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I had the same issue for weeks one time its fine next time its not and I have 3 sensor but I'm going to save you some time and money, remove the wheel unplug the sensor you will see a rubber boot at the top of the sensor pull it back solder in a piece of wire and enjoy your car..... problem was the wire broke under the rubber boot hard to see, scanner will forever complain its the sensor...
you can do a continuity test between plug and abs harness but i dont remember the pins for the right sensor can wait till tomorrow and Ill check my laptop is at the shop.....
Hey Lewis! Thanks for the reply. I actually had the stealership check the wiring going to the abs sensor when I had them replace it, they said everything looked okay. They checked all the abs sensor connectors and apparently nothing was corroded. Regardless I will remove the wheel again and personally have a look and pray that a need of soldering is indeed the case. But just in case I also want to locate the wiring going to the ABS module, maybe there is a potential corrosion case on those wires.
Hey Lewis! Thanks for the reply. I actually had the stealership check the wiring going to the abs sensor when I had them replace it, they said everything looked okay. They checked all the abs sensor connectors and apparently nothing was corroded. Regardless I will remove the wheel again and personally have a look and pray that a need of soldering is indeed the case. But just in case I also want to locate the wiring going to the ABS module, maybe there is a potential corrosion case on those wires.
if you didnt see the stealership chances are they didn't half the techs cant be bothered with older cars, check it yourself to confirm, all i'm saying if the abs computer and sensor is good then its must be the wiring, its only two wires.... also visual inspection is not enough, my plug connector looked brand NEW and I personally over looked that 3 times when I changed the sensor, what caught me was the last time I double checked the plug terminal at the sensor, my light stayed on permanently before that it will only come on if i hit a pothole or drive fast on bumpy roads, I also had changed abs module and the axle because the magnetic trigger for the sensor is on the CV joint....
Trust me i suffered this issue for a month, and knowing winter was around the corner I had to tackle the issue, when abs light is on these is not ESP stability, caught me off guard when I when out of town before fixing the issue, on a long stretch a gti was showing off I had to show him what time it was messing with an A8 hit 125 mph, approaching stop light hit brakes car slid though the intersection pass the red light sideways, luckily it was late night and it was not a busy area, next morning I was under that car checking left to right.
to make long story short you might not have the same issue but just double check use a multi-meter set it on continuity or beep when two leads touch, and check each terminal at plug to module.... its MUST beep when touching the terminal at module and plug, if it doesn't beep but show low reading the wire resistance is too high probably pinched somewhere, the its just easier to run new wires, no beep or low value its broken might not be at the neck where I said but it is somewhere, the pin numbers at the module i have on my laptop at the shop.....
Ok my laptop was actually in my trunk lucky you see attached Red Arrow is left sensor
Green is Right the rest is there is you need to test.... I only capture sensor to module since that the main issue....
For earlier poster asking about wiring in general, yes the wiring is also known to deteriorate in the area just below the ABS unit. You have to unwrap it to see if there really are any obvious visible problems if that area is suspected. A few horror stories involve dissecting it and finding the insulation had literally fallen off a variety of wires so there were just some bare strands held together in a bundle with deteriorated insulation remnants. Others have found more isolated issues at or near wheel sensors, more so in back than front.
As stated, if you have an issue w/ a specific sensor I would test it for continuity from the pin(s) from the ABS computer connector out to the wheel, and then start pulling wiring apart if that shows issues--no continuity or high resistance. As mentioned in thread, sometimes it can be a break inside the wire you likely would never find if it was stressed in past, or a crimped connector that breaks or gets messed up at wire join point. The latter happens on W12 O2 connectors for example--BTDT. On my old C5 A6 I had this with a key transmission sensor (output speed sensor) where I finally isolated it to the harness but had no idea where the break was; I ended up running a single bypass wire for that one bad connection from TCU to tranny sensor to solve it after a couple years of tranny acting unpredictably weird.
if you didnt see the stealership chances are they didn't half the techs cant be bothered with older cars, check it yourself to confirm, all i'm saying if the abs computer and sensor is good then its must be the wiring, its only two wires.... also visual inspection is not enough, my plug connector looked brand NEW and I personally over looked that 3 times when I changed the sensor, what caught me was the last time I double checked the plug terminal at the sensor, my light stayed on permanently before that it will only come on if i hit a pothole or drive fast on bumpy roads, I also had changed abs module and the axle because the magnetic trigger for the sensor is on the CV joint....
Trust me i suffered this issue for a month, and knowing winter was around the corner I had to tackle the issue, when abs light is on these is not ESP stability, caught me off guard when I when out of town before fixing the issue, on a long stretch a gti was showing off I had to show him what time it was messing with an A8 hit 125 mph, approaching stop light hit brakes car slid though the intersection pass the red light sideways, luckily it was late night and it was not a busy area, next morning I was under that car checking left to right.
to make long story short you might not have the same issue but just double check use a multi-meter set it on continuity or beep when two leads touch, and check each terminal at plug to module.... its MUST beep when touching the terminal at module and plug, if it doesn't beep but show low reading the wire resistance is too high probably pinched somewhere, the its just easier to run new wires, no beep or low value its broken might not be at the neck where I said but it is somewhere, the pin numbers at the module i have on my laptop at the shop.....
