Easy Fix for Service ABS, Traction Control, Active Handling Lights
12-23-2005, 01:48 AM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Easy Fix for Service ABS, Traction Control, Active Handling Lights
For eternity now, I've been plagued with these warning lights. Intemittenly, these lights would come on. At first, I thought it was only when the roads were damp or wet, then only when it was cold out, then it happened off an on over this past summer.
The car's been to several dealers. Two could not get the warnings to show up, two others insisted it was the right front hub assembly, due to codes of incorrect wheel speed variation, etc. Both claimed to have replaced the right front hub assembly many times for this same problem. Yikes! I almost bought into it because I had myself seen and reset these codes prior to the vists to the last two dealerships.
Then I had a light bulb go off in my head (pun intended). I disconnected the wiring connector to the front right wheel, then plugged it back in. The problem went away for about 3 weeks. In the late summer it started happening again, seemingly only after washing the car.
So, one day I decided I would probably have to cough either $700 for the dealer to replace the front hub, or buy one and tackle it myself. But, first, I thought to myself, I'd give one last shot at ruling out something with the wiring harness.
With that, I again unplugged the connector at the wheel, and this time added some dialectric grease to the connections. Then, I traced the wire and found the other end had another connector sitting atop the right front frame rail. It wasn't easy, but I disconnected that connector, added some dialectric grease to those connections and bruised up my hand reconnecting it. It's been two months now, and I haven't seen the issue since.
Just thought some of you might be able to use this bit of potentially good news.
The car's been to several dealers. Two could not get the warnings to show up, two others insisted it was the right front hub assembly, due to codes of incorrect wheel speed variation, etc. Both claimed to have replaced the right front hub assembly many times for this same problem. Yikes! I almost bought into it because I had myself seen and reset these codes prior to the vists to the last two dealerships.
Then I had a light bulb go off in my head (pun intended). I disconnected the wiring connector to the front right wheel, then plugged it back in. The problem went away for about 3 weeks. In the late summer it started happening again, seemingly only after washing the car.
So, one day I decided I would probably have to cough either $700 for the dealer to replace the front hub, or buy one and tackle it myself. But, first, I thought to myself, I'd give one last shot at ruling out something with the wiring harness.
With that, I again unplugged the connector at the wheel, and this time added some dialectric grease to the connections. Then, I traced the wire and found the other end had another connector sitting atop the right front frame rail. It wasn't easy, but I disconnected that connector, added some dialectric grease to those connections and bruised up my hand reconnecting it. It's been two months now, and I haven't seen the issue since.
Just thought some of you might be able to use this bit of potentially good news.
Last edited by MrLeadFoot; 12-23-2005 at 01:53 AM.
12-23-2005, 03:54 AM
#3
Race Director
Member Since: Feb 2004
Location: HOW FAST WAS I GOING OFFICER? Los Angeles Hating GM Dealership Service Dept.'s Since Sept. 2004
Posts: 11,651
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes
on
5 Posts
St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06-'07
Great catch... 
Thanks for sharing
Any chance of you adding some pix? TIA
Thanks for sharing
Any chance of you adding some pix? TIA
12-23-2005, 08:45 AM
#7
Team Owner
Good info -it's guys like you that make the forum great.
12-23-2005, 10:53 AM
#9
Tech Contributor
Member Since: Dec 1999
Location: Anthony TX
Posts: 32,736
Received 2,182 Likes
on
1,585 Posts
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
I have a flash for you! (light bulb,,, get it?? 
) Anyway, a lot of us have had this very issue and it has been determined that the connectors go bad! I have pictures of the bad connectors at home. (at work now) and will e-mail/ post them when I get home.
Recomment that you inspect all of the female connectors and look for the plugs with sprung pins. You can also get a male pin from the dealer and conduct a pin pull test. Insert the male pin inside the female (
) and see if she has good grip on the male pin! 
IF THE FIT IS LOOSE, REPLACE IT WITH A YOUNGER/NEWER VERSION!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Bill Curlee
) Anyway, a lot of us have had this very issue and it has been determined that the connectors go bad! I have pictures of the bad connectors at home. (at work now) and will e-mail/ post them when I get home.Recomment that you inspect all of the female connectors and look for the plugs with sprung pins. You can also get a male pin from the dealer and conduct a pin pull test. Insert the male pin inside the female (
) and see if she has good grip on the male pin! IF THE FIT IS LOOSE, REPLACE IT WITH A YOUNGER/NEWER VERSION!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Bill Curlee
12-23-2005, 12:30 PM
#12
Race Director
Member Since: Feb 2004
Location: HOW FAST WAS I GOING OFFICER? Los Angeles Hating GM Dealership Service Dept.'s Since Sept. 2004
Posts: 11,651
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes
on
5 Posts
St. Jude Donor '04-'05-'06-'07
Originally Posted by Bill Curlee
I have a flash for you! (light bulb,,, get it?? ) Anyway, a lot of us have had this very issue and it has been determined that the connectors go bad! I have pictures of the bad connectors at home. (at work now) and will e-mail/ post them when I get home.
