86 ABS Light Who Can Fix It?
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 18
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From: Salisbury Maryland
86 ABS Light Who Can Fix It?
I have a 1986 and the Anti-Lock Brake light is on and I cannot find anyone in the Salisbury, Maryland area to fix it. I know I can go back to the DC where I am from to Tony's Corvette in Gaithersburg, for example, but I was hoping to find someone East of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge who can fix it. If anyone knows a good qualified mechanic in the Salisbury, Maryland area PLEASE let me know. Thank you much.
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 4,429
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From: Minneapolis Mn
Could also be relay related. Check out this thread: https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...-no-codes.html
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 4,429
Likes: 605
From: Minneapolis Mn
I fixed mine and before I did I spent a lot of reading and testing. From the things I found the basic pump is energized when the engine is started. It doesn't appear the wheel sensors are tested till you start moving when it does it's self test.
If the light comes on solid as soon as the key is turned on and stays solid when the car is started, I'd suspect the relays. If the light comes on when you start moving, then suspect the sensors. It could be internal to the pump but that seems to be a rarer situation.
There is a tester that can run the system through a self test, but it's hit-and-miss if you can find someone still having the tester.
If you can get the sensor connectors apart (about 2' from each wheel sensor) you can check them with an ohm meter. If there's continuity then there's a good chance they're still good. Be careful though, the plastic connectors may be brittle due to age.
My problem was relay related as well as another person I passed the info along to. It's cheap and easy to test so it's worth doing IMO.
Good luck.
If the light comes on solid as soon as the key is turned on and stays solid when the car is started, I'd suspect the relays. If the light comes on when you start moving, then suspect the sensors. It could be internal to the pump but that seems to be a rarer situation.
There is a tester that can run the system through a self test, but it's hit-and-miss if you can find someone still having the tester.
If you can get the sensor connectors apart (about 2' from each wheel sensor) you can check them with an ohm meter. If there's continuity then there's a good chance they're still good. Be careful though, the plastic connectors may be brittle due to age.
My problem was relay related as well as another person I passed the info along to. It's cheap and easy to test so it's worth doing IMO.
Good luck.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
From: Salisbury Maryland
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
From: Salisbury Maryland
86 ABS Light
I fixed mine and before I did I spent a lot of reading and testing. From the things I found the basic pump is energized when the engine is started. It doesn't appear the wheel sensors are tested till you start moving when it does it's self test.
If the light comes on solid as soon as the key is turned on and stays solid when the car is started, I'd suspect the relays. If the light comes on when you start moving, then suspect the sensors. It could be internal to the pump but that seems to be a rarer situation.
There is a tester that can run the system through a self test, but it's hit-and-miss if you can find someone still having the tester.
If you can get the sensor connectors apart (about 2' from each wheel sensor) you can check them with an ohm meter. If there's continuity then there's a good chance they're still good. Be careful though, the plastic connectors may be brittle due to age.
My problem was relay related as well as another person I passed the info along to. It's cheap and easy to test so it's worth doing IMO.
Good luck.
If the light comes on solid as soon as the key is turned on and stays solid when the car is started, I'd suspect the relays. If the light comes on when you start moving, then suspect the sensors. It could be internal to the pump but that seems to be a rarer situation.
There is a tester that can run the system through a self test, but it's hit-and-miss if you can find someone still having the tester.
If you can get the sensor connectors apart (about 2' from each wheel sensor) you can check them with an ohm meter. If there's continuity then there's a good chance they're still good. Be careful though, the plastic connectors may be brittle due to age.
My problem was relay related as well as another person I passed the info along to. It's cheap and easy to test so it's worth doing IMO.
Good luck.
Thanks for the luck because I think I will need it.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2001
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From: Athens AL
C7 of the Year - Unmodified Finalist 2021
C4 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
Needed a Kent Moore tester to figure out what it was on my 88, don't recall having a problem with the 86's ABS. Kent Moores will be hard to find.
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 4,429
Likes: 605
From: Minneapolis Mn
The fact it's happening only when driving leads me to believe you have a sensor issue as that's when they are in use.
Gut feeling it's either a sensor or one or more of the sensors or the tone rings are gunked up. The fact they work part of the time makes me think the sensors are working. I'd start by carefully disassembling and insure the pickup on the sensors and on the tone rings are clean.
Remember you're working on 30 yr old parts and they're probably very brittle so be careful.
Gut feeling it's either a sensor or one or more of the sensors or the tone rings are gunked up. The fact they work part of the time makes me think the sensors are working. I'd start by carefully disassembling and insure the pickup on the sensors and on the tone rings are clean.
Remember you're working on 30 yr old parts and they're probably very brittle so be careful.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
From: Salisbury Maryland
Race Director
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just checked rockauto - they list wagner brake products and shows an abs wheel sensor as being available for the 86 corvette -
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo...041219&jsn=454
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 4,429
Likes: 605
From: Minneapolis Mn
FYI if you look that sensor up, it shows it as a left rear unit. AFAIK each one is unique.
Here's some info I collected earlier:
I didn't note who wrote this: I decided to take a small gamble and purchace a OTC Mitusubishi ABS Tester MB991131-02. It looks identical to the Kent Moore tool down to the 35 pin connector
Cliff Harris in 2015 wrote this: BMW wheel speed sensors work too
I doubt you'll find the sensors new for a Vette as they're discontinued from what I've found, used maybe. If anything, take a look at the list of vehicles that used that abs unit and see what they use for sensors. Maybe they used the same ones for all I know.
Here's some info I collected earlier:
I didn't note who wrote this: I decided to take a small gamble and purchace a OTC Mitusubishi ABS Tester MB991131-02. It looks identical to the Kent Moore tool down to the 35 pin connector
Cliff Harris in 2015 wrote this: BMW wheel speed sensors work too
I doubt you'll find the sensors new for a Vette as they're discontinued from what I've found, used maybe. If anything, take a look at the list of vehicles that used that abs unit and see what they use for sensors. Maybe they used the same ones for all I know.
Last edited by hcbph; Jun 12, 2018 at 08:24 PM.
Thread Starter
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jun 2018
Posts: 18
Likes: 0
From: Salisbury Maryland
FYI if you look that sensor up, it shows it as a left rear unit. AFAIK each one is unique.
Here's some info I collected earlier:
I didn't note who wrote this: I decided to take a small gamble and purchace a OTC Mitusubishi ABS Tester MB991131-02. It looks identical to the Kent Moore tool down to the 35 pin connector
Cliff Harris in 2015 wrote this: BMW wheel speed sensors work too
I doubt you'll find the sensors new for a Vette as they're discontinued from what I've found, used maybe. If anything, take a look at the list of vehicles that used that abs unit and see what they use for sensors. Maybe they used the same ones for all I know.
Here's some info I collected earlier:
I didn't note who wrote this: I decided to take a small gamble and purchace a OTC Mitusubishi ABS Tester MB991131-02. It looks identical to the Kent Moore tool down to the 35 pin connector
Cliff Harris in 2015 wrote this: BMW wheel speed sensors work too
I doubt you'll find the sensors new for a Vette as they're discontinued from what I've found, used maybe. If anything, take a look at the list of vehicles that used that abs unit and see what they use for sensors. Maybe they used the same ones for all I know.