ABS/ASC warning light issues

[Steve VH]

Has anyone fixed ABS/traction control warning light issues by changing the plastic section of the abs control unit in the engine bay, I have connected my Inpa laptop up to see if any faults are logged in the ecu with none showing up, I realise this is a shot in the dark before handing the car over to the dealer to diagnose and fix.

I know the ABS/ASC is a fail safe system and the brakes will work normally but without the anti lock function, but if it is fitted I want it to work, and as a motoring journalist once said, the main benefit of ABS is in preventing the accident that you don't have due to the system kicking in.

[duncan-uk]

If you change it, it will need coding to the car but can be sent away for repair. 
 

what’s the issue?

[Steve VH]

The ABS/ASC warning light came on and won't go out on starting the car, 1997 528i.

[Sir Anthony Regents Park]

ASC modules are plug and play on the E39, it's the DSC ones that need coding.  Just swap over the plastic module leaving the pump on the car. 

 

Scan it and make sure it's not just a sensor. Pre 9/98 cars with the old E34 style ABS block are ultra reliable and I've never seen one fail. The later ones are crap though. The last three numbers on the ECU are 001 on an ASC car. 

Edited May 29 by Sir Anthony Regents Park

[Stevecvo]

If you are lucky the fault may lie in a rear wheel sensor but in my experience this can appear as a fault code when the problem actually lies in the ABS module. New modules are now very expensive but faulty units can often be repaired at reasonable cost.

[Sir Anthony Regents Park]

It's a 1997 car. These early type ABS units very rarely fail so it's not likely to be that. If it is, a secondhand unit is peanuts.

[Sir Anthony Regents Park]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173506218137?epid=2121754298&itmmeta=01HZ2S2RQ04YFXN3W4TC7M54P3&hash=item2865c6c899:g:dvwAAOSwq4dbiSUd&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4IZc5XnVATvldPHGJhqL%2Bz3tDLPWJpj1OGV2nejot64YTMrj%2BmZmDmb%2BUTt2wRUTCe8%2BeLGlOattCvQ5ot%2FWGZ42siSHL3RgF%2BEpEpLqoiI3hZr30X%2BlI6PnbOtogLorUibBidkZzIWE4hQL1TeL2lpkv%2Fl8DBj4n803b8zjpLxybg7i%2BiJimXD6SVXImoRB1K46j00TEXTv--jlFK1SDvgifaAq7txFNhX268q5MC3fEInji4SDyADDIA5J45nUzH%2FXolnvAVzIpSZK1Z8bzjiV09VBwEiTVnHQiV9N6k2Y|tkp%3ABk9SR9CLi9n4Yw

 

Pre 9/98 E39's use the same ABS pump as the later E34 with ASC+T. 

 

£15 is cheap enough.

[Steve VH]

1 hour ago, Sir Anthony Regents Park said:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/173506218137?epid=2121754298&itmmeta=01HZ2S2RQ04YFXN3W4TC7M54P3&hash=item2865c6c899:g:dvwAAOSwq4dbiSUd&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4IZc5XnVATvldPHGJhqL%2Bz3tDLPWJpj1OGV2nejot64YTMrj%2BmZmDmb%2BUTt2wRUTCe8%2BeLGlOattCvQ5ot%2FWGZ42siSHL3RgF%2BEpEpLqoiI3hZr30X%2BlI6PnbOtogLorUibBidkZzIWE4hQL1TeL2lpkv%2Fl8DBj4n803b8zjpLxybg7i%2BiJimXD6SVXImoRB1K46j00TEXTv--jlFK1SDvgifaAq7txFNhX268q5MC3fEInji4SDyADDIA5J45nUzH%2FXolnvAVzIpSZK1Z8bzjiV09VBwEiTVnHQiV9N6k2Y|tkp%3ABk9SR9CLi9n4Yw

 

Pre 9/98 E39's use the same ABS pump as the later E34 with ASC+T. 

 

£15 is cheap enough.

Andy, the one on my car,  doesn't look like the PN's tally

Edited May 29 by Steve VH
Spelling

[Sharkfan]

I went through this some time ago; a long trawl through t'internet found myself in the position that my specific ABS controller couldn't be repaired as 'the repairs weren't reliable' according to one chap who does fix others. In the end I bought a second hand one which put most of the lights out but it still needed to be coded along with something to do with the steering angle sensor re-calibration.

[Dbcrd]

1 hour ago, Sharkfan said:

I went through this some time ago; a long trawl through t'internet found myself in the position that my specific ABS controller couldn't be repaired as 'the repairs weren't reliable' according to one chap who does fix others. In the end I bought a second hand one which put most of the lights out but it still needed to be coded along with something to do with the steering angle sensor re-calibration.

I suspect this relates to the later DSC module as per the post from Sir Anthony.  I had the same issue on my 2002 530i.  Thought it was a sensor but it was the module.  They are hard to repair and mine had already been repaired once.  I fitted a new old stock module.

All this probably not relevant here as it is an earlier module.  Looks different from mine in that picture.

Edited May 30 by Dbcrd