Recomment that you inspect all of the female connectors and look for the plugs with sprung pins. You can also get a male pin from the dealer and conduct a pin pull test. Insert the male pin inside the female ( ) and see if she has good grip on the male pin!
IF THE FIT IS LOOSE, REPLACE IT WITH A YOUNGER/NEWER VERSION!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Bill Curlee
) Anyway, a lot of us have had this very issue and it has been determined that the connectors go bad! I have pictures of the bad connectors at home. (at work now) and will e-mail/ post them when I get home.Recomment that you inspect all of the female connectors and look for the plugs with sprung pins. You can also get a male pin from the dealer and conduct a pin pull test. Insert the male pin inside the female (
) and see if she has good grip on the male pin! IF THE FIT IS LOOSE, REPLACE IT WITH A YOUNGER/NEWER VERSION!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Bill Curlee
12-23-2005, 01:01 PM
#13
Administrator
Member Since: Mar 2001
Location: In a parallel universe. Currently own 2014 Stingray Coupe.
Posts: 343,487
Received 19,454 Likes
on
14,055 Posts
C7 of the Year - Modified Finalist 2021
MO Events Coordinator
St. Jude Co-Organizer
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07-'08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-
'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
NCM Sinkhole Donor
CI 5, 8 & 11 Veteran
Nice job of troubleshooting. Hope it stays fixed for you.
12-23-2005, 02:33 PM
#14
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Bill Curlee
I have a flash for you! (light bulb,,, get it?? ) Anyway, a lot of us have had this very issue and it has been determined that the connectors go bad! I have pictures of the bad connectors at home. (at work now) and will e-mail/ post them when I get home.
Recomment that you inspect all of the female connectors and look for the plugs with sprung pins. You can also get a male pin from the dealer and conduct a pin pull test. Insert the male pin inside the female ( ) and see if she has good grip on the male pin!
IF THE FIT IS LOOSE, REPLACE IT WITH A YOUNGER/NEWER VERSION!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Bill Curlee
) Anyway, a lot of us have had this very issue and it has been determined that the connectors go bad! I have pictures of the bad connectors at home. (at work now) and will e-mail/ post them when I get home.Recomment that you inspect all of the female connectors and look for the plugs with sprung pins. You can also get a male pin from the dealer and conduct a pin pull test. Insert the male pin inside the female (
) and see if she has good grip on the male pin! IF THE FIT IS LOOSE, REPLACE IT WITH A YOUNGER/NEWER VERSION!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Bill Curlee
I'm glad you approve of what I did, and more importantly, glad to know that this is indeed a common problem. Of course, your tip about trying to rejuvenate my female is one I will present to my wife for her opinion. Hope she goes for it! After all, it is the season of giving.
12-23-2005, 03:20 PM
#15
Tech Contributor
Member Since: Dec 1999
Location: Anthony TX
Posts: 32,736
Received 2,182 Likes
on
1,585 Posts
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
Here is a picture of a GOOD PLUG and a BAD plug. Can you tell which one is bad??
The bad female pin!
BC
The bad female pin!
BC
12-23-2005, 04:51 PM
#16
Racer
Member Since: Sep 2005
Location: IL
Posts: 366
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
if grease and reconnecting doesn't work ...
I had this happen after my car was towed. (Service ABS, Service Traction, Service Active Handling) Turns out the tow company put a hook over the left front A-arm and pinched the wheel sensor cable. They reimbursed for the $56 cable.
If the dielectic grease fix doesn't work, it's still cheaper to try replacing the cable for only $56 rather than replace the entire hub $500 or more. (Before I found the pinched cable, my chevy dealer was very happy to tell me that the sensor was part of the hub - and they would be glad to order one and install it for me for around $600. Yeah, right!)
If the dielectic grease fix doesn't work, it's still cheaper to try replacing the cable for only $56 rather than replace the entire hub $500 or more. (Before I found the pinched cable, my chevy dealer was very happy to tell me that the sensor was part of the hub - and they would be glad to order one and install it for me for around $600. Yeah, right!)
12-23-2005, 04:56 PM
#17
Pro
Member Since: Oct 2002
Location: Just North of Buffalo NY
Posts: 519
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like
on
1 Post
I had a similar problem with the ABS light coming on after a few bumps like RR tracks. Got under there and did the same thing that you did with the connection. No more problems for over a year. My experience has always led me to poor connections first.
12-23-2005, 11:00 PM
#19
Drifting
I was getting error codes everyday when I finally dug into this issue. I pulled the connectors apart, cleaned the contacts with contact cleaner, took a scribe and bent the female contacts slightly to make them tight again and then finally applied some dielectric grease. After reassembly, I've given it three weeks of error free driving, a couple rainy days, several burnouts and hard stops before I would allow myself to declare victory. So far, so good. Just hope my luck continues. I would definitely do this first before replacing the EBTCM.
