abs light issue?

[shaffer20]

just did the front rotors and pads on my 06 2wd 3.0 5spd.
everything seamed fine. when i took her on the road at first. then the brake pedal got really hard and pulsated for a sec. the abs light came on and the breaks went back to normal. unhooked the battery to clear the computer thinking it might have been something stupid that fixed its self. but it did the same thing again. but the breaks feel fine with the abs light on. any suggestions?

 

[shaffer20]

just a thought. when i reset the caliper pistons and put the pads on the passenger side had a little friction when i spun the rotor. (it was hardly noticeable.) the driverside had no friction when i spun the rotor. would that trip the abs sensor?

 

[AllanD]

If the ABS light is on the ABS system is detecting an "error" while that light is on the ABS switches itself off until the problem is resolved.

Likeliest cause is flakes of rust or metal sticking to the sensor.


AD

 

[shaffer20]

If the ABS light is on the ABS system is detecting an "error" while that light is on the ABS switches itself off until the problem is resolved.

Likeliest cause is flakes of rust or metal sticking to the sensor.


AD

i tested my thought on the caliper pistons. put everything back together after looking at it carefully to make sure i didnt mess anything up out of stupidity. light was still on but went off. after i braked hard the truck pulled to the left and it came on again. peddle went hard and pulsed. but after the light came on breaks work fine truck doesnt pull. now i guess in this case my new question is can i just dissable the abs with a fuse and not worry that the breaks fail completely. everything is on right and nothing is damaged. and i never really did like the abs in the winter anyway.

 

[shaffer20]

tared everything down for the 3rd time. cleaned up both sensors there was what looked like small vertical rust lines. i also read on the site that torqueing the nut that holds the rotor to 35lb then backing it off to make sure the barings seat themselfs properly. still problem persists. the rust lines would not come off used break clean. i have no idea what is goin on. my old cavalier never acted up like this after a break change. truck is still under warrenty but will they give me a hard time once they see the brakes are brand new?

 

[Frank The Tank]

It really depends on the individual dealership... some are nit-pickers, some are pretty darn cool. (I've seen guys take a new 6.7 diesel after spraying too hot a dose of water meth and scorching the cylinders.... still had the lines hooked up, the mechanic winked, and got him a new motor) and I've seen them flip out over an air filter too though.

The brake sensors themselves can go bad... I've heard this (dunno if it's a fact or not) but supposedly if you replace the sensor your good to go. my 04 did this and the dealership replaced it on the front right.

However the pulsing does concern me for you.... did it pulse before the brake job?

I had no idea the abs shut itself off!! everytime I shut my 97 off and start it right back up... the light will come on and then go off after it's sat a while ( i don't even look anymore... truck has a blue million miles on it )

Frank

 

[shaffer20]

other then spungy breaking, there was no problem what so ever. the pads and rotors just needed to be changed. ive done them before on the old cavalier and my buddies protege and ive never had an issue like this, its driving me nuts. by pulsing i mean the abs is kicking in when it shouldnt. any brakeing above 15-20kph sets it off. once i reach 50ish km the computer realizes something is wrong with the abs and turns it off. after the light is on im fine everything works as it should. i could stop on a dime just fine. but untill i hit 50km or so i can actually hear the abs coming on even if i dont hit the brakes. its really messed up. there is plenty of brake fluid, no leaks anywhere. ive been keeping an eye on the fluid level since i did the brakes and rotors. nothing locks up when the light is on either. there acdelco pads and rotors if that means anything to anyone. ive always used that brand with no issue.

 

[shaffer20]

so took her in to ford today. spent $107(after tax) to find out there is nothing wrong with the abs system. the shop did a complete abs diagnostic and found nothing. they think its the rotors abs ring. that its faulty. after thinking about it for a little while, i think it may be bent just enough to f@$k up the sensor but not be easily visable. since i work in construction im thinking a common laser level might be a good tool to test my theory. if that gets too frustrating or just doesnt work ill tryout the old rotors.

 

[shaffer20]

since ive just spent 100 bucks for no real positive answer, can i get away with giving the old rotors a good light 1000 grit sanding instead of shelling out more cash on getting them machined. since the shop wasnt 100% sure about the answer i dont want to waste more money.

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

im not being mean, but you shouldn't be working on brakes.

the most important system of any vehicle should be serviced by somebody that knows what they are doing.