Ok my laptop was actually in my trunk lucky you see attached Red Arrow is left sensor
Green is Right the rest is there is you need to test.... I only capture sensor to module since that the main issue....
Highly likely that you are right. Been having this parking brake error for at least a year and it used to come on max once a week or so. This summer I remember I was driving at night and landed I think my back right tire in a vicious pothole. Ever since that night I have had the ABS and ESP and Parking error come on every day after like 15 mins of driving. What I suspect is that I already had corroded wiring and then after I landed my wheel in a pothole that night I likely broke a connector which made the errors coming on a daily occurrence. Anyway I will try and find time this week in between 4th year engineering exams ahaha and hopefully it is just crappy wiring or a broken connector so I don't have to send in the ABS unit.
For earlier poster asking about wiring in general, yes the wiring is also known to deteriorate in the area just below the ABS unit. You have to unwrap it to see if there really are any obvious visible problems if that area is suspected. A few horror stories involve dissecting it and finding the insulation had literally fallen off a variety of wires so there were just some bare strands held together in a bundle with deteriorated insulation remnants. Others have found more isolated issues at or near wheel sensors, more so in back than front.
As stated, if you have an issue w/ a specific sensor I would test it for continuity from the pin(s) from the ABS computer connector out to the wheel, and then start pulling wiring apart if that shows issues--no continuity or high resistance. As mentioned in thread, sometimes it can be a break inside the wire you likely would never find if it was stressed in past, or a crimped connector that breaks or gets messed up at wire join point. The latter happens on W12 O2 connectors for example--BTDT. On my old C5 A6 I had this with a key transmission sensor (output speed sensor) where I finally isolated it to the harness but had no idea where the break was; I ended up running a single bypass wire for that one bad connection from TCU to tranny sensor to solve it after a couple years of tranny acting unpredictably weird.
Hey MP4! Okay sounds good, I'll unwrap all the way on the wiring once I've located it successfully. In case the wiring is indeed corroded, will just electrical tape cover up that mess and make the errors go away or will I need a new wiring harness and need to send in my ABS unit regardless (because as of yet no codes for a faulty ABS unit have been thrown up on the VAGCOM).
Hey MP4! Okay sounds good, I'll unwrap all the way on the wiring once I've located it successfully. In case the wiring is indeed corroded, will just electrical tape cover up that mess and make the errors go away or will I need a new wiring harness and need to send in my ABS unit regardless (because as of yet no codes for a faulty ABS unit have been thrown up on the VAGCOM).
I haven't had to deal w/ it personally. The pictures I have seen have been where insulation is completely falling of wires for a foot or more. TBD when/if you see it and how many wires involved.
I haven't had to deal w/ it personally. The pictures I have seen have been where insulation is completely falling of wires for a foot or more. TBD when/if you see it and how many wires involved.
okay, also does temperature make difference on the wiring at all? I've noticed in the recent -10*C temperature the errors go away if I park the car for an hour or so in the cold.
okay, also does temperature make difference on the wiring at all? I've noticed in the recent -10*C temperature the errors go away if I park the car for an hour or so in the cold.
Theoretically, but more in the opposite direction--things would contract and slight breaks in connections get worse. But you can construct scenarios where something is grounding or crossing paths but being pulled back by cold and then testing ok.
More likely the ABS module still. Suggestion: get to your very cold scenario again whenever weather is right. Get a hair dryer--or REALLY careful with a heat gun and only on low. Point it at general ABS pump area on the controller side of unit and start gently warming. See if it codes after some warm up; if so you have your answer. Otherwise, do the old wire shaking back and forth in suspect areas if you have things freed up to see if it codes then. To do that though you have to free things up; ABS warm up is likely easier, nothing invasive/disassembling. If temp. sensitive, my instinct is probably more w/ controller. You can try warming wiring of course too, but that's a long shot and I would not do it with a heat gun unless a lot of experience--really easy to melt things in just seconds.
AudiJim113, did you get your problem fixed? I seem to have the same thing happening to my car as you described (in your post last April I think it was). Not seeing many "this fixed it" in the posts so I don't know if everybody is still chasing potential problems.
I tried to do a continuity check on my wheel sensors, at the sensor, and got garbage readings - seem to recall from a previous car that you have to spin the wheel to get a reading through them. I did pull them up on my vagcom and saw they were all 4 reading about the same value, at least while the system was operating. One also appeared to have been replaced by the previous owner, so maybe he chased it a while too.
12-04-2016, 02:25 PM
