Just noticed that my ABS light started flashing every now and then, it doesn't stay on all the time. When it does flash it seems that the speedometer jumps real quick then goes back to normal. The car seems to be driving fine except I might need a new battery. Any suggestions with the ABS light?

96 Accord EX V6

 

Ouch. Intermittent electrical problems... yuck, and I have been an Industrial Electrician for over ten years... all shorts suck, and I think that is what you are probably experiencing, though I would listen to the others on this forum than me, 'cause I am kinda a roob, myself.

First off, is there any consistency you have noticed with the flashing, ie when braking, certain rpm parameters, a/c on/off, etc... since I am not sure if your speedo cable is electrical or mechanical, it can be difficult to say... I know on Fords it is usually a short in the gauge cluster harness, which can be easily detected with a set of wiring diagrams and a continuity tester (depending on the KOER or KOEO settings, certain pins will ring out with others), and - especially if you have an electric or aftermarket spedometer - that is where I would start.

Is your tach jumping, too? If so, it is almost definately in the cluster harness. If not, check pin locations for illumination, and ring them out. Also, and this is on a Ford, mind you, so I can shut up if everyone else comes on and tells me I'm an idiot (LOL), the ABS light is also the trouble code light, which could indicate a speedo sensor going bad (if equipped).

Does the light flash when running lights are both on and off, or one of the two? That can save you a lot of troubleshooting time just by verifying the consistencies and then tracing backwards from there. HOPEFULLY this helps, and I wish you the best of luck with it, but if not, I am certain someone here will have a better idea!!

 

tach is not jumping, it was a week ago but i had the ignition coil replaced and that fixed the problem.

i just changed the battery and it also seems to have fixed the ABS light, hopefully thats all it was.

i was having trouble start the car, i think it was the original battery (8 yrs old) so with that replaced the car starts fine.

thanks

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by joey_knuckles &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i just changed the battery and it also seems to have fixed the ABS light, hopefully thats all it was.


thanks</TD></TR></TABLE>
No no no, give it a day or two, and the light will be back on, the reason it shut off is that your system lost power so it reset.

 

so if the light comes back on i guess there is a problem with my brakes then?

 

there is a thread on this problem - search for user mike813