having problems with ABS LIGHT

[lisa325is]

ive had my e30 325i sport to a few di garages and none of them can plug my car in to see wot the prob is.is there anything commonon these that may bring the light on....

thanks

[Chris-W]

Often a failed wheel sensor or, commonly, relay in the ABS unit.

[march109]

is it pre or post facelift?

If the light doesn't go out when you start the car then its an ABS problem, if the light goes out briefly then comes on as you drive its sencer related, theres a way to test each wheel sencer from the abs ecu under the dash above the glovebox assuming its uk spec!

if its pre facelift theres a relay that normally goes if you have jump started your car, its located near the ecu, if its post facelift theres a resistor that comonly goes and this is housed in the relay housing under the plastic coling on the abs pump under the hood.

I have an ABS system where every sigle component has been replaced and it is still playing up! Sometimes they just can't be fixed.

[michealewk]

what if there is no light on and its still not working.........

[march109]

right how do you mean its not working then? How can you tell?

if it definatly isn't working you can assume the previous bodger undid the wires on the bulb on the dash, if your serious about fixing it first thing to do is reconnect the light and then you can start diagnosing the problem from how it behaves.

There is a thread on how to remove the instrament cluster, and when you take it out you will find two wires behind not connected and two free unused terminals on the back of the dash connect them together. Bulbs have no polarity so shouldn't matter which way round they go.

[michealewk]

lol............i mean there is no kick back when under heavy braking

[march109]

michealewk - does your car DEFINATLY have ABS, what make and model is it?

what do you mean kick back? you should feel a judder through the pedal when the ABS kicks in. And if the car isn't skidding then maybe it is orking or you arn't braking hard enough?? Can you get the wheels to lock up? this would prove its not working if indeed its fitted.

If the light isn't working it could simply be that there is no light and you don't have ABS.

[michealewk]

its a 325is with every extra you can think of yeah it does have abs i think the last time i tried it did lock up

[march109]

First things first then fix the bulb so you know where to start looking.

[michealewk]

must do.....lol

[lisa325is]

march109

thanks alot for your help.i will get it looked at today.when the dash was taken out the bulb was disconnected and as soon as it was built up the light was on continous.

thanks again

[gazza]

its a 325is with every extra you can think of yeah it does have abs i think the last time i tried it did lock up

if it locked up then the abs is not working ...as thats what the abs is designed to prevent

[march109]

march109

thanks alot for your help.i will get it looked at today.when the dash was taken out the bulb was disconnected and as soon as it was built up the light was on continous.

thanks again

Lisa what year is your car? if the light is on continious its most likely to be the ECU or possibly the fuse that stop the ECU being over loaded due to voltage spikes, depending on age that fuse is located in different places.

[b16b3n]

who needs ABS anyways, its more fun without!

[Brianmoooore]

To get any further with this, we need to know a) the age of the car, and b) EXACTLY what the ABS light does (after reconnecting it) from before switching on the ignition to after having driven the car away.