ABS Light comes on in cold temps

#1 01-28-2003, 03:50 PM

I was wondering if anyone knows what conditions will cause the ABS light in the dash warning panel to illuminate? The fluid level is OK.

It has been extremely cold up here in my neck of the woods! I live just east of Toronto in Whitby. And we have been having some very cold days... some as low as -24c.

On the very coldest days, my wife reports that the ABS light has come on during driving (after the car has warmed up) and stayed on. Unfortunately, she did not get an opportunity to test if the ABS system was working while the light was on.

Once the temperature got a little warmer (even -10c)... the ABS light has not come on since... and the system is currently working! Is this system susceptable to very cold temps?

#2 01-28-2003, 04:17 PM

Very recently I have had a similar problem. The ABS light comes on and stays on. When that happens, a motor in the engine compartment is also on, even when the ignition is turned off. There is a black box with "ABS" on the top in the engine compartment. My mechanic temporarily "fixed" the problem by tapping on the black box with a small wrench. There are two relays in that box, a valve relay and a motor relay. The motor that stays on is below the relays. According to my mechanic, one of the relays is not functioning properly and needs to be replaced. He told me how to figure out which one it is, but it hasn't done it since he told me. He also said that when the ABS light is on, I don't have ABS braking, but, of course, I have normal non-ABS braking. That's all I know at this point, except the relays are approximately $45.00 apiece, and there is no labor to install them, just pull one out and replace it. I hope this helps your problem.

#3 01-28-2003, 05:07 PM

The ABS Motor staying on is addressed in a service bulletin (bad relay). My ABS light also comes on in the cold/wet/snow, you know just when you'd need it. My ABS DOES NOT work when the light is on and I think it's a programmed function to disable it when it's self test has found a problem. I'm going to look into it more when it warms up. It was 0.4 this AM and is all the way up to 18.4 now... balmy The ABS Motor can easily burn up, it's not rated for continuous duty, so make sure thats OK. If you find out what it is post it!

Collins
92 pearlie and so on

Blue94 · #4 01-29-2003, 01:07 PM

Interesting, mine flips on when it is really hot. After turning off my car I opened the hood and you could hear the ABS motor running. What I did was unplug the box and drive it around until things cool down at night. Once cool I plugged it back in and the light went off. I talked to Subaru about the relays and was told that it was going to be $150 a piece!!! If I could find some for $40 I sure would like to know where to get one.

#5 01-29-2003, 01:10 PM

Mine did it two times in the last 2 years. I didnt check the motor running thing though. I guess I should have.

Best,

Mike

#6 01-29-2003, 01:21 PM

Hmm... the TSB. http://dcss.dyn.dhs.org/svx_iw/TSB/960611.html

.. and the part.
http://www.subaruparts.com/cart/?pn=26735AA012

kuoh · #7 01-29-2003, 01:27 PM

My guess is that the relay contacts get worn and spot welds itself closed due to the current once activated. That's why it happens more when the weather is warm. I've seen this happen with even standard 30A automotive relays. Sometimes a light tap will break the weld, sometimes it takes more force.

The relay activates for the cycle test every time the car is started and put in gear, so if you have a really bad relay, it will stick then and you'll be driving with the motor on the entire time. If it's not in too bad a shape, then it will only stick if activated for a longer duration, like after a real panic stop. Either way, it's best to just pull the relays out until you obtain a replacement, rather than risk having to buy a new ABS motor.

KuoH

Blue94 · #8 01-29-2003, 07:08 PM

Wow, I really don’t like my Subaru dealership. If it weren’t for the people of this site I would have sold my car by now. Thanks

Earthworm · #9 01-31-2003, 05:58 PM

There's also a code generated by the ABS system (in case the light stays on)

Click for the instructions

rally · #10 03-13-2003, 07:23 PM

I just had this exact thing happen to me. Assumed I was going to have to go without ABS (something I really would not mind). What a great resource this website is!

#11 03-15-2003, 07:31 AM

Yes this web site is amazing! I'll bet it has saved me $$$ so far and I've only owned this SVX (my second one) for 6 months. If I would have brought the car into the dealer to have them diagnose this problem... it would have cost me hundreds and with any intermittant problem, they may not even get it right.

So, regarding the cost of the ABS Motor Relay... I paid $55 CDN -- which ends up being cheaper then the $38US that subaru-parts.com has them for! I just told the parts guy at the dealer what I can get it for from the US and he reduced the price so I would buy it from him and he still made a few bucks!

The installation of the relay was quite straight forward and ever since I put it in... the ABS light has not come on again. And we have had a bit of a cold stretch about a week ago... -17c for about 3 days in a row... which seems to be one of the factors to make the ABS light come on (as well as extremely hot temps too).

Thanks to everyone that has responded to my initial question.