[06CivicEX86]

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?

 

[06CivicEX86]

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?

 

[06CivicEX86]

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?

 

[06CivicEX86]

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.

 

[06CivicEX86]

I took it to an independent shop who were able to access the codes and he tried to clear them a number of times. He disconnected the battery and spent about 2 hours trying to get the codes to clear. They came back right away.

I hit the breaks hard to see if the ABS would kick in and I locked up the tires. It obviously doesn't work.

If I take it to a Honda dealer they will read the codes for $125 but won't try and clear them. I asked why and they said it would only temporary fix the problem. So basically they wanted $125 for them to tell me something was wrong and then would want to do the work before clearing the codes.

Kind of at a loss here on what to do. I don't want to keep throwing money at it. I can get a used module for $100. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[06CivicEX86]

All right. Finally got my problem fixed. I got a used control module from a junk yard (~$200). I took it to a local guy to have it installed. $200 later the abs light and the brake light went away and all is good. I asked the guy how he got the air out of the conntrol module and he said that he just bled the system as he would with any brake job. I asked if he needed to cycle the controller to make sure there was no air in it and he said that it wasn't necessary. Right wrong or indifferent that is what happened. I could have changed it myself had I known that all the professionals would do is take out the old, put in the new, and bleed it like normal. Whatever it is fixed. I will be disconnecting the ABS control module next time my lights get left on and it needs to be jumped.

 

[06CivicEX86]

The unit is made up of three parts. You only need to replace the electronic box that houses all the solenoids. I don't think you can buy just the little black box that attaches to the hydralic unit and the pump. You can only by the components as one unit. I asked for the old unit, and since it can't be repaired I am going to take it apart and see what I find. Probably won't be able to tell anything but it will likely be interesting.

It would be very difficult to replace just the black control unit since it is nearly impossible to get to the 4 screws that hold it onto the hydraulic unit. You would have to take out the passenger headlight and probably use a mirror. If I had to do it again I would get the part from a junk yard for 200. Then install the part my self. A quick search on how to bleed brake systems will give you specifics on how to do it.

I'm sure there are some professionals out there that would disagree, but the car drives great and I can't tell any difference since the new part was installed and they just did a standard bleed on the brakes.

One thing for sure is that I am going to disconnect the ABS control module if I ever have to jump the car again.