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ABS light on, humming noise, battery dead...help.

49K views 26 replies 17 participants last post by  Dane 
#1 ·
Yesterday I had a problem with my ABS light for the second time in the last 6 months. After starting the car the ABS light came on and would not go away. I tried shutting the car off and back on, with no luck. There was also a humming noise comming from under the hood that continued even after shutting the car off. The happened before a few months back and the next day everything was back to normal...no problems. However this morning when I went to my car the battery was completly dead. I really don't know much about the mechanics of ABS, or what the noise was, but I am assuming that this problem and the dead battery are not a coincidence. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Both times that the light came on, the car was already warm. It had been run with no problems, stopped for less than 10 minutes and upon restart the ABS problem began. Thanks.
 
#4 ·
Do this. You're going to have to jack up the car & get some brake cleaner. If you remove the wheels & go behind the rotors, you will notice that there is a wire going to a sensor located about 180° opposite the brake calipers. There is a rubber line going to them, similar to the rubber line going to the calipers. On the other side of those sensors, you will notice that the axles appear to have "gear teeth" right near the area that they go into the hub. This is on the back side of the rotors. You're going to have to stretch & contort your way in there to see what I mean. The ABS sensor reads those "gear teeth". If the ABS sensor is dirty, it won't read them properly & ABS light comes on. Spray off the ABS sensors & "gear teeth" on all 4 wheels with some brake cleaner. You shouldn't get the ABS light after that. If you do, something else is up, but doing what I told you to is the most cheap & easiest fix for now.

http://www.g20.net/forum/showthread.php?t=68925

^ Read that thread too.

As far as the other noise goes & dead battery, it could be your alternator going out.
 
#5 ·
Once my ABS actuator gave humming noise after the engine was turned off and the key was out. Disconnecting the battery would reset the ABS. The ABS worked fined after reset and it never happened again since. In your case, the ABS might be the cause of the dead battery.
 
#6 ·
Thanks to you all. I am going to do my best "circ du sole" impression tomorrow and try to clean the sensors. I really hope that is the case. I have had no other problems with alternator or battery before so I hope the ABS is what drained the system. Thanks again.
 
#8 ·
I think you're all making this too complicated. I know exactly what your problem is b/c I've had it happen twice.

This is your problem: the ABS pump relay. This sets off the ABS light. When the relay craps out, the ABS pump doesn't shut off even when the car is turned off. That is the low humming that you heard. If you let it go like that overnight, it kills the battery. The pump is right next to the alternator and the relay is in the black box towards the front passenger side of the engine compartment. To shut off the pump, take a screwdriver and hit that box. Usually that's enough to trip the relay and shut off the ABS pump. If not, open the box and hit the relay. It will not only save your battery but the ABS light should also go away too.

That's a temporary fix, though, you'll have to get a new relay.
 
#9 ·
Maybe the relay... maybe not. It does sound sensory. Did you have your brakes rebled at any point. Good bet it's the alternator, and the relay is being set off or something weird. Dirty connection or something. I agree; cheapest first. Clean the sensors and replace the alt. Then go for the bigger tickets.

The ABS is a cam that spins, which relieves pressure to the brakes keeping them from locking, hence : antilock brake system. So if it's been bled in the wrong order, the cam doesn't operate correctly, or can get out of position. Which is why I ask.
 
#10 ·
hahahahaha. Thank you "ej up late". I jumped the card this morning before reading your post. It ran for a couple minutes and then died again because the pump was draining the battery. After reading your post I got it running again and gave the relay the lightest tap with the back of a screw driver. The pump instantly shut off. I am going to be getting a new relay, but it is good to know how to fix the problem for now. Thank you so much.
 
#14 ·
For future reference, the alternator would not hum when the car was shut off. If there's a humming noise coming from under the hood with everything off, there's clearly something else going on than a dead alternator.
 
#15 ·
The ABS is working great, but now my car is over heating. I was driving home from work yesterday with my 15 month old son in the car and the A/C suddenly turned warm. I shut it off thinking that maybe after 14 years it had run out of juice in the system. However I noticed that my engine temps were sky rocketing, even at highway speeds. I cranked up the heat and blew it out the windows. Needless to say it was an unpleasent 45 minute commute. There was plenty of fluid in the system, so that wasn't the problem. All the fans were on and running properly, but I am affraid that the thermostat took a crap on me. I am going to try to replace it tonight. My local parts place has the stat, but didn't have a gasket listed for it. Does anyone know if it is just an O-ring, or is it a special gasket? Also, I was looking for the location, and I think it is on the block on the return fluid line, if I am wrong please let me know so that I do not take apart the wrong thing. Thanks again for everyone's help and I appologize for the long post.
 
#17 ·
Thanks for all the help guys. I replaced the thermostat and have had zero problems since. I am really glad that there is a site for G20 owners. I used to own a Corrado and a couple other VW's and always found vwvortex to be a good reference point. I though I would be out of luck with this car, but this site has been an huge help to me. Thanks again.
 
#18 ·
BATTERY died

HELP! :zoinks:

My 93 G20 brake light, anti-lock light & battery light all went on at the same time, I drove the car & then after 5 miles it just died... no cranking power....

tow truck gave me a boost, it started, as soon as I began to drive I felt it hesitate, the instant I pressed the brakes, it died!

got car towed...

should I replace the alternator, or can it be something else?

And is it difficult to remove it... any suggestions, tips etc?

Thanks
:naughty:
 
#20 ·
#24 ·
FYI, this is a forum for Infiniti G20s. Very few of us have any experience with GMC Sonomas or anything similar. You'll have better luck asking on a GM truck forum.

Not trying to be an ass here... just trying to tell you straight that this is probably not the best place for you to get help with your issue.
 
#25 ·
Yesterday I had a problem with my ABS light for the second time in the last 6 months. After starting the car the ABS light came on and would not go away. I tried shutting the car off and back on, with no luck. There was also a humming noise comming from under the hood that continued even after shutting the car off. The happened before a few months back and the next day everything was back to normal...no problems. However this morning when I went to my car the battery was completly dead. I really don't know much about the mechanics of ABS, or what the noise was, but I am assuming that this problem and the dead battery are not a coincidence. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. P.S. Both times that the light came on, the car was already warm. It had been run with no problems, stopped for less than 10 minutes and upon restart the ABS problem began. Thanks.
I have a buzzing noise when the van is off as well, abs light on as well, what did you do to fix the problem?
 
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