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ABS, ESP & Traction control lights on intermittently


EzeePzee

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Hey folks,

 

as as per the title, on the way home today, whilst in traffic, the 350 decided to illuminate the ABS, ESP and traction control lights on my dash. These remained on for the rest of the journey, which is approx 24 miles of motorway.

 

When I got home, I plugged into my WiFi code reader which gave no errors. Restarting the car several times showed no lights for 4 of the 5 restarts, but on 1 attempt they did show up again.

 

i have checked brake fluid, and it’s near if not bang on the max marker, may even be slightly higher?

i checked power steering fluid, and clutch fluid reservoir too - again both on max.

Brake lights appeared to be operating with the pedal as expected - ie not jammed on or off.

 

Bank 1 camshaft position sensor has been replaced recently - maybe 300-400 miles ago. Car starts fine with no issues. This also generated an EML which this time around I don’t have.

 

Everything else with the car seems fine.

 

what else should / can I check? Presumably only a consult diagnostic can get the data off the other modules, but don’t want to pay dealer for something I could diagnose myself. 

 

Any my other fluids, or sensors I can check? 

How do I locate the wheel speed sensors - presumably there is one on each of the 4 wheels to check over? 

 

Thanks! 

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Did all lights shows up when you press the brake pedal? I had this twice. 1st time was about 3 yrs ago. Nothing shows up on the Bluetooth reader, normal reader showd something about a sensor (can't remember which) but that points to needing a new ABS actuator module. Purchased a used one from Alex and still working fine to date. 2nd time I had this was 2 months ago, but this time the brake switch is the issue. I checked it, it works intermittent. When I checked it, everything works fine, but managed to replicate the issue 1 in 5 pedal press. Also it seems to be creating the issue if I press it fully rather than soft touch. 

 

Looks like you have checked everything. Maybe try pressing your brake as far as possible and see if this creates it? Or for less than a tenner, try replacing the brake switch. 

 

Found this - 

 

Edited by veeg33
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Cheers dude.

 

was wondering if I can use some electrical cleaner on the brake pedal switch perhaps, make sure all is ok on that. I really can’t remember when the light came on, I know I was in traffic but whether or not it was after pressing the brakes or accelerating I’m not sure. 

If I can replicate the issue again then hopefully I’ll narrow it down. 

Hope it’s not ABS actuator as I believe these are expensive? And I’d want a diag to confirm that before spending big money on one.

switch could be an easy target if it happens again though. 

Assume the car is still safe to drive if it happens again, want to go to JDMCombe - just probably won’t have ESP or traction until it’s sorted! 

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I think it should be fine to drive, just that you won't have ABS. I drove around with this issue the 1st time for around 1 month, and drove 1hr to get to a specialist. I paid around £250 (roughly) for 2nd hand ABS actuator and £260 labour and fluids to get it fitted along with all 4 braided brake hose. 

 

When my brake switch was faulty, I cleaned the contact, worked for a few days and issue reappear. But worth a try.

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21 minutes ago, EzeePzee said:

Is it possible that too much fluid could cause this error? As in brake fluid or PS fluid being too high? 

 

How easy is it to check wheel speed sensors?

You can try sucking some out from the reservoir if they exceeded the 'H' level and see if that solve the issue.

 

I'm not sure about the wheel speed sensor, i suspect each wheel has one to aid traction control.

Edited by veeg33
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Had the same issue and turned out to be the brake switch. Would come in at random times. Some times nothing for a couple of days and then some times a couple of times per day. After some tests I realized that they only came on when i was braking. I removed the and sprayed some cleaner on the switch, exercised it a few times whilst it was out and its been trouble free for the last 18 months. Think its worth doing anyway as its only a 10 minute job, even if its just to eliminate the switch from your fault finding

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If you do change or clean the brake switch, make sure you clean/change the correct one. B) I cleaned the wrong one 1st time as I've cleaned the cruise control switch. The brake switch is the one at the back (fully black), the cruise control has some brown casing. Silly me!!

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