Believe me, I am well aware that this is a common problem with c5s. Well I'm finally going to be spending an entire day trying to fix this on mine tomorrow. I'm just praying its not my BCM that needs replaced.

Anyways, a couple of years ago the car started having the "SERVICE ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL" come on, but I could restart it and problem solved . Than after awhile it got worse. It would actually blow the 30a fuse for the ABS under the hood . So this would happen once a month or so, but I just kept replacing the fuse(i know im lazy). Well, than it got even worse. It would start throwing the code every time I would get on it from a stop, usually either right away or when I hit 2nd gear . Next, believe it or not, IT GOT WORSE, lol.. Eventually it blew the fuse one time and now even though I put a fresh fuse in there, it will either blow it, or not blow it, but the "SERVICE ABS AND TRACTION CONTROL" lights remain lit on the dash at all times. Theyve been like that for awhile and clearly arent going anywhere.

Tomorrow I plan on cleaning all the grounds on the vette since I heard they can cause issues. I was just curious if there are any ground in peticular that have had a habit for throwing those two off or should I just clean them all. Also if anybody thinks it could be something other than the BCM or the grounds, please feel free to throw in your 2 cents. Its got a brand new battery that is fully charged. One reason I'm thinking it could be the grounds is because up until last year I had driven it nearly year round for the past three years, so its definitely seen its share of salty roads and snow and puddles. Not to mention its lowered to the max so.. Anywho its a 2000 A4. Any help is greatly appreciated guys!

 

ttt

 

ttt

 

When mine did it I had to replace the steering yaw sensor. Good Luck.

 

You need to post up the the DTC codes.

 

- there are a lot of things tied into the TCS system, from steering wheel position sensor through wheel speed sensors - any one of them could be causing the problem - the DTC codes should give you something specific to focus on.

 

I've had the same problem for the better part of a year.

Will I ruin my car by driving around like this? I really don't give a crap if I have ABS or Traction Control...but i don't know if having this disabled will effect any other aspects of handling.

 

It shouldn't hurt the car, but until you know the source of the problem, you may be risking your safety

 

Make sure you check the wiring bundle near the driver's door hinge. One or more wires can be shorting to ground. Blown fuses usually indicate that there is a short somewhere and you might want to start looking in one of the most common areas for this type of issue.

 

Like other's have posted, there are so many things in the ABS/TC system that could be causing it. Think of the "Service ABS / Tracion Control / Active Handling" messages as a blue screen problem on a computer. It could mean anything. Need the codes.
I ended up having to replace my EBTCM to fix mine.

 

it's a catch all to let you know something is wrong.

 

I wouldn't be risking my life any more than if I were driving a car without those added features...

 

I had the warning coming on about Service Active Handling and Traction Control. Took it to the dealeship and it was the steering wheel position sensor. $385 total, but I have the extended warrenty, so my cost was $100, then I was given a $20 discount. Not sure why, but I did ask. If I remember corectly, the code was a 1587C.

 

You also mention a 30A fuse, maybe it's just a typo but you have a 10, 20 & 40A for the EBTCM.

 

I don't agree, but I don't want to come across as being confrentational - it is your decision

 

I had a long discussion about this with my father when my abs / traction control wasn't working, and I tried using the same excuse (I just didn't want to blow $600 at the time).

He pointed out that most other cars without those features, are not vettes. They don't have the same power or handling. It takes a lot to get my car to break lose in a corner, and when it does, oh boy does it if you don't have those systems on

Not to mention trying to emergency stop in the rain with no abs.

 

BY GEORGE You're right! People in the 60's must have been slamming into brick walls at every corner--rain or shine! My father's '69 may not handle as well as mine, but he's not going to fly off the road flipping in the air wildly the moment he has to brake or turn steering wheel. I'm not saying I don't want it fixed, I just don't want to shell out the $600 bucks either.

Poolboy, please, I invite you to be confrontational...this is a forum--everythings open for discussion and debate. You're not going to ruin my day if you prove me wrong. I may end up seeing your point and agreeing with you if you have a good enough argument.

 

I guess the way I would respond is that your car is telling you that something is wrong - it does not know what it is, but to be safe it is disabling your ABS/TCS system. As an example, if the steering wheel position sensor goes south, it will cause you to see the symptoms you are seeing. While you could certainly continue on without ABS or TCS under that circumstance, at the same time you are risking having your steering act up - symptoms I have seen over the years for that problem could include unexpected, violent turns in one direction or the other, initiation of limp mode (which could be interesting in heavy traffic at 70 MPH), or I am sure other things. My point is I agree with you that you may be able to do just fine without ABS/TCS, but the reasons these systems can be disabled may not be what we would think of as ABS/TCS failures - for me, I would want to be sure what the source of the problem was before I just drove it anyway.

 

See that wasn't so bad! I do agree with you and as stated I would like to fix it, just not for $600 bucks. At some point I'm going to see if I can find a junk yard C5 and see if I can replace mine.

 

Have you pulled the DTC codes so you know what is causing your problem? If you have already diagnosed it to the EBCM then you may well be fine. If you haven't pulled them though, it would seem like a good idea to pull them to see what the problem is. BTW, there are places that can repair some EBCM problems, like absfixer.com, much cheaper than replacing them...