Wretched ABS light again.

[black fingernail]

The Broomstick must have noticed me working on my new (to me) car, (SAAB 9-3 Convertible).
So has thrown a hissy fit demanding immediate attention, (Yes, I am convinced it is possessed).
The ABS light comes on, with the amber brake warning light, and occasionally, the MIL light, and the brake starts coming on etc. But if the DSC button is pressed just after start up, it can still be driven. Just like it did a couple of years ago, changing the front sensors seemed to fix it.
So I have plugged it in on the C110+ machine and it came up with these;- 5E4F, 5E3C, 5E3B, 5E19. These codes seem to indicate, front right, rear left, wheel sensors, also the DSC unit.
Today, I have removed and cleaned the aforementioned sensors, to no avail, It looks like I'll have to replace them. So I dug deeply under the brake master cylinder to locate the the ABS pump, hoping to find the type of electronic module that needs re-soldering on the power in feed on the pcb. But it looks completely different than that type!
But, I did find this plug that seems to not have a home, however, it does become live when the ignition is turned on, anyone any ideas?

 

[FRANKIE]

The Broomstick must have noticed me working on my new (to me) car, (SAAB 9-3 Convertible).
So has thrown a hissy fit demanding immediate attention, (Yes, I am convinced it is possessed).
The ABS light comes on, with the amber brake warning light, and occasionally, the MIL light, and the brake starts coming on etc. But if the DSC button is pressed just after start up, it can still be driven. Just like it did a couple of years ago, changing the front sensors seemed to fix it.
So I have plugged it in on the C110+ machine and it came up with these;- 5E4F, 5E3C, 5E3B, 5E19. These codes seem to indicate, front right, rear left, wheel sensors, also the DSC unit.
Today, I have removed and cleaned the aforementioned sensors, to no avail, It looks like I'll have to replace them. So I dug deeply under the brake master cylinder to locate the the ABS pump, hoping to find the type of electronic module that needs re-soldering on the power in feed on the pcb. But it looks completely different than that type!
But, I did find this plug that seems to not have a home, however, it does become live when the ignition is turned on, anyone any ideas?View attachment 219511

They say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing and that probably refers to my knowledge on this, but I can tell you my experience on this just in case it might help. It probably has nothing to do with your problems, but perhaps it might help. A while ago, my ABS light went on and the code that was given showed the front left (USA Left Hand Drive) hand side sensor was bad. I had checked with @t-tony and he said that the sensor would most probably have to be replaced. I had read that the sensor would not pick up the readings from the teeth on the ABS wheel if the spaces in between those teeth were filled with too much dirt or grit so the sensor couldn't read the individual teeth. The spaces were dirty but cleaning them out produced the same reading anyway. So I replaced the sensor. You may be comforted to know that I also have my own personal "broomstick". While trying to remove the small bolt that secures the sensor, it snapped off in the hub. I had to drill it out. I tried to use a smaller drill bit and then use 'easy-out'. For some reason, as in most cases, this never seems to work. To make my experience more enjoyable, the easy-out bit broke off. Now, they are made of hardened steel. So now I have to drill out the broken shaft from the snapped bolt PLUS the broken shaft of the easy-out. (Why did they have to insult our intelligence whey they used the word "easy" in the description of the tool?). @t-tony pointed out that the drilled out and threaded hole for the sensor stud went from the back of the hub through to the front of the hub. Since the sensor stud, when fully threaded into the hub doesn't reach the front of the hub, the small gap it leaves gives you a starter hole to line up your drill bit if you start to drill the shaft out from the front. Thank God for small favors. After drilling it out with an expensive hardened drill bit, I used a tap and die set to re-thread it. Boom!!!!!.... the broomstick shows up again!!!!! The handle of the tap set breaks apart while I'm trying to tap it out. Fortunately, I was able to retract the tap. It was from a cheap Chinese set. I went out and bought another set that ran me $84 but was worth every penny. It was several times easier to use this quality set. I was able to finish the job rather quickly and after installing the new sensor, everything worked just fine. So, as you see, you're not the only one with a 'broomstick'. I hope you sort out your problem quickly without a lot of problems popping up. Let me know how you make out.....................................Frankie from Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey.

