ABS Light on

I have 98 Rodeo. The ABS light turn on i'd check brake fluid and refill it light still on all brake pads ok. Please Help!

1. Check the fuse
2. There is a connector on the right rear wheel that sometimes come lose (I think, wait for some others to reply for sure)
3. There is a recall on the ABS for the 98-99, so you may want to call your local isuzu dealer with your vin to see if your truck applies.

see my FAQ at the bottom for sites to search for TSB's and recall info.

-Ryan

Engine died every time i first start. so i just step on the gas so it wont die on me. any body know what's the ploblem

Sounds like a bad intake gasket. See the FAQ.

I have 98 Rodeo. The ABS light turn on i'd check brake fluid and refill it light still on all brake pads ok. Please Help!


ya here is another kick in the nuts for me. My abs light just came on this afternoon

John

just added this today, but it is not going to help with the ABS light, get your ABS codes read:

How to fix that over-sensitive system by Jeff Rouse:

My brakes sucked. A crack in the road would set the ABS off. I did a few things and it works way better now. After I took my Amigo back to the dealer ("everything checks out within manufacturers specs" ) for difficulty stopping twice, I bled the brakes. This made a HUGE difference. Cost: $0

Then I had some Earl's Plumbing steel braded brake lines custom made (I added 2" in front and 4" in back for future mods) and replaced all five stock rubber lines. HUGE, HUGE improvement. $150

Then I lifted my truck 3" and put rancho 9000's on. I don't know why but this helped quite a bit too. Maybe from it not getting jarred so hard when I'd hit a bump. Beats me, it helped a lot. $400 CP style lift.

I put 265/75/16 Futura Dakata's all around. Good improvement. $510 for five tires - mounted, etc

Next I changed brake pads all around. Axxis metal master. Some improvement. $70 *note, non-OEM pads have a tendency to squeal with used with OEM rotors.

Finally, I swapped the front rotors for Powerstop cross-drilled rotors. (I tow a lot, slotted are better for most people). I left the rear stock - for now. Great improvement in stopping, some improvement in ABS. $230 for the pair.

At first I thought my ABS didn't work anymore, because it didn't' come on for at least six months. Then when driving in the snow I jammed the brakes on one day and... it was still there working like ABS should. Since then it has only come on a few times, and only under extreme braking on bumpy surfaces.

I have 98 Rodeo. The ABS light turn on i'd check brake fluid and refill it light still on all brake pads ok. Please Help!

Okay I just fixed my light. I read the owners manual and they say to stop the car immediately. Shut it off, start it up again and for about quarter to half mile do not exceed 8 mph, go slow and the light will shut off. If the light comes back on, repeat the same. If it does not go off or it returns, have it serviced.


John

next year I'm using my dashboard for christmas lights on the tree.

I have a 92 Rodeo and the Rear ABS light stays on what should I do? Is this the same thing?

the sensor is on the rear axle on the left side. Unhook the battery(this can reset your
ECU), and clean the sensor with electrical contact cleaner...... if that doesn't work i would replace sensor or unhook bulb in dash.

The ABS light on my 99 Rodeo LSE usually comes on when I start the truck but not always. Sometimes, it will go off if I accelerate slowly after starting (per the owners' manual).

I bought this from a local used car dealer who bought it from an auction. I have the original owner's name and address from '99 but she has evidently moved since buying this truck. Best guess from CarFax is that she probably had a four year lease on it and when the lease was up, it was auctioned. At any rate, there's no getting any maintenance history from her.

The first week I owned the truck, I never saw the light. The longer I have had it (about a month now), the more frequently the light comes on and the longer it stays on. I called Isuzu and gave them my VIN and according to them, the ABS recall work has been done.

I read that the wheel sensor connectors can be a cause for the light to come on but I have unplugged all of them and they look OK - no gross corrosion. The back sensors and harness (4WD) seem to be all one unit -- anybody know if that's the case? How expensive is this bad boy?

Anybody know of a way to test the sensors themselves -- maybe check the resistance with an ohm meter? Any idea what the resistance should be?

One more thing -- the dealer had the fuel sending unit replaced while it was still on his lot -- don't know if this also included a new fuel pump but he said it cost a bundle for the repair. Does the wiring for the sending unit run in the same connector as the rear ABS sensors? Maybe the repair guys screwed something up when they dropped the gas tank?

When does the low fuel idiot light come on? I've twice put 17-18 gallons into the 21 gallon tank on this truck and have never seen the light even flicker. Maybe they didn't hook this up right either?

