Testing the harness is to ensure that there's not a problem with the wiring. If the wires are good, and you still can't communicate, then the module must be bad.
ABS Computer saga
- Thread starter bkaul
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- abs new edge cobra
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My ABS light hasn't come back on for 4 days now, it is a record. Not sure what it is doing now so I'm going to hold off on removing it. The only thing I did when trying to remove it the first time was disconnect the wiring from the ECU and disconnecting the negative battery terminal. The terminal had corrosion all over it so I cleaned that up. Maybe that caused some type of voltage issue to the ECU, who knows. Or the ECU could have just reset somehow and I'm sure it will start acting up again soon.
I sent my 99 Cobra ABS brain to BBA-Reman twice, but they couldn't get it to work. I had to by a remanufactured one through Ford. BBA did refund my $179 though.
OK, I'll add my $0.02 to a very informative post. I just got my ABS system working again -- finally. Originally I thought it was just air in the system (I sucked the master cylinder dry when flushing my brake fluid) but I ended up putting an '03 Mach 1 ECO/HCU assembly in it. I now have three different tools to bleed brakes and I have put about 2 gal of brake fluid through the system to try to get all the air out before I got the used ECU/HCU assembly. Thanks to bkaul for suggesting putting the HCU on w/o the ECU -- there was some brake fluid dripping on the HCU when I was bolting the lines into it and I would hate to have that brake fluid ruin the ECU.
My thoughts on bleeding brakes: I originally bought a hand vacuum pump. Since it never completely made my ABS light go out, I thought it wasn't pulling all the air out. I purchased a reverse flow bleeder. Nice system but my ABS light still spent more time on than off. So Harbor Freight had a vacuum system that hooks up to a compressor like bkaul's only it was $30. Not the highest quality, but it worked rather well -- too well?
So here is the thing that I wanted to post. I won't bore you w/my frustration but I finally threw together a hose system that bled all four calipers at once. I was bound and determined to get all of that air out of the system. Using the vacuum system that hooks up to the compressor, my rear brakes looked good except for a short string of small bubbles that came out periodically. The amount of time that it took for more bubbles to come out kept getting longer and longer so I thought everything was good. But they never completely went away. The front brakes had no bubbles at all. Then I get in the car to check how solid the pedal was and I was surprised that the brake pedal went all the way to the floor! Here's my theory: I was pulling air past the seal in the master cylinder. Isn't the front part of the master cylinder for the front brakes and the rear (where the air could leak past the seal) in the rear of the master cylinder? I even turned down the pressure on the compressor and was pulling from all four corners at once!
So I bled the master cylinder (conventional method) and then used my reverse flow bleeder on all corners -- again. I used the Harbor Freight system to pull the extra brake fluid out of my master cylinder so I didn't have to keep stopping to empty out the master cylinder. I like this set up the best. The brakes were rock solid. But the ABS light was still lit.
So after installing & bleeding the Mach 1 unit, my pedal isn't as rock solid, but my ABS light is out!! I wonder if a functioning ECU/HCU assembly makes the brake pedal a little softer. So I have about $180 worth of bleeding tools and $150 spent on a used unit and I'm happy. Now to work on the A/C! Anyone replace their compressor, drier, and orifice tube? Any suggestions? Oh, and remember that one pump/cycle (conventional bleeding method) on the front brakes empties the master cylinder more than one pump/cycle on the rear brakes (I remembered too late!).
My thoughts on bleeding brakes: I originally bought a hand vacuum pump. Since it never completely made my ABS light go out, I thought it wasn't pulling all the air out. I purchased a reverse flow bleeder. Nice system but my ABS light still spent more time on than off. So Harbor Freight had a vacuum system that hooks up to a compressor like bkaul's only it was $30. Not the highest quality, but it worked rather well -- too well?
So here is the thing that I wanted to post. I won't bore you w/my frustration but I finally threw together a hose system that bled all four calipers at once. I was bound and determined to get all of that air out of the system. Using the vacuum system that hooks up to the compressor, my rear brakes looked good except for a short string of small bubbles that came out periodically. The amount of time that it took for more bubbles to come out kept getting longer and longer so I thought everything was good. But they never completely went away. The front brakes had no bubbles at all. Then I get in the car to check how solid the pedal was and I was surprised that the brake pedal went all the way to the floor! Here's my theory: I was pulling air past the seal in the master cylinder. Isn't the front part of the master cylinder for the front brakes and the rear (where the air could leak past the seal) in the rear of the master cylinder? I even turned down the pressure on the compressor and was pulling from all four corners at once!
So I bled the master cylinder (conventional method) and then used my reverse flow bleeder on all corners -- again. I used the Harbor Freight system to pull the extra brake fluid out of my master cylinder so I didn't have to keep stopping to empty out the master cylinder. I like this set up the best. The brakes were rock solid. But the ABS light was still lit.
So after installing & bleeding the Mach 1 unit, my pedal isn't as rock solid, but my ABS light is out!! I wonder if a functioning ECU/HCU assembly makes the brake pedal a little softer. So I have about $180 worth of bleeding tools and $150 spent on a used unit and I'm happy. Now to work on the A/C! Anyone replace their compressor, drier, and orifice tube? Any suggestions? Oh, and remember that one pump/cycle (conventional bleeding method) on the front brakes empties the master cylinder more than one pump/cycle on the rear brakes (I remembered too late!).
Update - I finally took the time and removed the ABS control module and sent it to CheapABS.com. They fixed it and sent it back in 5 days. It worked when I installed it so it was worth the $110 total cost. Give them a shot if you have any issues with your ABS control module.
Good information. My ABS light is on too.
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