ABS light goes on and off - and on - and off

[trisha]

My ABS light came on so I took my 1997 Acura Integra to a trusted mechanic. He said it was a wheel speed sensor and he would have to order the part but that it was okay to drive the car in the meantime. That night I went to the movies and when I was backing out of the space I heard a sound like I had hit something (I hadn't), kind of a thump, and then the ABS light went out. I called my mechanic who hadn't ordered the part yet and he said to keep an eye on it. The light stayed off for almost a week and then went back on. I drove to tell my mechanic the light was back on and to order the part and as soon as I left his garage the light went out! That was on Friday. Between Friday and now the light has been on more than off, but it does go off from time to time.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[thenoxus1]

Go check your brake fluid levels in the engine bay.

 

[trisha]

Is that something I can do myself?

 

[thenoxus1]

Yes, the reservoir is located in the engine bay on the drivers side by windshield side:

 

[trisha]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! Do you think my mechanic was mistaken about the wheel speed sensor?

 

[mirrorimg]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! Do you think my mechanic was mistaken about the wheel speed sensor?

Probably not. He most likely pulled the code off of the ECU and it told him the sensor was bad. Hell, it may just be the wheel sensor is dirty and not reading properly.

You can check the code if you want as well. The ABS light is like the Check Engine Light (CEL). There are instructions on how to "pull" the code on the internet. There are some on this forum as well, but youre going to have to search for it.

 

[trisha]

This stuff is way over my head. I guess I'll go and check the brake fluid right now. I'll be back to tell you what I find. Thanks for the help though. I really love my car. It only has 82,000 original miles - all mine.

 

[thenoxus1]

The wheel sensor is probably off as well, but I don't really think that's causing the ABS issues, but we will see. It's better to check simple things like the fluid before going and replacing and buying expensive parts.

 

[trisha]

Okay, here's what I found - or didn't find. I didn't see any fluid by just looking from the outside so I opened the cap. There is no fluid whatsoever in the round part. If you look down to where the neck of the little container is, it looks like you can see something there. But there definitely wasn't any in that little round structure.

I don't know if there's supposed to be any that you can see in the round container itself, but if there is, it's missing.

I'm just a female driving a car with no expertise on cars whatsoever, so I am doing my best to explain and describe things to you. Thanks for understanding.

 

[thenoxus1]

There should be lines on the outside of that reservoir I believe that say Min and Max. Fill it up in between those with Brake Fluid, available at almost any store, walmart or auto parts.

 

[trisha]

I know what I'll do. First thing in the morning I'll go to AutoZone. They are really good with helping with stuff. If it needs filling, they'll do it for me. Once that's done is it possible that the ABS light will go out for good?

 

[thenoxus1]

It's very possible that it will go out for good, if the fluid is low like it sounds, then get it filled and see what that does, but remember to get that sensor checked out, could be dirty like Mirror said.

 

[trisha]

However my mechanic deduced it was a problem with a wheel sensor, he did. But here's my fear. He is ordering a new part. What if it turns out that the sensor was only dirty? Would he be able to just clean it and send the part back?

 

[rexpepper123]

dang filling fluids is complicated!

 

[thenoxus1]

Tell him to clean it first, if he orders a part you didn't need simply refuse to pay for it, simple as that.