haven't taken it to a mechanic yet, but i'm just curious of the different things this means. never seen an ABS light come on in any car - ANY input on whether i should take this to my local mechanic or honda dealership, and also if these tend to be major fixes or if i can still afford to spend my money elsewhere? sorry for the general question, i'm 17 and have about $400 to my name, so i need any help i can get, especially since this is my first real car to maintain (that's worth it anyhow ). car is still driving fine, brakes work good. they had a squeak for a while but i think it was dust, doubt it was pads. any help. thanks in advance.

 

Its probably just a bad sensor. I had to get mine replaced about a year ago. It was around 300 bucks after labor. The only reason I even got it fixed was because I live in a Ohio and it snows A LOT here and sliding thru intersections during the winter is not fun. I would say that if you live somewhere were it doesn't snow then don't even worry about it unless it is really bugging you. Also make sure that the harness that connects to the sensor is not just unplugged. A friend of mine had his come on and all we had to do was plug it back in and it was fine. Hope this helps!

 

My ABS light came on out of the blue one day as well, and I pulled the fuse and it was fine, started the car, and it was off.... not sure, but it is fine now, and has not given me a problem since..

 

word thanks guys. BUT (seeing as i suck and again, am new to actually working with cars in general)....

1 - where would the senor attachment be located (to check)?

2 - is there just one fuse box on this thing and where is it? (yeah, i'm definitely new.. )

 

Wow... sensor, try looking at your brake calipers and finding the line that is NOT your brake fluid line.

Fuse box. under hood. The black box on the passenger side in front of firewall.

BUY A HAYNES if not a helms manual. You will save all the money from taking your car to the mechanic to do simple things like oil and coolant at the very least.

 

I would try to disconnect the negative terminal to the battery for at least 10 seconds and then put it back on.........this resets your ecu and if its just a problem that your stock security system encountered you should be alright and it should go away

 

let me know how it goes

 

thanks a LOT guys. i'm really glad i've found this forum. i'll try all of the suggestions, most likely the battery one first. let you guys know how it goes.

~joel

 

okay checked the fuses, all look intact, also disconnected the negative terminal for about a minute, hooked it back up, same problem. the light comes on about 4 or 5 seconds into a steady drive, but hasn't done it when i was in reverse so far. tried to check under the car and look near the calipers for any lines undone, but it SEEMED they were okay. i can check fuses and do the battery, but i'm clueless with brakes. any more input? honda dealership or local mechanic if i need to take it in?

 

Did you pull the fuse? If not try it. Then check your fluid levels too. Check the relay for the wire, sometimes the connection is not so good. Get out the soldering iron.

 

yeah pulled all three fuses that the box labeled "ABS" (duh) and they all looked good. can you give me more detailed instructions on how to check the fluid/relay or at least link my pathetic mind to another resource on how to do so?

 

last bump before i take it in to the shop.

 

look in your engine bay around the windshield washer fluid reservoir. then look at the hub that the brake lines run to. you should see a sensor that connects to that hub. make sure its plugged in securely.

also... does your battery start your car quickly? it sounds strange, but when i had a bad battery, my car would struggle to start... took about 3 or 4 seconds to crank. during this the abs light would come on, and stay on. since i got a new battery and the car cranks quicker, the light goes off. i doubt this is your problem, but its worth asking.

 

yeah everything looks good as far as attachments go. it's probably a sensor. my car stopped on a dime the other night when i was testing them, so i guess that's $100 (or whatever) out of my pocket. not a big deal. if anything nutty happens, i'll let you guys know, but thanks for the help a lot.

 

Jumper the blue service connector behind the radio and get the error code so you will know which sensor is having a problem.

 

check your fluid, my light came on when i needed fluid

 

turned out to be a sensor. shop fixed it for $300. thanks a lot for all the help and suggestions though. case closed.