Fellow gurus, I am in need of some help here. I have an 05 m6 z51 and I have the service active handling light. This isn't an erroneous one as it now activates after a few minutes of driving. Here is where it gets weird:
service active handling light comes on
crusise control does not work
my brakes lights are ON when NOT braking and OFF when braking???

I was orignally guessing this this could be a wheel speed sensor because of the cruise control and active handling, but wtf is up with the brake lights?

Any help would be appreciated. I am baffled, as electronics aren't my forte. Thanks in advance!

 

It sounds like an electrical problem to me. The gremlins always come out with these cars when the battery is about dead. Since you have problems while it's running, it could also be the alternator and or the voltage regulator. I would have your battery and alternator tested.

 

Outside of electrical diagnosis probabilities (which is probably is), check your brake fluid, just in case.

 

i do have the issue well known on 05s where you have a good battery where it won't start. You disconnect the battery wait 10 seconds, reconnect it and everything is groovy, but the battery is good.

How do you check the voltage regulator? And alternator is putting out 13.9 to 14.1 volts according to my DIC. (And let's face it, I've got a smart DIC 😂😂&#128514 sorry I'm 13 when it comes to jokes.

 

would or could a faulty wheel speed sensor cause these issues? I've never had one fail so I'm not sure of the indications of a failure.

 

Is anyone smart on the BCM (body control module) or the EBCM (electronic brake control module)??

I've been reading through my service manuals and the electrical schematics show that the stop lamp signal and TC switch/ light all run through the BCM while the brake fluid pressure sensor, yaw rate sensor, and lateral accelerometer all run through the EBCM.

I hope and pray that it is not a wheel speed sensor as they are integral to the hub assembly and bearings and must be replaced as an entire hub assembly unit. YIKES!

Still shooting in the dark here so any thoughts are appreciated. I'm like the Ray Charles of mechanics. I can't see sh$t so I just keep feeling around in the dark until I find something that sounds good. LOL

 

It sounds like you might be on the right track. Check all the simple things with those modules, are they plugged in right, or are they loose? Put a meter on the source power and the ground, do you get a 12v reading?

As someone who works for an auto-manufacturer...loose couplers are the biggest electrical problems in cars.

 

well no loose connections. Does anyone have a clue as to what these symptoms may represent? I'm starting to lean towards the EBCM, but don't want to shell out the $$$ for a new part if that's not it.

Any recommendations on OBDII scanners? Is one as good as the other? I'm looking at one on amazon called a Foxwell NT201 scanner.

 

Having looked over the antilock brake section of the service manual, conditions that you describe certainly seems to corresponds to a faulty inputs to the ECBM.
Here is one that has input to the ECBM, the Brake Pedal Position Sensor.
Here are the symptoms of a bad input from the BPP
The brake pedal position sensor (BPP) is an input to the electronic brake control module (EBCM). The brake pedal position sensor is a potentiometer type sensor with a 5-volt reference circuit and a low reference circuit. The body control module (BCM) supplies the 5-volt reference to the BPP.
This is the DTC that somewhat describes the rear brake light function.
C0161 12
Possible causes of this DTC are the following conditions:
A signal circuit of the brake pedal position sensor is open.
The brake pedal position sensor needs recalibration.
All brake lamps are open.
All brake lamp grounds are open.
An internal brake pedal position sensor malfunction.


The other conditions that you are experiencing (service active handling light comes on and cruise control does not work)
is symptoms of other DT codes that are associated with the ECBM, mostly CO110, etc. There are many more that have the same symptoms, pertaining to an input to the ECBM, ot the ECBM itself.

You mentioned that you did see a service manual, so you must be seeing the symptoms that I have read.

