ABS light / E-Brake

35990 Views 27 Replies 10 Participants Last post by robinhn2001, Jul 18, 2011

Lx_Racer

Discussion Starter · Mar 12, 2008

Hey guys...

last week i left my lights on, killing my battery. I had a buddy give me a boost. The cables never touched or anything. I let my car run for a few minutes after talking to him, I got into my car and both my ABS and Ebrake light are on...anyone know what would cause this.

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portabuddy

· #2 · Mar 12, 2008

just take the terminals off the battery for 5-10min. then reconnect them to reset the ecu. the lights will go away, those are just phantom codes that will go away...

make sure you have your radio code in hand when you do this...

Lx_Racer

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 14, 2008

i gave that a try and still nothing...im going to take it to honda

NBPRudy

· #4 · Mar 14, 2008

could be a bad wheel speed sensor.

Caper

· #5 · Mar 14, 2008

NBPRudy said:
could be a bad wheel speed sensor.

Ya it could be but it is weird that they just came on after the battery was dead. If I am not mistaken, I don't believe the E-brake "!" light has anything to do with the wheel speed sensor.

CivicEX08

· #6 · Mar 14, 2008

Caper said:
Ya it could be but it is weird that they just came on after the battery was dead. If I am not mistaken, I don't believe the E-brake "!" light has anything to do with the wheel speed sensor.

It may be different on a Honda, but my brothers 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier just had a wheel speed sensor go out and three of the lights lit up. The lights were as follows: Service, ABS, and No Traction. It doesn't sound like a wheel speed sensor by any means. But again, it may be a Honda/American thing.

Caper

· #7 · Mar 14, 2008

CivicEX08 said:
It may be different on a Honda, but my brothers 2001 Chevrolet Cavalier just had a wheel speed sensor go out and three of the lights lit up. The lights were as follows: Service, ABS, and No Traction. It doesn't sound like a wheel speed sensor by any means. But again, it may be a Honda/American thing.

Ya who knows... like I said I am not 100% sure but it doesn't sound related.

NBPRudy

· #8 · Mar 14, 2008

I had all the same lights on my dash last week.

problem was my left front speed sensor crapped out.

I was just throwing a guess out there...hopefully we will find out when the op gets back.:waiting:

Lx_Racer

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 17, 2008

hey guys ,,i though i would keep you guys update...i just got off the phone with honda (west city honda belleville) and it was my abs modulator was gone. so it was all covered under warranty..thank god

Caper

· #10 · Mar 17, 2008

There ya go! Oh well at least it was covered. :thumb:

plopsi

· #11 · Jun 7, 2008

Dammit, the same thing happened to me. How much does the modulator cost? I'm out of warranty... GAH!!

06CivicEX86

· #12 · May 14, 2009

The ABS modulator is about $700 and labor to install is about $200.

I have a 2006 Civic EX that also has the ABS light and Parking Brake light. The battery died and after jumping it, both lights came on. I checked both the ABS fuse under the hood along with the one in the car. Both were ok. I made sure my brake fluid was full. I disconnected the battery for 30 minutes to try and reset it. I had the battery checked to make sure there was no damage. I took it to an autoshop and they said it was pulling a low voltage to the ABS modulator. I find it hard to believe that jump starting the car is going to cost me $900. What else can I check? Could the modulator really be bad?

Frosty06

· #13 · Sep 5, 2009

Ugh, you've gotta be kidding, I think my friend is a victim of this too! We just sold my wife's '06 Civic EX Auto to a close friend a few weeks ago. The battery died on Friday even though she didn't leave any lights on or anything. Another friend gave her a hot shot and she took the car right to Sears for a new battery. Now the brake & ABS lights are on on the dash. Brake fluid is fine and I checked all pads F&R today and they're all fine. Then I came on here and found that many people have had this problem. It's been 37 1/2 months since we bought the car so should she be expecting a $900 bill to fix this problem w/ a new ABS modulator?

Has anyone else had this problem? Please tell me there is a recall on this or something! Like other's have said paying almost $1,000 just because you had to hotshot the car is rediculous! Why are so many of these modulators failing just because of a hot shot?

Thanks for any replies!
-T

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The Power of Dreams

· #14 · Sep 6, 2009 (Edited)

Sounds to me like the tech who repaired your car just guessed at the faulty component.

It's no coincidence that the battery died and then the VSA-related indicator lights illuminated.

Low battery voltage will cause the following VSA DTC's to be set by the VSA modulator-control unit:

DTC 61-01: VSA Modulator-control Unit Initial IG Low Voltage
DTC 61-21: VSA Modulator-control Unit Power Source Low Voltage 1
DTC 61-22: VSA Modulator-control Unit Power Source Low Voltage 2
DTC 61-23: VSA Modulator-control Unit Power Source Low Voltage 3

Remedy: either charge (if it can be charged successfully) or replace the battery, then have the dealer clear the VSA DTC's (because the average, generic scan tool will not be able to access the VSA modulator-contol unit memory).

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06CivicEX86

· #15 · Sep 6, 2009

The battery is testing fine and shows 12 volts when the car is off. When the car is on it is showing 14.1 volts. The errors you are quoting are the errors that the service tech got when he pulled the codes.

How do you suggest charging the battery? Trickle charger or regular charger?

The Power of Dreams

· #16 · Sep 6, 2009

06CivicEX86 said:
The battery is testing fine and shows 12 volts when the car is off. When the car is on it is showing 14.1 volts. The errors you are quoting are the errors that the service tech got when he pulled the codes.

How do you suggest charging the battery? Trickle charger or regular charger?

Well, based on the voltages you obtained, the battery has already been charged --- by the alternator.

Problem is, those codes are retained in the VSA modulator-control unit memory until they are cleared with an HDS. So, although your battery is now sufficienty charged and outputing an adequate source voltage to the VSA modultor-control unit, those codes will not disappear until cleared by the HDS.

06CivicEX86

· #17 · Sep 6, 2009

Thanks for the quick reply.

When the guy pulled the codes, he tried to reset the codes with the tool he used to pull them. He was an independent repair shop, so my guess is that he didn't use the same piece of equipment that a Honda Dealer would use. Is there a difference between what independents use versus what the dealer use?

The Power of Dreams

· #18 · Sep 6, 2009

Yes, most generic scan tools may be able to reset the ECM (engine control module), but they may not be able to access the memory of the VSA modulator-control unit. Or, they may be able to access the memory, but they may not be able to reset it.

Frosty06

· #19 · Sep 7, 2009

Ok, this is sounding much better now! I will tell my friend to take it to Honda to have the codes cleared. Hopefully there is no charge for this!

Thanks "The Power of Dreams'!! I hope you are correct and this reset will clear the lights.
-T

06CivicEX86

· #20 · Nov 22, 2009

I want to replace my ABS conntrol module myself. The unit appears to be made up of three parts. The Electronic control, the pump, and the hydralic unit. The replacement part is all three units. My concern is that if I break into the hydralic system, how do I bleed air out of the controller hydralic unitl. Should I just try and replace the control unit? Any advice would be much appreciated.

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