E36 318iS ABS/Traction Lights...
E36 318iS ABS/Traction Lights...
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Discussion

Paul S4

Original Poster:

1,313 posts

241 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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I have a really nice 1998 318iS, which has been used regularly.
Recently the ABS/Traction orange lights have been appearing on the dash. These sometimes stay on, sometimes go off for a while.

The car has been in to my local indy, who know BMWs, and the fault codes pointed to the front N/S ABS sensor, which was then replaced ( after quite a bit of effort as it was original !) After road testing it seemed OK, then when I collected the car it was fine for about 10 miles then it appeared again.

The car went back to them, and they tried to 'adjust' the air gap (?) so that the sensor could read correctly.

Again this was OK for a short while, then the lights have come back on.

They are considering sourcing a decent used suspension strut as it seems that the sensor cannot seat correctly. I am not familiar with these so any advice/ suggestions are welcome !

The indy garage are very good and I have used them for years, so we are patiently working through this problem.

4rephill

5,171 posts

209 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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Are they using a genuine BMW wheel sensor or an after-market one? - If it's an after-market sensor, that is more than likely your problem.

E30M3SE

8,493 posts

227 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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As above, have they checked the ABS ring to ensure there are no hairline cracks in it causing the issue?

Paul S4

Original Poster:

1,313 posts

241 months

Saturday 22nd April 2017
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Thanks for those replies; I did suggest replacing the sensor now fitted with a BMW one, but they are confident with the brand they have put in. I also mentioned the ring as well, but I trust their judgement... they prepare track BMWs and Porsche 911s.

eztiger328

198 posts

141 months

Tuesday 2nd May 2017
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This sounds similar to the latest problem on my 328.

I had my car in to get a rear jacking point welded up and when I went to pick it up my ASC / ABS was disabled and no scanner could communicate with the ABS module.

The indy got a auto sparky in who gave the all clear on the wiring, fuses and relays and managed to communicate with the ABS module. He discovered that the ABS module was stating that the NSF wheel sensor was faulty but checked it out and it was operating fine, he was also unable to clear the code. The conclusion was that the ABS module was faulty.

Managed to get a 2nd hand one off ebay for £40 which will be put in at the end of this week, fingers crossed the replacement isn't DOA.

Hopefully this hasn't happened to the OP and its just a wheel sensor.

iSore

4,011 posts

175 months

Tuesday 2nd May 2017
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eztiger328 said:
This sounds similar to the latest problem on my 328.

I had my car in to get a rear jacking point welded up and when I went to pick it up my ASC / ABS was disabled and no scanner could communicate with the ABS module.

The indy got a auto sparky in who gave the all clear on the wiring, fuses and relays and managed to communicate with the ABS module. He discovered that the ABS module was stating that the NSF wheel sensor was faulty but checked it out and it was operating fine, he was also unable to clear the code. The conclusion was that the ABS module was faulty.

Managed to get a 2nd hand one off ebay for £40 which will be put in at the end of this week, fingers crossed the replacement isn't DOA.

Hopefully this hasn't happened to the OP and its just a wheel sensor.
They left the battery connected whilst welding!

It sounds like a pattern sensor is NFG. Could be the ECU - it's bolted to the ABS block under the battery tray, part number ends on 896 or 897.

Paul S4

Original Poster:

1,313 posts

241 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2017
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I have sourced a secondhand wheel hub carrier with an ABS sensor attached, hopefully that may solve the issue : as it seems that the new sensor could not seat correctly in the hub after the original one ( that gave the code error) had to be drilled out. I shall find out thgis week...

eztiger328

198 posts

141 months

Wednesday 3rd May 2017
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iSore said:
They left the battery connected whilst welding!

It sounds like a pattern sensor is NFG. Could be the ECU - it's bolted to the ABS block under the battery tray, part number ends on 896 or 897.
NOT what i wanted to hear lol, cheers for the heads up though!