ABS warning light

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robert.

New Member
Posts
87
Location
Strangford, Northern Ireland
Hello everyone :),
I've a problem with my ABS on my 300tdi auto ES. The ABS light came on and will not go off. Took it to a Land Rover specialist which wasn't of too much help. Hooked the diagnostics on and it came up with a fault on the front left wheel- air gap too large. So i decided to take the wheel off, pulled the ABS sensor out, wiped it clean and put it back again. Used the handle of a hammer (rubber) to gently tap it to make sure it was fully in. Still showing the same fault and the MOT is just behind the corner.
Has anyone got any ideas?
 
....Still showing the same fault and the MOT is just behind the corner.
Has anyone got any ideas?


I might be a bit dumb but pls enlight me.......did the "specialist" erase the fault with the testbook....then the light came back......then u cleaned the sensor.....after that u scanned it again.......showing the same fault......erased the code again......then the light came back?

If not,....even if u repaired it(but i think u must replace the bearing).....the light will stay on untill u erase the logged fault code.
 
Had same problem with mine, took sensor out cleaned it and the hole it goes in to, used a smear of instant gasket, put sensor back in and tapped it down, spun the hub a couple of times and left it until the following day.

Now the light goes off as it should @ 5mph and brakes are a gud un again.
 
On my 97 300 tdi auto the ABS light came on well driving. I read & deleted fault codes whith a bit of wire.(do a search its hear somewere) The fault codes said off side front. To tell if the fault was sensor or hub i swoped the two front sensors and deleted the fault codes. that was three weeks ago. Since then no faults. passed MOT last week.good luck
 
Sierraferry, while the testbook was plugged in (showing a code for a too big air gap on the front left wheel), i took the wheel off, cleaned the sensor, put it back in again and gently tapped it with a hammer. The wheel was put back on again and i was asked to take it for a spin to see if the light will go off. I asked him if he cleared the code first. He said there is no need as it clears itself :confused: Took it for a test drive and surprise... light still on!
Karlo, did you have to clear your fault code first?
Daz Capri, will have to look the wire trick up and try and clear the code myself.
Nicedayforit, Ill check the connections tomorrow.
Could the problem be laying in the ECU?
 
It is something new to me to hear about fault codes which are clearing themselves.......there are intermitent failures that are warned on dash then go off but if the code is logged by the ECU (as far as i know) it wont "clear itself"........if the fault codes have had the capability to clear themseves after the fault was elimminated then why are the scaneers enhanced with the "clear faults" mode:confused:

I had myself the 3 amigos on.....replaced both front wheel hubs(the fault was just for the right front sensor but i wanted to change them both)......lights on the dash were there untill i erased them with Hawkeye...since then(about 5 months) everything OK..........maybe the Disco 1 is different.....but. i doubt that a logged code will clear itself
 
As a matter of fact see this:
abslight300tdi.png
 
Use google and do a search for Land Rover ABS blink codes for your Discovery. The ABS system is Wabco C . I have the same car as you and had the same problem . There are loads of fault codes and the Specialist may have responded to one and you need to check what you have actually got . Do the blink test and note them all down and then clear them all so when you switch the car on you should see the ABS light come on then go off for a half a second then stay on and then take the car for a drive . Do the blink code check again and note the faults down and compare with the first list . Some will be the same some will be similar ie same wheel but different messages and that will give you the area to concentrate on . If you can not find out what the codes mean I have a list some where so just post them here and I will get back to you . Regards Jonathan
 
There is confusion here,on early systems like this the specialist is partly right,in as much as the lamp should go out if the sensor is correctly seated and gives a decent output to the ecu.The fault will still be logged in the memory until its cleared - but the light will go out when the car gets to 5mph and all the self tests are done.
The front wheel bearings make no difference to the ABS sensors on a D1,its the swivel bearings or CV joint support bearings being slack that will push the sensor back out and give low output.The sensor may also be weak in itself which will log the same fault.
Highly unlikely to be an ecu fault.
 
Problem solved!
Ended up using a bit of wire to crate a bridge on the diagnostics plug so I could read the ABS fault codes. There was 4 different ones that came up, all linked to the front left wheel. I deleted all the fault codes. Took it for a spin, light still on. Read the fault codes again, this time there was only one fault code - "too large air gap front left wheel", so I cleared it. As I knew it wasn't the air gap because the sensor was properly in place I swapped the front sensors and read the fault codes again. Now it was giving a fault code "front right wheel sensor open circuit". Went and bought a sensor, fitted it and... NO ORANGE ABS LIGHT ANY MORE!!!
 
The front wheel bearings make no difference to the ABS sensors on a D1

I beg to differ.
As the bulletin posted above says the wheel bearings can affect the front sensors. I got intermittent problems with the ABS light and all the faults were to do with the front right sensor. After I replaced the front wheel bearings (after MOT man warned of excess play...or was it a fail, I can't remember) and cleared all the faults they never returned.
 
Problem solved!
Ended up using a bit of wire to crate a bridge on the diagnostics plug so I could read the ABS fault codes. There was 4 different ones that came up, all linked to the front left wheel. I deleted all the fault codes. Took it for a spin, light still on. Read the fault codes again, this time there was only one fault code - "too large air gap front left wheel", so I cleared it. As I knew it wasn't the air gap because the sensor was properly in place I swapped the front sensors and read the fault codes again. Now it was giving a fault code "front right wheel sensor open circuit". Went and bought a sensor, fitted it and... NO ORANGE ABS LIGHT ANY MORE!!!

