I've been working ABS/Traction control issues for the last couple of months. I got lots of great help in a couple of threads on here but to no avail.

For the last few weeks its really getting spooky. I start the cold car and drive 20 miles to school and don't have a single problem. No CEL, no warning, nothing. Stop in the parking lot and restart car, still nothing!!

3 hours later, I start the car. Don't move it out of gear and get the CEL/traction control warning and brake light/no speedo. Lasts for the entire drive back home.

Next day its the same thing! Nothing on the drive out, everything on the way back. What's going on?!?!?!

Codes are all CAN system communication faults.

From my last thread I've done all your recommendations and am now starting to just swap parts. Have a break switch on order and hope to replace it this weekend.

All connections have been checked (thought my problem was the ABS module connection but that proved incorrect). Grounds and sensors have been cleaned, module checked. Everything this collective group has recommended!!!!!!! Anything else?

This is not fun anymore. Have my eye on an '02 Maserati.

 

When I moved to OC Md my xk8 was not used as often as it once was. And the problem I had with it was that my ABS / traction control was flashing on and then off what I found was that it was the battery. FYI the battery was replaced about 2 to 3 months prior to all of this taking place. My fix was a solar charger, check the battery and all the connections.

I am not suggesting that you get a charger like mine I am saying that these cars are sensitive to voltage fluctuation. If you checked your ABS system and all is good, look at your battery and all the associated connections to the under hood power supply.

 

You're spreading your issue out over several posts, makes it kinda difficult to keep up with where you're at.

CAN comm faults will be U**** codes, is that what you are retrieving? Exactly what codes are you finding? When working with codes it is helpful to find out how a particular code is set - i.e. how does the ecu know a sensor has gone bad?

One item I've found that will make all kinds of weirdness occur is the instrument cluster connector, behind the fascia and below the fuel guage. You might plug/unplug it a few times.

 

Beav, agree with you but didn't want to restart all the trouble shooting postings. Is the instrument cluster connecter one of the yellow or white connectors attached to the steering column assembly?

Gus, got a new battery last month. Proper size and CCA.

Thanks for listening to me rant....

 

Measure the voltage.

 

Agreed w/Gus, measure battery voltage first. If it's below 11.5v things begin getting wierd (for my money anything below 12v is suspect.) Why would you expect the instrument cluster connector to be attached to the steering column?

 

Cause thats the only one I see

 

Something just as a notion. The OBD system stores all faults, and can come up with indications of a continuing problem because of that. For a while I experienced similar problems with my Rangie, and it almost drove me to drink. The problem actually turned out to be dirty contacts on the lower brake pedal lever switch, which even when fixed (just cleaned & refitted) the OBD kept doing very similar things to your problem. I took it down to my friendly 'indie' who cleared the memory of the fault using Autologic - Bingo! Hasn't played up since.
Now I'm going to shave my head & keep my fingers on it for the next 10 minutes for luck!!

Cheers,

Languid

 

Further to that, it's worth while going to your nearest electronics seller (Tandy or similar) and buying a spray can of contact cleaner. They usually come with an 'injection' tube so you can get into tight places. Mine is labelled Fluorocarbon TF Cleaner, and is probably near half my age, so you won't get that one, but there are modern products that will achieve the same result. A substitute I have used is Throttle Body/Carburettor cleaner. Both will clean all sorts of crap off electrical contacts without damaging the surrounding plug plastic.
I had a Jeep Cherokee (yep, I'm off for the soapy water mouthwash) which would shut off the interior lights. The problem turned out to be something like clear oil in one of the plugs behind the instrument panel, which was interacting with a microprocessor embedded in the panel and causing the body computer to leave the damned lights on. Weird, & frustrating (it was an absolute nightmare to find because of its obscurity), but a good squirt with the throttle body cleaner wash the oily crap away, it dried pretty quickly, and solved the problem.

Cheers,

Languid

 

Damn, should read 'would NOT shut off the interior lights'

 

The fascia for the instrument cluster is the wood-clad portion. Apparently you have removed the knee panel but need to remove two more screws and tip the cluster cover up and away to reveal the connector.

 

Unfortunately, contrary to what everyone is feeding you, mainly manure, I have done every single one the recommendations that have appeared on these posts, and whereas I can get the abs/traction idiot lights to go away a week or a month at a time, it continues to come back on an irregular (but regularly annoying) basis. If I go over a bump too fast, it sometimes is triggered, if I back out of my driveway at the wrong angle, it sometimes is triggered, sometimes just starting the car it pops on and stays that way for a day and just as abruptly disappears the next. The module has been rebuilt, the sensors cleaned, the harness fixed and the wires lengthened to keep the contact consistent, the voltage checked; let's face it, it's still an English automobile with all of the electrical glitches and characteristics associated with that classification. It drives me just crazy. Everytime I go a week or two without an idiot light popping on, I'm lulled into thinking that I've solved all of the issues, only to have one flash in front of my face almost as a result of my thinking about it. Good luck, but don't think you'll ever cure it completely.

 

The hall effect sensors in this system that sense the wheel speed produce some very low voltage/low current signals. Either wear on the contacts, or a poor choice of contact materials by the designers might be leading to some of this intermittent operation. Low level signals generally require gold plated contacts to be reliable because a minimum current is required to 'break' the oxidation layer that develops with other types of contacts.

One possible 'easy fix' is to apply 'Oxgard' paste http://www.acehardware.com/product/i...ductId=1378721 to the signal contacts. This is a lubricating, anti-oxidizing paste with conductive particles. It is available at electrical supply and some hardware stores. Since it is conductive, care must be taken to apply it ONLY to the contacts and not the plastic connector housings. You can use a toothpick or thin wire to apply it. IMO, worth a try for those who are having intractable ABS problems where all else has failed.

It has solved numerous intermittent electronic problems in my 23-year old Cherokee.

 

There is a great group of knowlegable people on this board, donating their time and handing out very good advice. I am sorry they have not solved your problem, but you should be more respectful.

 

A big AMEN to WhiteXKR! This forum is invaluable and has solved many problems---can't always cover "operator errors"

 

As you do this check the integrity of the plugs on both ends it is not uncommon to have a poor or failed crimp/solder connection. As you do this check the tightness of the receiving end of the plug.

 

Hey Al,

Don't you know that the weird random error messages and other quirks ARE part of the charm of this car?

Doug

 

If you want to REALLY have problems, pick up that '02 Maserati you're looking at!

 

What kills me is the mentality that anything and everything that can go wrong can be fixed with a few minutes of poking around with a scratch awl, a bent screwdriver and half of a pair of pliers. Mechanics are stupid crooks that couldn't figure out how to open a can of spam without the key. Now that you have a problem that a few online peeps from several thousand miles away can't solve telepathically it has to be that your ten year old car was always a piece of crap, engineered by someone sitting in a dark and dirty corner playing with himself. And then to insult those that have tried their best to help you, for free. Geeez, nice guy.

 

Don't know about others, but I've made a mental note.