Two days ago while cruising along at 65 MPH my otherwise-trouble-free '04 Z lit up the dash display with "SERVICE ABS SERVICE ACTIVE HANDLING SERVICE TRACTION SYSTEM." When I reached my destination I checked for codes and found "C1242H" It roughly translates to a ground problem with the ABS pump/module.

When I started the car later that day the dash was clear, but the same warnings were displayed about ten minutes into my drive home. I knew my grounds were all good, as I had recently checked them all. Even though all the grounding points were in great shape, I cleaned and retightened them all just as a preventative measure.

My plan for today was to start the disassembly process. But I had a bit of a brain storm; I drive all my cars like a little old lady and I can say that I've never braked or swerved hard enough with this car to activate either the ABS or the Active Handling systems. So this morning I went for a drive and mashed the brake pedal a few times to activate the ABS. I've since driven the car several times today and have received no warnings.

Lesson learned (I think) is that unless the ABS pump/solenoids see some occasional use, they may gum up a bit and give problems. Hopefully someone else can find this in a search and save themselves some grief down the road if they ever get the same warnings.

 

I agree that it can work. Same issue with mine, it went away and did not come back for the rest of the year.

Wondering about issues after it being in storage since last October.

 

NICE!
Not to hijack the thread, but I'm currently (for a long while now) having this problem on my 2004. C1242 only, grounds are clean, fuses good, EBCM connectors are clean and wires seem to be intact under the hood.

I have reached out to a couple of members regarding their c1242 and have in turn been advised that it was their EBCM (for two people). Another member fixed his issue by unlugging/plugging the EBCM connectors several times.

I, too, do not drive crazy. Maybe 80 max on freeway and dont really hit the corners too hard, I'm normal(?) driver. I am NOT good with the electrics, so I can not exercise the BPMV using 12v (I got this from other posts), so do I just smash on the breaks in a clear parking lot to exercise that BPMV? I also read I can have the dealer exercise it with a Tech II, but that will most likely cost precious dollars.

Edit: I just happened to check my break fluid, its dark. If my mechanic bleeds/puts new fluid, perhaps this will solve my problem?

 

I did reply to you Pm. You can try locking up the brakes to see if that helps. Mine did turn out to be the EBCM..

 

In my case I found that I was able to easily activate the ABS at normal residential street speeds by just smashing on the brakes. I did this a few times and the problem went away. And regarding the fluid, YES, I'd bleed new fluid through the system anyway. I doubt that a fluid change alone would solve the problem, but your fluid containing moisture is certainly another issue which should be addressed.

Hope it helps,
Tom

 

C1242 code came up again a couple times last month (Same car, new owner). I ended up manually actuating the BPMV pump using this video as a reference. I carefully unplugged the appropriate plugs and delicately used some wires to plug into the pigtail itself. Space was tight, but I was successful. I did 4 30-second cycles. It's been a couple weeks now and the code has yet to pop up.

Figured I'd close the loop on this thread as this exact thread popped up as a Google result as I was trying to find a solution. I applied basically the same concept as any4xx suggested, but more effectively.

 

 

LOL!! YES,, not exercising the mechanical components inside the EBTCM can cause issues. You do not have to be an electronics expert OR a race car driver to keep your system in good working order. Here are a few tips:

Keep the brake fluid clean and fresh. Suck as much of the old fluid out of the master cylinder reservoir as you can and add fresh DOT 4 fluid. Bleed the system the ole fashion way or have someone do it with the TECH 2

If you drive on a wet street, you can find a safe location where you can apply the brake hard enough to cause the Anti Lock Brakes to activate. Doing that several times will make the system work. Using wet streets will make it easier to cause the tire/s to lock and BPMV pump and valves to operate. You do not have to drive the car 100 mph to do this. 35-40 mph is all you need to get enough speed to make the wheels lock up under heavy braking.

You can do it on a dry street but it takes a little more energy and force.

Braking in a panic mode under controlled conditions will enable you to better understand your car and how it handles.. If you never test how the car handles in a panic stop mode, you are selling yourself short on better reacting to a real emergent situation.

IF,, you have the "ACTIVE HANDLING" option; How many of you know that you can plant your foot on the brakes "full lock up mode" and steer the car around an obstacle in the road????????????????

Again, You should try it in a controlled environment at lower speeds. You will be surprised how well it works.

Bill

 

To test the abs and active handling, I just drive across rail road tracks. Touch the brakes as the front tires are going over the rail and that will activate it every time.
If you don't have rails handy, try using those plastic road bumps at crossings (not speed bumps). 30 to 35 mph and brake when the tire is on the bump.

 

Anne's 2001 has all three lights coming on and the DIC warnings too.
Everything appears to be working fine though. Brakes working normal, I checked for codes and nothing but old history stuff on there.
It happened last week and I did a reset and it was fine for awhile. Today it's back, checked codes, nothing new now.
Any ideas?

Also, what's U1160H ? I know it's a history code, but don't see this number in the lists I've got. Thanks.
Edit: It is showing a C1214H code also.

 

WHat messages specifically do you see in the DIC?

When you see the messages, WITHOUT TURNING OFF THE IGNITION! press RESET to clear the messages in the DIC and then, read your DTCs!!!! Its IMPORTANT to read the DTCs with in the same ignition cycle and report the EBTCM DTC (along with ALL others) and post that info.

The U series DTCs are communications related DTCs.

 

Unfortunately, she had turned it off before telling me about it. Said it had three messages on it.
Abs, traction control and something else. Sorry I didn't get them. She did say she was sitting at at traffic light and when she started away it came on.

What was on it was codes C1214H, B2205H, B2606H, B2860H and U1160H.
They've been cleared now and driven a short distance without any lights or messages tonight.

If I'm understanding this, I must wait until it reoccurs and check it before she shuts it off, correct?
It happened while on her way to work, so she shuts it off there and restarts it to come home later.
Can I still get what you need if it happens that way again or must it be read before she starts it again?
As who knows when it will return, it was a week this time. A month or so another time.

Sorry, that's all I know at this time. Jean

 

 

Update: Well it's 2 weeks later and still nothing has come back on yet. i'm sure it probably will, now that I'm posting this.

Can anyone answer my question posted in my #13 post, so I'm prepared if/when it comes back? Thanks.

 

I had this code come up yesterday, and thankful for this post, cause I jammed on the brakes a few times, got a little slidey to activate active handling and the alert went away. Thank you for your expertise on this, totally worked.