 

[Andyboy]

To change an ABS sensor, never just try to undo the allen screw. It WILL break off unless you're lucky.

Instead, grind the plastic ABS sensor away around the screw and chisel it off leaving then screw behind. With WD40 and careful persuasion the screw will come out.

Every sensor I've replaced of late has been rusted in or rather the iron hub rusts onto the plastic sensor. Sometimes you can get the remains out without damaging the ABS ring but that and cleaning out the sensor hole can be as real pain.

Now, I just remove the disc, hub and the steel backplate (I replace them unless perfect) and drive the old sensor out. With it all stripped, you can use a round file to clean up the sensor hole, install the new one with a spot of grease and from here on, future replacement is 10-15 minutes work.

 

[black fingernail]

I have already removed and cleaned the offending sensors, and I shoved a small 'bottle brush' type wire brush into the hole to hopefully knock any muck from the teeth. When I changed the brake pads and discs I thought it was a good time to remove them to give them a good clean up and grease the threads.
FRANKIE, I feel your pain, 'easy outs' are banned in any of my workshops, they make a mishap into a catastrophe. if you think about it, if the screw is fresh, and shears it's head off, you can nearly always get something pointy to tap it round until you can undo it. If the screw is seized and is tight enough to shear it's head off, what chance have you got with something that wants to expand inside and make it even tighter! I just drill them out and re-tap, or use a helicoil insert depending how bad it is.
Andyboy, Yes, the bolts are a bit small and brittle, I find a good belt on its head 'shocks' the thread and hopefully cracks the rusty grip, and a good dose of plus-gas left to soak as long as you can, then just 'flex' it until it hopefully lets go. It's better to bash the socket type allen key in position to save burring the hex hole.

 

[t-tony]

Not all broken bolt extractors use expansion to grip the seized part This type doesn't as they are parallel with sharp splines down the side. I first came across these from a "Snap-On Tools " dealer and have used them very successfully over the years. They come with a drill bit specific to the remover you need to use, and a driver bit which slides down to the surface which you turn with a spanner or socket.

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Always try to tighten the fixing before undoing as well. If these don't work nothing will so you end up drilling and re-tapping the thread.

Tony.

 

[black fingernail]

Looks interesting Tony, it looks like an advancement to knocking in a torx into a drilled stud. my fear is if it breaks off leaving a very hard 'plug' to get out.
Aren't old cars fun!!!
Any ideas where that plug may be from?

 

[t-tony]

Plug?

Tony.

 

[black fingernail]

Plug?

Tony.

The one in my mitt in the pic in the first post.

 

[t-tony]

That plug. No sorry, but there are several of these around the Z3 loom so I understand.. I have a visitor with a 2.2 tomorrow so will have a butcher's on it.

Tony.

 

[black fingernail]

Thanks Tony, It just seems strange that it isn't capped off in any way.

 

[t-tony]

The connector for the Cruise Control stalk on my 2003 Z4 was just taped up to the steering column but not capped off at all. Just undid the tape and plugged it in. In recent threads the connectors for the CD multi-changer was just stored out of the way but not protected at all.

I'll see what I can see.

Tony,

 

[black fingernail]

Thanks, Tony.

 

[t-tony]

Well, we had a look inside the cover and found this,

Which is the same one you found. It was tucked down out of the way, so obviously not needed. There was also this bigger blue multi plug.

The plug below with the thicker
yellow and orange wires would've been for the smog pump which this car has never had. HTH.

Tony.

 

[black fingernail]

Thanks Tony, Yes that is the one, I also have the big blue plug, but it has a blanking plug over it.
I'll just change the two sensors and go from there, I hate electronic jiggery pokery.

 

[t-tony]

Dave left wondering what the big blue plug was for.

Tony.

 

[black fingernail]

I suppose if everything works, it can't be that important, (hopefully).