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Author Topic: ABS stopped working a now light is on....  (Read 5102 times)

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Offline compaqxp

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ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« on: February 20, 2011, 06:27:20 PM »
I was driving today and the ABS light came on thus telling me the ABS was not working. I could drive the car for a long time without the ABS working but I figure I should fix it.

I checked the fluid level and it's just below the maximum line, since this was the obivous thing to do first...It didn't change anything when I added some.

Is this something I can fix or should I take it to the shop? I've never dealt with ABS before since I've never had issues. How much is there to go wrong with it? Should I keep driving even is the ABS system won't work?
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Offline TexasCop

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #1 on: February 20, 2011, 06:32:06 PM »
Are you certain that the ABS doesn't work?  Do you have any dirt roads near you where you can lock up your brakes without flat-spotting your tires?  If you feel the pedal pumping, then the ABS is fine.  In some vehicles the ABS light will come on if your pads are low and need replacing.  Any grinding on the pedal when you brake?  Also, what year, make and model is your car?
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Offline compaqxp

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #2 on: February 20, 2011, 06:38:21 PM »
Quote from: TexasCop on February 20, 2011, 06:32:06 PM
Are you certain that the ABS doesn't work?  Do you have any dirt roads near you where you can lock up your brakes without flat-spotting your tires?  If you feel the pedal pumping, then the ABS is fine.  In some vehicles the ABS light will come on if your pads are low and need replacing.  Any grinding on the pedal when you brake?  Also, what year, make and model is your car?

I've done this and the ABS is for sure not working. I know what it feels like and now it's braking just like my old car without ABS did. I'll check the pads and other stuff but nothing is grinding.

The car is a 2003 VW Jetta TDI with 320,000Km on it.
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Offline Thor

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #3 on: February 20, 2011, 07:31:24 PM »
One of the problems I had with my Ford truck was that on snowy or slushy roads, an ABS sensor would get covered in yuck. A trip through the car wash w/ an undercarriage wash usually fixed it. My guess would be that you either have a dirty sensor or a failed sensor. The only way to tell which one is to find a shop with an ABS diagnostic computer if the car wash trick doesn't fix it.
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Offline Chris_

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2011, 07:32:33 PM »
Do ABS errors show up as OBDII codes?  Those code readers are only $20.
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Offline Thor

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2011, 07:36:05 PM »
Quote from: chris_ on February 20, 2011, 07:32:33 PM
Do ABS errors show up as OBDII codes?  Those code readers are only $20.

They show up as a failure, but the OBDII won't say which sensor is bad. Sensors for my truck are $50 ea. The good thing is that they are cake to replace.
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Offline franksolich

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2011, 07:44:26 AM »
I've found that with every motor vehicle I've owned in my life, and used during the winter in Nebraska, when it gets really really really cold--and compaqxp's up where it's even colder than Nebraska--small things have a tendency to go berserk.....including all those little warning lights on the dashboard.  Then when it warms up again, the little warning lights don't come on, or whatever else is bothering the automobile.

I'll bet the extreme cold is a factor here.
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Offline TexasCop

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #7 on: February 21, 2011, 08:16:56 AM »
If the ABS isn't working and the light is on, it's going to be the sensor.  Should be a pretty easy fix.
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Offline Thor

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2011, 09:51:39 AM »
Quote from: TexasCop on February 21, 2011, 08:16:56 AM
If the ABS isn't working and the light is on, it's going to be the sensor.  Should be a pretty easy fix.

Not always, but usually. If the ABS computer goes berserk, the light will come on. But, there is an 85% chance it's the sensor. (Bear in mind, we're discussing German engineering.....) :fuelfire:
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Offline zeitgeist

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2011, 03:00:55 PM »
Quote from: TexasCop on February 21, 2011, 08:16:56 AM
If the ABS isn't working and the light is on, it's going to be the sensor.  Should be a pretty easy fix.

A small piece of strategically placed electrical tape should do the trick. :whistling:
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Offline Thor

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #10 on: February 22, 2011, 03:23:15 PM »
Well, Compaq?? What's the verdict?? Any resolution yet??
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Offline compaqxp

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #11 on: February 22, 2011, 04:36:29 PM »
Quote from: Thor on February 22, 2011, 03:23:15 PM
Well, Compaq?? What's the verdict?? Any resolution yet??

The light went off and has yet to come back on after taking a run through the car wash the other day.  I've tried it and everything is working fine for now.
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Offline Thor

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #12 on: February 22, 2011, 04:38:02 PM »
Quote from: compaqxp on February 22, 2011, 04:36:29 PM
The light went off and has yet to come back on after taking a run through the car wash the other day.  I've tried it and everything is working fine for now.

HAH!! Imagine that. Old Thor was dead on!!  :-) :tongue:

BTW, until the snow clears, it may come back on when it snows again or gets slushy. Just run it through the car wash again. What is happening is that the hall effect transistor is getting its magnetic feedback  eliminated because of the snow or ice build up.
« Last Edit: February 22, 2011, 04:40:20 PM by Thor »
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"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."- IBID

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Offline TexasCop

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #13 on: February 22, 2011, 04:43:26 PM »
I'll be darned.  I would have bet my next paycheck on the ABS sensor lube being dried.
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Offline Thor

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Re: ABS stopped working a now light is on....
« Reply #14 on: February 22, 2011, 07:40:55 PM »
Quote from: TexasCop on February 22, 2011, 04:43:26 PM
I'll be darned.  I would have bet my next paycheck on the ABS sensor lube being dried.

DAMN!! I could have used that $$$$  :-) :tongue:
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"The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation."- IBID

I AM your General Ne'er Do Well, Troublemaker & All Around Meanie!!

"Congress has not unlimited powers to provide for the general welfare, but only those specifically enumerated."-Thomas Jefferson
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