The one thing that you can do for free, is to check the connector at the ECBM. The connector could be loose, or not sealing properly.
That is one of the primary checks when doing a diagnosis in troubleshooting.
Of course if that doesn't stop the conditions, then indeed a wheel speed sensor could cause the symptoms that you describe.
DTC C0035 LF Wheel Speed Sensor Circuit
DTC C0040 RF Wheel Speed Sensor Circuit
DTC C0045 LR Wheel Speed Sensor Circuit
DTC C0050 RR Wheel Speed Sensor Circuit
This is the symptoms of a bad wheel speed sensor
The EBCM disables the Antilock Brake System (ABS)/engine drag control (EDC)/Traction Control System (TCS)/tire pressure monitor (TPM)/Vehicle Stability Enhancement System (VSES) for the duration of the ignition cycle.
The adaptive cruise control (ACC) braking function is disabled.
The DRP does not function optimally.
The ABS indicator turns ON.
The traction control indicator turns ON.
The drive information center (DIC) displays the Service Stability System message.

Good Luck
Maybe you get lucky and a connector at the EDCBM was the culprit.

If you need the Antilock brake service section via PDF, PM me your e-mail and I'll send it to you.
It's too large to post on here.

 

Thank you so much for the research! Yes that's what I read in my service manual but didn't know the associated codes. Electrics aren't my strong suit but I'm happy to learn.
Im getting a scanner just for future use.
Now here's the screwy part. I did the Nintendo fix (disconnect blow it out and reconnect) the ECM blue cables in the passenger footwell and now the problem is gone. I have done two test drives and everything seems to be functioning normally. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on the ECBM in case it happens again.
Im just very very happy it doesn't appear to be the wheel sped sensor.

 

By the way do you think it could be the brake pedal position sensor vice the ECBM? Or possibly the BCM? All these symptoms occurred at once with the service active handling message which is why I was thinking it was something bigger than an individual input to the EBCM. Again, not super smart on electrical system troubleshooting.

 

I wouldn't doubt that by you disconnecting the connectors and reconnecting, that it did solve the issues that you were experiencing.
The BCM connectors (blue) in the foot well can get pushed a bit by a passenger, and this has been known to cause all kinds of weird and wonderful symptoms. Some owners have used pencil erasers as spacers so the footwell panel cannot touch the BCM connectors if the panel is pushed by a nervous "braking" passenger.

Hopefully, your issues will not return, but if the same ones do, undo the connectors, and spray a contact cleaner at the connectors for the pins and the female portion as well, on both the ECBM and the BCM connectors. This will assure a good contact.

Really, having a code reader that can indeed read the ABS, Air bag system, etc. can come in handy when troubleshooting. It can narrow it down to what input is causing the issues.
Good Luck

 

Thanks so much for all the help and info! I just ordered a scanner that will give me the codes and what they are, so hopefully that helps in the future if needed.

 

Had the same problem as the OP last year, turned out the blue connectors were either loose or dirty. Cleaned them and plugged them back in, everything back to normal. with fingers crossed!

 

Have you had the "service active handling system" recall performed at chevy? They put in a small "comb" to tighten connections in the steering column. Recall was for '05 + '06's.

 

Did you disconnect the neg battery cable before you pulled the blue connector? I'm having some of the OP problems also.I don't think it's a good ideal to pull connectors with the battery connected?.....Thanks..

 

Yes I definitely disconnected the battery first. I got my scanner and the car is showing no codes, and having no issues anymore. The blue connector and nintendo fix seemed to remedy my situation, thank the good Lord.

 

I cleaned and added some dilectic lube on my today..Did not do any good!..I see no way that those two blue connectors could get any dirt in them! My looked brand new..2008 vette.

 

There were two blue cables attached to the ECM in the passenger footwell with white sliding retainers on them. There is a 3rd (looks kind of like the VGA connectors we had on our computer monitors) but I didn't touch that one. I disconnected the battery, disconnected and blew compressed air into both of the connectors even though they also looked brand new and completely clean. I reattached them, reconnected the battery and all issues are gone. I have no logical explanation why other than I may have exorcised the ghost in the machine.

I put my scanner tool on the car and have zero codes being shown so everything appears to be back to normal. What codes are you throwing?

 

I had the same thing happen two weeks ago. Service Active Handling. My wife and I were on are way to Best Buy and a guy pulled up next to me in the parking lot and told me my break lights were on and when I took the exit My break light went off. I turned the car off and on and checked the lights and everything went back to normal. Even after we got back to the house , I had my wife follow me for a drive to see if the break lights were still reversed. All back to normal.
2006, M6,Z51,3LT