 

[shaffer20]

im not being mean, but you shouldn't be working on brakes.

the most important system of any vehicle should be serviced by somebody that knows what they are doing.

How do you figure i dont know what im doing? the mechanic himself said that everything was installed properly and the abs system checks out. so in his opinion the abs ring on the rotor must be defective. ive done brakes before, im not an idiot. breaks are not that hard to do. if my questions seam stupid its because ive never run into an issue like this and stupid theories are all i can come up with. i posted this thred because if two heads are better then one, then it stands to reason that all the heads that are members of the site must be better then two. meaning im looking for constructive ideas and possible solutions to my problem. so, if all you can think of saying is dont do your brakes because you dont know what your doing. then dont bother posting because your wasteing my time. and no im not a mechanic but since a mechanic said everything is installed properly then i guess i must have a good idea about how to do my brakes.

 

[Nailzs]

from what you are describing the problem is not with your workmanship. it is with the abs system. i say this for 1 major reason...u said that when the abs light came on the problem went away. when the abs light is on it means a code has been triggered. in any abs system once a code is triggered and the light is on, the abs system is shut off by the ecm. hence, if the abs system is off(the abs light is on) when/and the problem goes away, its in your abs. for some reason our trucks dont always store an abs code, had a similiar problem with my 96 ranger. if there is no code, there is nothing for the ford tech to diagnose, especially if they cant reproduce a problem. did the ford tech go on a test drive or did he just hook it up to the scan tool?
i can also say with some certainity that it is a problem with your sensors/exciter rings. u said that your truck pulled left with the abs on. thats the abs thinking that one of the front wheels is slipping, and trying to correct itself.
if you have an osilliscope(thats spelled wrong btw) u can unplug the abs sensors and put the leads from the osilliscope in the plug of each sensor and manually check the digital wave forms...but not many people have an osilliscope layin around.
other than that u're just gonna have to wait for the code to come back on, and with the code on, take it back to ford.

 

[shaffer20]

from what you are describing the problem is not with your workmanship. it is with the abs system. i say this for 1 major reason...u said that when the abs light came on the problem went away. when the abs light is on it means a code has been triggered. in any abs system once a code is triggered and the light is on, the abs system is shut off by the ecm. hence, if the abs system is off(the abs light is on) when/and the problem goes away, its in your abs. for some reason our trucks dont always store an abs code, had a similiar problem with my 96 ranger. if there is no code, there is nothing for the ford tech to diagnose, especially if they cant reproduce a problem. did the ford tech go on a test drive or did he just hook it up to the scan tool?
i can also say with some certainity that it is a problem with your sensors/exciter rings. u said that your truck pulled left with the abs on. thats the abs thinking that one of the front wheels is slipping, and trying to correct itself.
if you have an osilliscope(thats spelled wrong btw) u can unplug the abs sensors and put the leads from the osilliscope in the plug of each sensor and manually check the digital wave forms...but not many people have an osilliscope layin around.
other than that u're just gonna have to wait for the code to come back on, and with the code on, take it back to ford.

i got the repair order in the truck and it does list the codes they found. they said they checked the entire abs system and could not find any problem with it. the tech did have the truck in the shop for about 2 hours. the codes basicly mean some signal interruption to the sensor, aka the abs tone ring in the rotor must be the wrong type or defective.(manufacturing error) when i get the chance in the next day or two im going to put the old rotors on and look at the abs tone ring in the new rotors. i didnt have a rubber mallet to tap in the dust ring on the back of the rotor so there is a chance i damaged it with the hammer but i doubt it since ive used a regular hammer every other time and never had an issue like this. There has to be a abs tone ring problem somewhere because everything was fine before i changed the brakes.

 

[rneal55555]

I'd try the old rotors if it goes back to normal then take the new rotors back and exchange them.

 

[shaffer20]

sorry guys been awhile since ive updated. there have been money issues so i didnt have the cash to get the old rotors machined till a few days ago. so ive been driving the truck as it was since its fine after the abs shuts its self off. took the old rotors in but they were both warped so i just ended up taking out the fuse for the abs motor. now there is no problem everything works fine. since i hate the abs system anyway ill probly just leave things as is. if you have the same issue or are just curious its fuse #17 in the engine bay fuse box.


thanks to everyone who gave helpful ideas