Brake And Abs Flash Randomly

[jeebowhite]

Hi guys this is a weird one! Unfortunately as well warranty is now out...

So driving on dual carriageway yesterday and then town road today I noticed on some rather forceful acceleration that the brake warning and engine management light flicked on for a sec then went off.

Can't really describe the car as having a problem when this happens either. I did scan the ecu for errors and got B1317 and the recurring U1900 might try scan it tomorrow with f super and see but I can't think what it could be.... Anyone got any thoughts what might trigger both at the same moment and off at the same moment...?

EDIT: come to think of it (will probably have to do a self diagnostic bulb test) but it could I suppose be the ABS light that popped up, so I suppose it could be an ABS sensor, will slam the anchors on, on a quiet road tomorrow and see what happens...

[jeebowhite]

Ok so it happened again this morning and it's definitely the abs lights. I red lined 6 of 7 gears and couldn't force it so it's not engine related it happened at 40mph as well as 75 so doubting its speed. Noticed that the trip computer / gear and indicator windows where flickering when it happened.

F super isn, working for one reason it let's me connect but not choose an ecu so may need a fresh install

any thoughts...?

[jeebowhite]

Ok so got f super up and running b code is apparently high battery voltage.... Checked fuse boxes both dry so no fluid damage will just have to see how driving home tonight is... ,

[jeebowhite]

Drove home uneventfully so will take the Haynes manual to work tomorrow and think about what to do next whilst I design my lighting...

[jeebowhite]

haha, this seems to be turning more into a diary!

well having slammed the ABS on a couple of times yesterday I have now had two 30 mile trips with no flickers. Perhaps the sensors needed jiggling loose, and perhaps the slamming on of the ABS was sufficient to resolve it. If I get the chance I will probably still try and clean the sensors up, but for now its a wait and see game!

[jeebowhite]

:@ bad weekend followed by bad start to the week.

So, over the weekend,I took a drive to our local asda, after around 2 miles, the ABS light came on and stayed on. Checked the DTC Codes:

U0415 - Invalid Data Received From Anti-Lock Brake System Control Module (my suspicions where a duff sensor or one needed cleaning)

P0500 - Vehicle Speed Sensor Malfunction (ties in with the above, http://www.obd-codes.com/p0500)

C1145 - Wheel speed sensor RF input circuit failure (ties in with the sensor issue)

B1317 - battery Voltage High

U1900 - CAN communication Bus Failure

Had a wander round Asda, came back and on heading back home, the ABS light went away...

Thinking that it might just be a sensor, I got in the car this morning hoping that all would be well. Got in, drove away and just as I am up to speed on the motorway the error comes back:

car is in manual mode, 5th gear, and with no fluctuation of power to my right foot, the revs surge, then drop, the ABS and Brake lights flash, then the car goes back to normal. Then a minute later, it does the same thing again, then recovers again.

Third time unlucky - whole car just dies!! no electrics, the only exception is a nut job flashing immobiliser light like I just used the wrong key to try and start the car. Everything else is dead (expect the 12v outlet!) the screens go, indicators, everything. Pulled up on the side of the motorway, disconnected the battery, reconnected after a minute or so (rush hour on the side of the motorway trying to fix your bus - NOT much fun!)

Anyway, got her started. got to the nearest petrol station and after topping up, checked the error codes, on top of the above (hadn't cleared it since yesterday) I now have:

B1318 - battery Voltage Low

B2286 - +5V Reference Fault? or SIM Card Failure? or MODE switch sticking

So... This looks fun!

[jeebowhite]

Well I have just booked it in for an expensive trip tomorrow, I am hoping that its nothing too bad, but my spidey sense is tingling...

[stef123]

Hi Jeebo

Sorry I never noticed this thread until this morning.

This really doesn't sound like a easy one to diagnose so I guess it's best off with a specialist to be honest.

But I do hope it's just a bad connection or something minor

[jeebowhite]

as do I Stef, I am however anticipating not. my gut is telling me a faulty instrument cluster causing some sort of chaos for the ECU, or a wiring fault elsewhere!

[jeebowhite]

Just had the call from Ford, no errors could be reproduced. Due to the description of the error, they suspect it to be a wiring fault, they would replace the wiring harness at a cost likely to exceed £1000. and that wont even guarantee a fix...

[DanGersFord]

Have you checked the abs sensor wiring/connection etc? And even tried a new sensor? Surely thats cheaper than a full wiring harness! Worth a try first

[stef123]

£1000 to replace a wiring harness?

Replacing a sensor is fine Dan but what one lol. And usually the need to be destroyed to remove them

[jeebowhite]

I would have done so, but thats if it was only the odd ABS light, now that the car is going back to its earlier days, the car is cutting out on me, at speed on motorway just shutting down. Unfortunately to say it, I am going to have to chop this one in I think, perhaps get a new one. I cant trust it, and the guys who sold me it dont give a hoot, they didnt check the car properly, just told me what I wanted to hear... I cant trust it. Mrs doesnt, and given that its now cutting out on motorways and a £1000 bill is not even guaranteed to fix it...

I am struggling to think of how to keep it, I am looking at other CMAX's but I have a feeling if I keep this one, I will be tempted to drive it into the garage that sold me it...

[johnH]

ok this definately sounds like an ABS sensor issue mate. The speed is taken from the ABS sensors (found on IDS) anyways this got me thinking...You know i harp on about ford using PSA engines etc well this may be a little trinket of info...the majority of PSA have ABS issues due to the mount the abs sensor sits on gets a lot of crud on it and moves the sensor...

The fix we came up for this was to remove the sensor, clean the mount, and reset the airgap back to 2mm (distance between sensor and ABS ring).

