ABS and Traction Control LIghts

[neilus123]

I had just had the rear sub frame out to replace the sub frame bushes. Now its all back together the ABS and traction control lights are staying on. The brakes have not been bled yet would this bring the lights on. I cant imagine that not having bled the brakes would cause this as how would it sense it.

 

[quest63]

First off you have to drive the car for it to do the abs self test sucessfully and put your lights out, It should do it straight away at 12mph ish. After that if you removed the rear sensors you may not have fitted them in correctly or you may have got dirt or grease on them or damaged them drifting them out of the hubs or forgotten to connect the connector.

Did you disconnect the battery prior to disconnecting the brake pipes (if indeed you did disconnect them?) If not you may have possibly got air in the ABS system in which case it takes specialist ford tools to bleed the air out.

Good luck with it :thumbs:

 

[neilus123]

Thanks for the reply I did remove the sub frame completely and replaced the rear brake flexi hoses as i could not get the other ones off without cutting them. (badly corroded onto mounting bracket). I have only moved the car about 30ft or so because the brakes havent been bled and only drove at about 5mph. How do you get air in the ABS I thought it was only a sensor that picked up on the inside of the hud. I will bleed the brakes and then drive it for a bit to see if this gets rid of the warning lights.

I thought maybe my traction control light was on because I was replacing the power steering pipes and had the front of the car off of the ground. I started the car to operate power steering pump to check for leaks and the front wheels span and therefore would of had no traction but once lowered the light was still on.

Just a thought I had a warning light for the windscreen water bottle on and upon investigation noticed the level swith was broken, so thinking that the two wires to the switch were normally open and would close when the switch was operated I linked the two wires together. I hoped that this would extingish the light on the dash but didnt. Would this of caused any harm ???

 

[quest63]

I cant comment expertly on the exact way air may get in the system except to say I have repeatedly heard it said on here to disconnect the battery so this doesn't happen. I assume if all the brake fluid drains out air can enter the system via the pipes. You may be lucky though.

TopmanSparkie would be better placed to answer your electrical question but I dont think any harm would have been done however I dont understand why it didnt work, are you sure it is the washer bottle light that is on?

 

[Anonymous]

I can't say much about the way the ABS etc. works.

I think with that, get the brakes bled and sorted first. Then when you have done that and the car is in a safe state, take it for a drive.
After work on the ABS system, you have to drive the car for it to sort itself out (probably not the right terminology). I've got no idea how fast you have to drive it, but as it does the 'self check' at 12mph, I would assume you need to drive to above that speed, but I'm guessing thought!

Having the washer bottle level warning light on isn't going to be a major issue. Try and get the ABS sorted first, then we'll see what lights you have left on the dash.

 

[neilus123]

OK guys thanks will bleed the brakes and get back to you although looking at the weather it may take my a day or two I will let you know how I get on.

 

[ScubaSteve]

air can get in the abs pump, but dont worry its very unlikely this has happaned

 

[gargravarr]

Hi guys, I'm having the same issue. A local mechanic replaced the clutch and the rear shocks in Wildcat, removing both the front and rear wheels. He noted that, after fitting the shocks (but not after the clutch, which he did first), the ABS/TC lights are now stuck on, and his fault-code reader will not tell him what the exact problem is. I'm quite annoyed at this, as my Fiesta's ABS/TC was extremely temperamental and the Puma's worked perfectly when I got it. I've driven it and the ABS does not do its familiar self-check, which for me is usually a second or so after I shift to second gear.

The mechanic has admitted he may got gotten grease into the sensors, but he hasn't had the hubs apart so there should be no air in the lines. He's suggested disconnecting the battery for a few hours; I've had it off overnight, so I'll see if that's reset the system. If not, I have an OBD reader somewhere I can try to read the fault code with.

However, assuming there's grease in one or both rear sensors, how much of a pain-in-the-rear is it going to be to put right? Is it something I can do myself, or should I give the car back - the mechanic's had it a week already! He should fix it for free, it's just that he's not very quick about it, so if it's quicker for me to do myself I'll do it.

Thanks,
Gargravarr