and restarted it again, again nothing helped! I decided to go to the corner gas station and fill the low tire. When I started the car the light was still on, I shut it down and I think it went off when I restarted it but there was a guy honking at me to move (probably thinking I stalled it) so I didn't look real well, but when I was moving the light was on again.. I said F it I am going to work, and here I am search through a lot of old posts!

Any suggestions, I know I don't have $700 for a new EBCM, and how do you clean or remove debris from the sensors, do you have to pull it apart or would compressed air do it?

slopokrodrigez · 03-05-2005, 07:10 AM

Stop guessing or throwing parts at the problem and scan it. Reset the code and see if the same code returns. Then start trouble shooting the code. When you retrieve the code, don't just replace what ever part is indicated by the code. If it is a sensor, be sure to see the sensor has voltage and all the signal wires make it back intact to the monitoring device. Too many people see a code for a component like "MAF" failure and run out and buy a MAF only to find the voltage supply wire was cut or disconnected or their headers burned it the whole time.