Service ABS and Traction Control??!!
Last edited by StiflersVette; May 19, 2007 at 10:53 AM.
Some basic information on AH, TC, and ABS. In simple terms, these three systems combine data from wheel speed sensors, yaw rate sensors, steering wheel position sensors, along with brake and throttle inputs to determine what the driver wants to do and detects any lose of traction and take corrective action by pulling back on the throttle, activating brakes on individual wheels, or releasing brake pressure as needed to maintain traction.
What goes wrong
When there is a problem anywhere in the system, the computer does not know what's going on with the car or cannot respond correctly. Rather than risking the wrong response which could potentially wreck you car, the whole system is simply disabled for the remainder of the ignition cycle. At this time you will see the ABS and Traction Control warning indicators illuminated on the instrument cluster along with the following messages on the Driver Information Center (DIC):
- Service ABS
- Service Traction System
- Service Active Handling
At this point, you can safely continue to drive your car, just remember that your electronic driving aids are no longer functioning so you should adjust your driving habits accordingly.
Troubleshooting
As I said before, when there is a problem the system is deactivated for the remainder of the ignition cycle, so sometimes everything will go back to normal if you just turn off the car and restart it. If that corrects the problem, it was either a glitch in the system, a lose connection that's going to come back soon or an early sign of a future failure that is coming. Even though the system is now functional it is still beneficial to continue to trouble shoot. The history code should give you a good idea of what to check
The next step is to see where the fault is. If you have several different codes write them down, clear them, and see which ones come back the next time you start the car. At this point, I'm betting that the codes point to the EBCM.
Electronic Brake Control Module
The most common code for the EBCM is C1214 - Sol Valve relay Contact or coil CKT Open. This code is set when the system voltage is less than 8 volts for 0.23 seconds.
.....at this point you need to PM me your email address, as my file with pics is rather lengthy on how to fix this problem....I will email it to you.
At worst, you may have to have your EBCM rebuilt ($150. + UPS)....I have that info included.
Let me know if I can help! Bill