Have you a link by any chance on how to do this as mine keeps popping up every now and again.
 
First of all, we need to find the ABS warning light relay. It's in the passenger footwell, under the glove compartment. Lever out the 3 press-in studs, and the trim panel can drop. There are half a dozen relays in there. The one we're looking for is (on mine!) nearest to you, but in the second row, "behind" some others. Difficult to explain, but obvious when you get in there. The relay bases slide onto brackets, push them about an inch "away from the wires" and they'll come free.

The one we're looking for has a green base, and has 2 black wires, 1 black/green wire and 1 brown/red wire.

Disconnect this relay - pull it out of the socket.

Now we need to find the ABS diagnostic connector. This is a 16-pin socket, located under the steering wheel, just above the clutch. You don't need to remove any trim panels to get to it - although you may want to pop out the panel it's mounted on - it's not immediately clear how the pins are numbered, so look at the colours of the wires.

The 2 pins we're interested in are pin4 (black) - ground, and pin15 (red/green) which goes to the ABS unit. If the internet sources are to be believed, the abs diagnostic wire may be black/pink on some models, and on the 5-pin connector we're interested in pins 2 and 5. But this has not been verified.

You need some way of bridging the 2 pins. A paper clip or a piece of solid-core wire is ideal.

Now, we're ready to go.

Make sure the relay is disconnected. Turn on the ignition. The ABS warning light should come on, as usual.

Bridge the 2 pins on the diagnostic connector.

After 5 seconds, the ABS warning light should go out. It will then flash a pattern. From this, we can obtain the 2-digit fault code.

first of all there will be 2 slow flashes - one longer than the other, with a gap of about 2 seconds.

Then the interesting bit. The lamp will then flash, at about one flash per second. Count these flashes - that's your first digit.

Then a pause

Then it will flash out the second digit.

This sequence will then repeat indefinitely (start, digit 1, digit 2).

If you disconnect the link when the lights are flashing, it will clear the fault. Reconnecting it will show the next stored fault. If you have patience, you can read out and clear the entire contents of the ABS memory.

The following table of fault codes was obtained from

http://www.bba-reman.com/content.asp...identification
 
I beg to differ.
As the bulletin posted above says the wheel bearings can affect the front sensors. I got intermittent problems with the ABS light and all the faults were to do with the front right sensor. After I replaced the front wheel bearings (after MOT man warned of excess play...or was it a fail, I can't remember) and cleared all the faults they never returned.

Totally agree with you, i had the ABS light on for a while until i tightened up the front O/S wheel bearing and now it operates correctly. I.E turns off when it reaches 5mph
 
First of all, we need to find the ABS warning light relay. It's in the passenger footwell, under the glove compartment. Lever out the 3 press-in studs, and the trim panel can drop. There are half a dozen relays in there. The one we're looking for is (on mine!) nearest to you, but in the second row, "behind" some others. Difficult to explain, but obvious when you get in there. The relay bases slide onto brackets, push them about an inch "away from the wires" and they'll come free.

The one we're looking for has a green base, and has 2 black wires, 1 black/green wire and 1 brown/red wire.

Disconnect this relay - pull it out of the socket.

Now we need to find the ABS diagnostic connector. This is a 16-pin socket, located under the steering wheel, just above the clutch. You don't need to remove any trim panels to get to it - although you may want to pop out the panel it's mounted on - it's not immediately clear how the pins are numbered, so look at the colours of the wires.

The 2 pins we're interested in are pin4 (black) - ground, and pin15 (red/green) which goes to the ABS unit. If the internet sources are to be believed, the abs diagnostic wire may be black/pink on some models, and on the 5-pin connector we're interested in pins 2 and 5. But this has not been verified.

You need some way of bridging the 2 pins. A paper clip or a piece of solid-core wire is ideal.

Now, we're ready to go.

Make sure the relay is disconnected. Turn on the ignition. The ABS warning light should come on, as usual.

Bridge the 2 pins on the diagnostic connector.

After 5 seconds, the ABS warning light should go out. It will then flash a pattern. From this, we can obtain the 2-digit fault code.

first of all there will be 2 slow flashes - one longer than the other, with a gap of about 2 seconds.

Then the interesting bit. The lamp will then flash, at about one flash per second. Count these flashes - that's your first digit.

Then a pause

Then it will flash out the second digit.

This sequence will then repeat indefinitely (start, digit 1, digit 2).

If you disconnect the link when the lights are flashing, it will clear the fault. Reconnecting it will show the next stored fault. If you have patience, you can read out and clear the entire contents of the ABS memory.

The following table of fault codes was obtained from

http://www.bba-reman.com/content.asp...identification


All sorted got a 2-12 code and fixed it today - champion thx :)
 
I beg to differ.
As the bulletin posted above says the wheel bearings can affect the front sensors. I got intermittent problems with the ABS light and all the faults were to do with the front right sensor. After I replaced the front wheel bearings (after MOT man warned of excess play...or was it a fail, I can't remember) and cleared all the faults they never returned.
Well **** me a Disco that can repair its own CV carrier and swivel bearings then reseat its ABS sensor.I guess there is an exception to every rule - read and understand the layout of a D1 front axle and you will see what goes on....
If your front wheel bearings were that bad you were lucky the wheel didnt part company altogether.
 
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