Technical  Abs

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Technical  Abs

Jockcl500

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Started Panda this morning everything as normal apart from the ABS light is now staying on, switched off ignition and restarted but the light stays on, I was just going to book the MOT as it's due next month, no point doing that now.
I'm hoping it just goes off on it's own.
 
Low battery?
Although I do short distances, I run the engine for much longer without load to keep the battery in good condition, I changed the battery about 1year ago as the steering light had came on, as it turned out the old battery is ok and just needed charging and now kept as a spare.
 
hopefully its just a wheel sensor

without reading the code we can only guess

does the speedometer work. It gets its signal from one of the font sensors

does the ABS pump do its power on self test. Should hear the pump motor buzz on ignition.
 
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hopefully its just a wheel sensor

without reading the code we can only guess

does the speedometer work. It gets its signal from one of the font sensors

does the ABS pump do its power on self test. Should hear the pump motor buzz on ignition.

It drives as normal and the speedo works, could be a speed sensor but would the ABS light not be off until you start to move, I haven't done a lot of work on Fiats , I haven't listened for the ABS pump sound, the snow has been heavy here so I have not managed to do much looking at anything, I have two code readers plugged them in, but none show further than the engine, no ABS or any other info.
 
It drives as normal and the speedo works, could be a speed sensor but would the ABS light not be off until you start to move, I haven't done a lot of work on Fiats , I haven't listened for the ABS pump sound, the snow has been heavy here so I have not managed to do much looking at anything, I have two code readers plugged them in, but none show further than the engine, no ABS or any other info.

not 100% sure. Should know. been playing with a car on axle stands. Took the car to 70mph. The light came on as the rears aren't spinning. From memory tbe light stayed on until the car was driven on the road.


Check the brake fluid level (y) also
 
If it's anything like other cars I've worked on I think the ECU does a self test every few rotations to make sure the wheel sensors are recording correctly
 
It drives as normal and the speedo works, could be a speed sensor but would the ABS light not be off until you start to move, I haven't done a lot of work on Fiats , I haven't listened for the ABS pump sound, the snow has been heavy here so I have not managed to do much looking at anything, I have two code readers plugged them in, but none show further than the engine, no ABS or any other info.

The system will self check all the circuits when the ignition is switched on.
If if finds an open one, it'll put the light on right away without having to drive it.

If the circuits are ok, but there's a iffy signal being read, then you would expect the light to come on when it detects that iffy signal, like when it's moving.

Normal, generic codes readers will only read the engines ECU and won't connect with chassis or body control modules. You need something that can read the chassis modules that the ABS is part of.

Common ABS issues tend to be wheel speed sensors failing, bad circuits in the ABS pump/module and weak or failed pump motors.
Wheels speed senors aren't that expensive or hard to fit and pump/modules with their motors can be repaired and rebuilt fairly cheaply by a specialist like BBA Reman.

You can sometimes get a fault from a related input sensor that throws the ABS into a tizzy, like speed sensor input or brake related circuit like the fluid level or brake light switch.
I chased a real headache of a fault with the ABS in my Alfa Spider, turned out the SRS seat harness with iffy (and the Mrs is shorter than me) every time the drivers seat was moved it caused an open circuit and buggered up some input to the ABS for some reason, why I never found out, though suspect the ABS system was linked to the seat belt pre tensioners somehow.

Save yourself a lot of guess work and get a proper diagnostic check of the ABS module done.
 
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I have booked it in tomorrow to a local garage, so hopefully they will diagnose it, fingers crossed it's only a wheel sensor.
 
Update, I decided to have a search for Fiat diagnostic tools and would you believe it the tool I have came up, so I did a software update on it and now working perfect, found code C1040, I can drill down into everything now, I have cancelled the local garage, all I need now is to pickup a front RH wheel speed sensor.
One of the diagnostic tools I have is the Icarsoft CR-pro, I only bought it for my Mercedes as it was recommended on the Merc forum as a tool that does everything, and it's great for other manufacturers too.
 
I went to ecp today £38 for the abs sensor, back home and fitted, all fixed now, but it wasn't as easy to fit as expected, removed the retaining screw and the old sensor was broken off flush in the hole, couldn't get hold of it to get it out, so had to drop the ball joint, pop the cv joint out, and punch it through from the cv end of the hole, at least it's fixed so I can get the MOT booked.
 
I'd have drilled it and broken out the fragments, but your way was a certain fix. (y)

Some copper paste in the hole helps it to come out next time.
I did think about drilling a hole, and then using an extractor to remove it, but this would probably have took longer and been a problem making sure all bits were out.
I made the decision quickly that the easiest quickest option was to get the cv joint out of the way, also since it was out I gave it a wire brush and a smear of grease as well as in the sensor hole.
Sometimes removing parts is the best way, also I wanted to do the job properly and it was freezing, so I didn't want to be laying on the street any longer the nessesary.
 
I did think about drilling a hole, and then using an extractor to remove it, but this would probably have took longer and been a problem making sure all bits were out.
I made the decision quickly that the easiest quickest option was to get the cv joint out of the way, also since it was out I gave it a wire brush and a smear of grease as well as in the sensor hole.
Sometimes removing parts is the best way, also I wanted to do the job properly and it was freezing, so I didn't want to be laying on the street any longer the nessesary.

Exactly my philosophy. There is no point bodging as you'll only be doing it again.

In this case, a drill seems the easiest and most thorough. It's just a 10mm hole through the tube carrier/knuckle. The plastic is relatively soft and the old sensor is scrap. Obviously check there is nothing to get damaged at the other side and don't just ram a 10mm through it.
 
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