Hello All,

I've started this as a new thread to separate it out from the one where people were getting stability control failures accompanied by "limp home" mode or other engine issues.

Over the seven-plus years I've owned my car I have occasionally gotten spurious warnings of various sorts. One of the more common ones is an intermittent STABILITY CONTROL FAILURE with ABS light. It has typically gone away after shutting off the car and restarting it and only recurs at some far later time and with the same pattern.

This, however, is no the case now. It has come on and remains on. I have not yet taken my CAN/OBD-II reader to see what, if any code is stored but will be doing so and posting it here. I also know that this can be triggered by a low battery, but how low is low? I have absolutely no difficulty with starting the car with a single turn of the key and, generally, a change in starting behavior is my first clue that the battery status is changing. I have an Interstate battery that is now at least five years old. Other than this warning there are no other signs of distress from the car.

If anyone has tips/tricks/suggestions regarding the "order of attack" I should use in an attempt to diagnose the root cause of this issue I would appreciate the input.

Submitted by vogelbp@gmail.com on Wed, 09/28/2011 - 09:21

Steven,

You are definitely correct about my reader. I have an Innova 3130 and that's two steps down from the 3150 which is the first model in their range that reads ABS codes.

I thank you for your suggestions. Yesterday, after the issue having been persistent for several days, it again "disappeared" when I started the car.

I guess I'm going to have to upgrade my reader or take the car to someone with a reader that has ABS code capability in order to solve this one. I'm just thankful that it's not causing me to go into any sort of "limp home" mode when it does occur.

I also had a similar saga with the 1996 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon I own and its ABS. It took several years to finally resolve that.

Submitted by stevejag@sbcgl… on Tue, 09/27/2011 - 12:09

Hi Brian,

I don't expect your OBDII reader to be much help here. You need to be able to read ABS related "C" codes, like C1165 for instance. What you describe sounds like one of two things, most likely that is. One is the Pump Motor Resistance fault, which requires the circuit board resoldering you may have seen mentioned on the forums. The other is a wheel speed sensor fault possibly caused my a broken link lead to one of the wheels, especially at the front. The link to the front wheels flexes with every movement of the wheels up and down or turning; usually breaks a circuit inside and you loose a speed sensor. You can take the links off to check the resistance and see if they go open circuit when you move them around. The best course is to read the codes and see if it points you to a specific wheel.

Cheers,