Your probably thinking yeah thats not it but when i had a 307 and got this issue i had alsorts of faults come up, such as;

- speedo danced

- handbrake on warning when stopped

- abs kicked in all time under normal braking (kinda hairy at traffic lights/junctions)

- STOP lights

- Engine management light

- catalytic converter fault and a whole list of random errors (french for you)

The only time this stopped was when the ABS warning came on and the system turned off (speedo still danced)

but the only fix was above....maybe worth looking at this weekend to save some £££'s

EDIT: further to my last, i just reread your last post... Have you checked the earth straps on this car?

[jeebowhite]

Thanks for the reply John,

the earth straps appear fine :( thats why its such a nuisance, it seems like it is grounding correctly but still over juicing and temporarily blowing the electrics to the entire car...

Got the car back, Ford quoting 512 just to redo the wiring harness, its also got a cracked turbo pipe, so theres another couple of hundred...

off the back of this problem its caused a lot of stress at home amongst the family, I think even if I was to try and fix it, with the possibility of spending as much on repairs as I purchased it (ford said that it could be the ABS module and due to the shutdown, may even need a new ECU :() then I dont know if I can keep it...

[johnH]

ah i see mate, not worth it if it causing problems like that

Mind i wouldnt say harness like...that seems overkill for nothing...Has anyone checked the alternator to see if thats surging as it runs of the drive?

shame your not up this way, otherwise ill have it hooked up all day to IDS to find this for you.

[jeebowhite]

at this point I have very little to lose, I wont be taking the family on a motorway until I either get shot, or get fixed. C1145 seems to suggest it may be the RHS front ABS, so will strip the wheel off, and see if I can get the sensor cleaned up, then will just have to see what happens.

Will double check the earth points for good contact and make sure all is OK. Thankfully the bank offered me a loan which means that I will have a few quid to play with, unfortunately though not a great deal! worst case scenario, I take it in to someone like we buy any car, they already quoted about 1300 for my car as its accident damaged. If I cant fix it, then short of a private sale I will have little room for maneuver.

Hopefully its not raining at lunch and I will go out and get a start on it, as far as I can see, the ABS sensor is in the caliper?

[jeebowhite]

OK so (pictures to follow) I have taken the front wheel off in the hope that I can remove the ABS sensor. Took a Ratchet, Extendabar, small socket adapter, 6.5mm socket head and a T25 screwhead and a bit of elbow grease to release the screw.

Now the ABS sensor is welded to the hub, I presume just by rust. The Haynes Manual says you should be able to just remove it by pulling it out but it doesn't seem to be budging, placed a flat head screwdriver next to it and tried to levvy it but its stuck fast... Going to take a few goes me thinks....

Any advice on how I can release the sensor without damaging it? How can I get the caked / rust / cack off the surround without damage? hmmmm

Update: buying some penetrating oil from Halfords, will give that a spray tonight and leave it overnight, hopefully that should release the rust from around it...

[DanGersFord]

Was going to say try penetrating oil lol

[stef123]

OK so (pictures to follow) I have taken the front wheel off in the hope that I can remove the ABS sensor. Took a Ratchet, Extendabar, small socket adapter, 6.5mm socket head and a T25 screwhead and a bit of elbow grease to release the screw.

Now the ABS sensor is welded to the hub, I presume just by rust. The Haynes Manual says you should be able to just remove it by pulling it out but it doesn't seem to be budging, placed a flat head screwdriver next to it and tried to levvy it but its stuck fast... Going to take a few goes me thinks....

Any advice on how I can release the sensor without damaging it? How can I get the caked / rust / cack off the surround without damage? hmmmm

Update: buying some penetrating oil from halfords, will give that a spray tonight and leave it overnight, hopefully that should release the rust from around it...

As I mentioned before, they can be impossible to shift without destroying them. Good luck. Just another 3 to go

What type does your car use on the rear? For example the mk3 Mondeo is a sealed hub so you cannot remove the sensor

[jeebowhite]

not gotten that far, but according to Haynes its remove a screw and pull out, similar to the front.

Well as a further update, I did a bit of digging through my bank statements, I recalled paying the deposit of £100, turns out I paid it on my Barclaycard - excellent! called them up yesterday, gave them the story, they cant promise anything but they are going to send me the forms and see if they can get me the money back. They just need as much evidence as I can provide them and they will argue the call for me. I am going to request a refund based on the sale of dangerous goods, and also breach of verbal contract. I know there is little chance of getting the money back but it has to be worth a shot!

So playing the waiting game, will see what can happen, I am going to keep trying to clean the ABS but the rain is terrible today so that wont be happening today.

Three ways to go from here:

1) I get a full refund and shot of the car if I win the case

2) I get no refund, try and fix the car and hope to god theres nothing else wrong with it

3) I get no refund, car proves impossible to try and live with, I dispose of the car by some method of sale (private, eBay or to someone like webuyanycar.com for around a grand) and then buy a high mileage with receipts from a private seller for just under 3k, using my credit card.

So there's a third chance I come out of this better off, a third of a chance I keep the car, and a third of a chance I remained stuffed...

[Byr0n]

Sorry just seen the thread, abs could be down to old battery? BMW's suffer from this? I see one of your error codes mentions voltage or something?

[jeebowhite]

OK well after speaking further with Barclaycard, it appears that there is insufficient written evidence to proceed with a claim. because there was no written communication, appropriate recorded telephone calls etc, there is no way that they can proceed with a claim as its one word against the other.

Having dug deeper and looked further into it, I have disconnected and reconnected the ABS sensor, and also removed the OBDII bluetooth adapter, and I seem to have no problems at this time... It could have been a bad connection, or it could have been an issue with the bluetooth OBDII.