[Quixoticish]

Hi all! Had a problem with an ABS light, took it into the garage, looks like it was a cable that was rubbing and worn through. All sorted, but they say they can't reset the ABS light. They plug in, try to reset, and no matter what they do the ABS light just won't go off.

What are my options at this point? It's a fairly standard 1.6, nothing special, but I really do need the car and don't have the money for another at the moment, but I'm concerned about throwing more money at the problem to get other bits replaced with no real certainty of a fix. To add to the stress the MOT expires on the 26th of March and I know it's a fail if the ABS light is on.
Anyone have any suggestions as to what can be tried next?

 

[ttg4l]

Need to confirm it was that corner that was bringing up the fault code, and not one of the other sensors or rings at fault.

I wouldn't panic too much, realistically it could only be either wiring, a sensor, or the tone ring. Sensors can be had for around a tenner for a Febi one. For the rear, it's easier to just swap the whole bearing assembly - circa £30 for a cheap one, £50 for a better quality one.

Logging wheel speed data would tell you whether it's sensor or ring. If it's ring, you'll see a repeated gap/drop in the wheel speed. Whereas a bad sensor will drop in and out randomly, or just give a zero reading altogether.

Of course there's always the possibility that the garage didn't fix the wiring properly, but again, that'll be picked up with similar symptoms to a bad sensor. FWIW, they don't seem particularly skilled if they're just insistent that the wiring is the only thing that was worth considering as the fault. Could be that the sensor died coincidentally at the same time.

 

[adam-]

The reply above is all you need to do. Data tells you what's wrong, sounds like the garage is junk.

 

[Quixoticish]

Drove about 200 miles today, abs light on. Driving home, stop for coffee, light goes off. 80 miles to home light stays off, only to immediately come on again just as I was pulling into the driveway. So frustrating.

 

[adam-]

If light goes off after ignition cycle the sensor is good. If not, sensor bad.