ABS light came on

[weighman695]

I am sitting here in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the last three weeks.  Before coming here to Tulsa, we were in Montrose, Colorado.  We used Highway 50 coming down from Montrose descending between 6% to 9%.

 

While sitting here in Tulsa, I am starting the engine for 20 minutes every week.  Today, I started the engine and I noticed that the ABS indicator light is turned on.  I did not see this indicator light before.  We just had rain for the last 3 days here in Tulsa.

 

What do you typically do, aside from calling a mechanic, to fix this issue.  I am new in RVing and this is the first motorhome I owned and driven.  If I have to call a mechanic to fix this, do you know somebody or a company here in Tulsa that I can call for help?

 

I will appreciate your help on this.

 

Thanks.....

[klcdenver]

My previous Monaco diplomat did that all the time. I would just push the brake pedal an release it then it was gone until the next shutdown. Hope this cheap fix works for you. If not it will need to be hooked to a computer to read the ABS code. 

[willbo777]

It sounds like you are not moving the coach, is that right?  The ABS normally resets when you start to move.  Also, just my opinion starting the coach for a few minutes, like 20 every week does nothing good.  It is always better to drive the coach and let it get up to operating temp every few months.

[Ivan K]

Look in your manual to see if it tells you where a ABS diagnostic button is located and who made it. It should have ability to give you a blink code for an existing trouble. There is also a chance that it will clear when you get on the move again, wheel sensor codes usually don't clear until you drive a short distance.

[Jim McGarvie]

43 minutes ago, weighman695 said:

I am sitting here in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the last three weeks.  Before coming here to Tulsa, we were in Montrose, Colorado.  We used Highway 50 coming down from Montrose descending between 6% to 9%.

 

While sitting here in Tulsa, I am starting the engine for 20 minutes every week.  Today, I started the engine and I noticed that the ABS indicator light is turned on.  I did not see this indicator light before.  We just had rain for the last 3 days here in Tulsa.

 

What do you typically do, aside from calling a mechanic, to fix this issue.  I am new in RVing and this is the first motorhome I owned and driven.  If I have to call a mechanic to fix this, do you know somebody or a company here in Tulsa that I can call for help?

 

I will appreciate your help on this.

 

Thanks.....

We’ve had our ABS light come on occasionally, usually after descending a steep grade, and my procedure is to ignore it. It has always gone out eventually, and even were it a legitimate failure I seriously doubt I could lock a wheel unless the road was very slippery. 

[Joel & Susanna]

on my 04 safari the abs control board is in the compartment below the drivers seat. my reset red button switch gets dirty, i spray contact cleaner in there, work it a few times and the light goes away i hope this helps your issue

 

[weighman695]

Thank you very much for your responses.  I will drive the coach around as suggested and see what happens.

 

Joel,

Where exactly can I find the control board with the red button switch?  Is it the compartment where the fuses are, driver side, and can be accessed from outside of the coach?

[jegall]

ABS will not effect normal braking my ABS has been on for 11000 miles. Hooked up to computer it said a rear sensor was bad I was  quoted $1500 to replace.

[Flyinhy]

Just FYI. A leaking wheel seal will also trigger an ABS fault. It's worth a few minutes to inspect with a flashlight. 

[jegall]

Thanks for the info I have been under coach looking for sensor lines no leaks found .

Jim Gallaway

Owasso,Ok

9182846071

Northeast of Tulsa

 

[Grampy OG]

On 10/15/2021 at 11:00 AM, willbo777 said:

It sounds like you are not moving the coach, is that right?  The ABS normally resets when you start to move.  Also, just my opinion starting the coach for a few minutes, like 20 every week does nothing good.  It is always better to drive the coach and let it get up to operating temp every few months.

I am in 100% agreement. Warming the engine for 20 minutes does nothing particularly cumulative towards PM. Exercise that puppy! I have a couple of MH friends that believe that a 20 minute idle actually recharges their batteries. It doesn't. During a 3 month stay this past summer I tried to unhook and give the old dog a 50-60 mile spin or so up on the freeway. 

[Mike in Va]

Just came from the garage after my abs light came on. Didn't have the time to look at it myself so took it to the garage. Turns out the sensor on the RR tire had moved out a little and that was the problem. Took longer to get the mh in the garage then it did to find the problem. Next time I'm going to take the time to look at it first.    

[weighman695]

Mike,

Do you have a picture of how the ABS sensors look like?   Where can I find those?

[jegall]

If you are still in Tulsa check with Tulsa auto spring they work on motorhome ABS .

Jim Gallaway

9182846071

[SigPIlot]

Not sure if this is germane, but my ABS light has always lit up on startup. Just tap the break peddle and light goes out. Always thought it was just notifying me the system was op.

