ABS test won't make ABS light flash a code 1996 Impreza Outback AWD

[navyhoosier]

https://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/113645-how-to-read-abs-codes/

 

We used the thread above to find the connector and after we ground pin 6.  Nothing flashes.  For good measure we tried to ground the other pins as well.  Nothing made it blink.

 

The ABS light has come on in the same manner for as long as we've had the car, which is about a year.  Mileage is about 250K.

 

When you start the car the ABS light goes out.  As soon as your roll forward 10 or 15 feet the light comes on and stays on.  We've also hit the brakes on wet pavement to verify the ABS really doesn't work.  It doesn't.

 

We also tried to ground the appropriate pin and drive a bit.  Once the ABS light came on, nothing blinked.  Shutting it off and then back to run resulted in NO blinking.  

 

So....it's like it doesn't "remember" that an ABS light was on.  Any ideas on the next step.  

 

We'd love to get ABS going again so it would be better in the snow.  We just got a set of snow tires, so it should be a beast if we can get the ABS going again.

 

Thanks

 

NH

 

 

 

 

 

[jonathan909]

4 hours ago, navyhoosier said:

So....it's like it doesn't "remember" that an ABS light was on.  Any ideas on the next step. 

That's exactly how it sounds.  From the TSM:

-> When there are no trouble codes in memory, only the start code (11) is shown

So you should at least get that when you ground the diagnostic pin and turn the key.  And make sure you've grounded the right pin and that you're getting the sequence right:

1. With diagnostic pin disconnected, drive the car.  ABS light goes on.

2. Stop car, turn ignition off.  Ground diagnostic pin.  Turn ignition on.  Codes blink.

I don't have a lot of experience with these things, but did get a feel for it while battling my (late) '02 Forester.  I'm also guessing that all of the ABS units are common (someone please correct me on this if I'm off base).  My sense of it is that your ABS controller is NFG, but it's still weird that it's alive enough to raise an error, but not able to report it.  The unit is entirely self-contained, so you can't just swap in a new controller.  Perhaps there's a yard closer to you,  but there's a Pick -n-Pull in Hammond, and they charge $64 (plus core) for an ABS unit:

http://www.picknpull.com/part_pricing.aspx?LocationID=66&NavItem=1&SearchCriteria=&#partpricing

 I'd try stuffing in a replacement from the wrecker and see if it behaves differently.  Note that the connector has a lock that you have to slide out in order to disengage it, and (of course) you're going to have bleed all four wheels (a PITA).  But that'd be the route I'd take.

P.S. You also said "For good measure we tried to ground the other pins as well."  That's a bad measure, not a good one.  You can't predict the results when you do stuff like that.  Stick with grounding only the specified pin.

 

Edited December 21, 2018 by jonathan909

[navyhoosier]

I love pick and pulls.  There are two yards in Indianapolis that I'm close to.

 

https://upullandpay.com/indianapolis/home/

 

https://www.pullapart.com/locations/indianapolis/

 

OK..that's good info to know from TSM.  Nothing blinks.  I'll certainly go verify we have the right pin, which I"m 99.99% sure according to the other link, but nothing blinks.  We did  it exactly like in the post, light was on, key off, ground, key on and no blinking.

 

Bleeding the system again shouldn't be too bad.  Our calipers are almost new, so nothing should be bad rusted yet.

 

I get what you are saying about not trying to ground other things.  

 

Anyone know of another way to test the ABS unit itself?

 

NH

 

 

 

 

 

[navyhoosier]

 

Another idea/thought.  I've got a multi-meter.  Is there  a way to check the pin I'm supposed to be grounding?  Or perhaps use a test light?

 

NH  

[jonathan909]

This is actually a fairly complicated system, so while it's possible to set up a test jig for diagnosing it on the bench, it's not very practical.  Stick with diagnosing it in situ.

Also, the TSM goes into detail about diagnostics via the SSM (Subaru Select Monitor), but I have no idea whether any of the PC or smartphone apps like FreeSSM support it.  Anyone?

Short of swapping in a replacement unit, the diagnostic charts really only offer one  potential fault for what you're seeing.  Under:

TROUBLE CODE DOES NOT APPEAR.
DIAGNOSIS: Diagnosis circuit is open.
TROUBLE SYMPTOM: The ABS warning light turns on or off normally but the start code cannot be read out in the diagnostic mode.

the only possible (serviceable) fault described is that your diagnostic pin grounding isn't making it to the ABS unit.  In other words, the diagnostic ground pin (the dangling one) isn't actually connected to ground, OR the diagnostic input pin is bad, OR the wire between that connector and the ABS connector is bad, OR the ABS connector pin is bad.  So you can check this with your DVM:  Plug in the diagnostic ground under the dash, unplug the ABS connector from the unit, and check for continuity between the diagnostic pin (PIN 4, if I'm reading the diagram properly) in the harness connector and ground.  That's about it.

Wrt the bleeding, yeah, I've felt that pain.  I just replaced all the struts on my '01 Forester (did I mention I wrote off TWO Foresters this year thanks to deer?), and those idiots threaded the brake lines through brackets on the struts, so changing the struts meant bleeding the brakes, and both rear bleed nipples were rusted hard and twisted off, so after snapping an easy-out it was off to the store for a couple of new cylinders.  Grrr....

 

Edited December 21, 2018 by jonathan909

[navyhoosier]

 

Johnathan909,

 

Thanks for the great information.  I'm going to spend some time looking through the TSM and find the applicable pages.

 

Brakes and bleeding:  The car comes to us and I had the teens driving it for a bit.  Also trying to teach them do do their own mechanic work.  I simply hadn't had the time to get in an look at the brakes properly and finally one of them complained about brakes making noise.  Lots of rust, pads unevenly worn..etc etc.  We had also been slowly loosing some brake fluid...somewhere.

So I got new brake lines, calipers, rotors, pads and had them change everything out.  We use a suction device hooked to air compressor to pull the fluid through each of the calipers until everything was running good and clear.

Amazing how smooth it stops now with all new brakes. 

 

Two cars vs deer...wow.   I've taken out a couple over the years, but never two in one year.

NH

[jonathan909]

I tell you, around here more people should be calling for the large-scale extermination of those vermin.  According to both the Mounties and the body shops, more than half of the accidents they deal with in this area are deer strikes.

[Mike104]

2 hours ago, jonathan909 said:

I tell you, around here more people should be calling for the large-scale extermination of those vermin.  According to both the Mounties and the body shops, more than half of the accidents they deal with in this area are deer strikes.

Better than hitting a moose!

[jonathan909]

D@mn straight.  That's the rule:  Do not swerve to miss a deer - hitting the ditch is more likely to kill you, and the deer is unlikely to do more than damage the car and die (though the first one I really nailed a few years ago went high, blew half the windshield into my face, and pushed the roofline back about six inches).  But you have to swerve to miss the moose, because they're both heavy and high, and sure to come through the windshield and kill you.  A near-miss of a moose at night is just about the most terrifying thing you can imagine, because as you pass it at speed in a small, low car like a Legacy it looks ten or twenty feet tall.  It's really a weird effect, and lots of people report it.

A friend of mine who used to have a Ferrari had a much more amusing story about one of the other guys he drove with (I can't remember whether his was another Ferrari or a Lamborghini) hitting a deer out in my neighborhood, and since the car was so low it scooped the viscera and blew it all into the passenger compartment...

 

Edited December 22, 2018 by jonathan909