[weighman695]

Finally, I was able to drive around the coach for at lesst 11 miles and the ABS, ATC light went out.  The light came out as soon as I left my camp site.

 

Thank you very much to all who responded to my question regarding ABS/ATC indicator light.

 

 

To clarify, the ABS/ATC light went off as soon as I left my camp site.  Maybe about 50 feet from my camp site.

[Mike in Va]

Weight695 I just read your question. I don't have a picture of the sensor. If you look on the back side of each wheel drum you should see a black plastic line with small wires inside It leading to the sensor. The sensor should be screwed Into the back of the brake drum. It should be easy to spot. Mike

[Ivan K]

Glad it turned out not to be a problem. For illustration,  if you had disk brakes, the sensor would be hidden inside the rotor/hub assembly and needs to be almost touching the ring gear pressed into the hub. Sometimes they may slip back a tiny bit and need to be pushed back in and there is a code for it.

[RoadTripper2084]

FYI On my '97 Dynasty the ABS light stays on until you move forward faster than 5 mph, I think.

 

[Ivan K]

2 hours ago, RoadTripper2084 said:

FYI On my '97 Dynasty the ABS light stays on until you move forward faster than 5 mph, I think.

 

I don't think it should be happening on every start. Maybe you don't wait for the lamp test to complete its ÷2s cycle before going from ON to START. The first thing an air brake endorsement examiner is looking for is the light to come ON and OFF before continuing the test.

[seadoo200hp]

On 10/15/2021 at 2:14 PM, jegall said:

ABS will not effect normal braking my ABS has been on for 11000 miles. Hooked up to computer it said a rear sensor was bad I was  quoted $1500 to replace.

My ABS also is on all the time.  Have to prioritize what needs fixing, so far in 25k miles haven't had a problem.  The motorhome has taught me to be a defensive driver and aware of my situation more than anything else I have driven.

[Mike in Va]

52 minutes ago, seadoo200hp said:

My ABS also is on all the time.  Have to prioritize what needs fixing, so far in 25k miles haven't had a problem.  The motorhome has taught me to be a defensive driver and aware of my situation more than anything else I have driven.

Seadoo the previous owner of my mh  had a problem with the abs light staying on. He had the sensors replaced and then lost confidence in the garage and stopped trying to fix it. I had it checked and found the abs module was bad. Found a new/ old stock one on Ebay for 250. Replaced it my self and that took care of my problem.  I was told before I fixed it that having the light on would not effect the brakes, only no abs system . 

[Ivylog]

ABS is idiot proof braking… you cannot lock the brakes up making it easier to steer around the object you are about to hit. Not having ABS on slick pavement might make a difference but on dry pavement it may actually increase the stopping distance, slightly.

[jacwjames]

I've had a problem with my ABS light off and on since I've owned the coach so I've gotten fairly competent at checking for codes and fixing things. 

First thing anyone needs to do is determine how to check codes, some are different then others but it should be explained in your manual.  In my case I have an ABS diagnostic module in my front drivers side electrical bay, in my case it is located on the lower left hand side of the compartment.  It looks like this http://www.nwrvsupply.com/product/16614041.html  one issue though is that it is obsolete so be careful with it.  NW RV Supply offers a repair service but that's not a guarantee.

In my case I have to turn the key on not starting the rig, press the brake pedal one time, go outside and press the small black button on the module for <2 seconds.  It will then flash the fault codes.  I believe a 1-1 code means all is OK. 

I have a code for the front drivers side sensor bad, pulled it and cleaned and reinstalled and light went out.

Periodically over the years I have an ABS light come on and it turned out to be that the black button was stuck, dirt gets in it and the road vibration eventually holds it in causing the light to come on.  I can take compressed air and blow it out while rapidly pressing the button.  The last time this happened the compressed air didn't work.  I had to take the button apart, underneath is a small spring plate that closed the connection to start the diagnostic process, it has 4 small legs that provide the spring action.  I GENTLY bent the legs in a little and put the button back together and the board back in an that worked.

The one code that I had that was the hardest to figure out was showing the ABS system was in Dyno mode.  This happens if you hold the button down for more then 2 seconds, which I must have done when checking for codes.  All the books say that if you put the system in Dyno mode and then drive the coach it is suppose to clear but in my case it didn't.  After hours of searching I found a process to get the system out of the Dyno mode, which involved pressing the brake pedal and pressing the black button in a sequence (took me and my wife to do it).  That got rid of the light and taught me not to hold the button down for more then 2 seconds. 

[RoadTripper2084]

12 hours ago, Ivan K said:

I don't think it should be happening on every start. Maybe you don't wait for the lamp test to complete its ÷2s cycle before going from ON to START. The first thing an air brake endorsement examiner is looking for is the light to come ON and OFF before continuing the test.

Nope. On my rig it's the expected behaviour. 🙂