Thanks in advance for any help. Been reading this forum for a few weeks now and there seems to be a lot of good info here. I really love the truck but its little quirks (burning a qt of oil every 400 - 500 miles, flaky CD changer, etc) are making me start to regret buying it. I used to have a Honda Accord which had 252,400 mi on the clock when I sold it last week. Aside from a couple of timing belts, routine oil changes, and tires every 50-60K, this thing was a rock. I expect the new owner will get another 100K out of it. I was really hoping the Rodeo would be as solidly reliable.

Sorry so long -- thanks again!

JWS

I have a 92 Rodeo and the Rear ABS light stays on what should I do? Is this the same thing?

On my 1995.5 Rodeo, it turned out to be the speed sensor. It cost about $70.00 for the part. I did a resistance check on the sensor and the reading did not agree with the value in the service manual. I haven't had a problem since I installed the new sensor.

Dale

It's my understanding that ABS prior to 1998 was only on the rear wheels. 1998-current is four wheel, three channel -- rear ABS works off a single sensor on the differential on 2WD and there are a total of four sensors on the 4WD (but still only three channels).

Any recollection of what that resistance value was on your 95.5? Probably not the same as the 99 but maybe a starting point. Is this kind of info in the Isuzu maintenance manual or would one be able to find it on alldata.com? I bought a Haynes manual but the info on ABS is pretty sparse (how disappointing).

I pulled the probe on the front passenger side and it looked OK. Couldn't get the one on the driver's side out but I could see the end of the probe through the wheel and it looked OK as far as I could see. Didn't try the back ones -- yet!

Thanks for the reply. Anybody else want to weigh in on this?

JWS

On my Rodeo, it is a rear wheel system with the sensor mounted on top of the rear differential. The Chilton manual lists a resistance value of 900 - 2000 ohms for a good sensor.

The manual has a section on the four wheel system and the resistance is 900 - 2000 ohms for the front wheel sensors. It says only the 4WD models have separate rear wheel sensors. Remember, the Chilton manual I'm reading from is good up to the 1996 model year only.

What helped me diagnose the problem was that the brakes were occasionally pulsing at "parking lot speeds" of about 10 MPH. I thought the speed input to the system was off. That led me to check the sensor. Sure enough, mine was open. No codes were set in the computer for me to retreive, the lamp on the instrument cluster would light up.

I've never tried the Alldata manual. I have the 1995.5 factory (UC) manual and 2 copies of the Chiltons manual. When I first purchased my Rodeo, I went out and bought the Chiltons manual not even looking at the other one I had for my Trooper. Later, I checked and they were the same! Duh. If anyone wants my extra copy, make me an offer...

Hope this helps.

Dale

It looks like the rain may be over for today so maybe I will pull out the ol' digital multlimeter and do some resistance checks before it gets dark tonight.

I didn't realize the pre-98's had individual sensors on the back wheels. Does yours have a light called ABS or RWAL? From what I've read the RWAL is for the earlier models and the single sensor is located on the Passenger Side toward the back. The 'brain' is under the passenger seat. I wonder where it is on the 98 and up Rodeos. Doing a Google search on 'Rodeo ABS module location' turned up no useful info.

Also, the Haynes manual says the brake light switch is part of the system on the RWAL's. I guess it ignores the speed sensor when the switch indicates the brake is not being applied. Maybe the switch is part of my problem? The owner's manual says the system does a diagnostic at start-up. Maybe since you have to press the brake pedal to put the truck in gear, the switch is the problem? Brake lights work OK so at least part of the switch is working.

If I ever figure out what's going on here, I will post my findings.

JWS

My lamp is labeled RrABS.

My ABS light has come on a couple of times. I just slap it in reverse, gas it, crunch the brakes and toss it back in drive. No more ABS light. :smile:

I assume its just a dirty sensor. It only comes on after its been raining for a couple of days.

Well, I'm a little more confused this morning than I was yesterday. I pulled the connectors on the front sensors but couldn't get my meter leads oriented to read the sensor resistance. The female part of the plug is pointed up and toward the wheel well so that the pins inside are pretty much inaccessible.

I did, however, measure the resistance on the male ends of the plugs -- 700K on the driver's side and 820K on the passenge side. Since I don't know what these values are supposed to be, it doesn't really help me much.

As for the rear wheels... The Haynes manual (and other posts that I have read) says that on the 4WD models, there are sensors on each rear wheel. I looked a little closer last night and I believe that what I thought were rear wheel sensors are actually where the parking brake cables enter the rear wheels.

As far as I can tell, there is one ABS sensor on the rear differential like on a 2WD. Anybody know if there was a production change from 2 rear sensors to one sometime in the 99 model year? Maybe the rear axle went out in this thing and someone installed one out of a 2WD junker? How could I tell? Maybe this is the root of the ABS problem?

Slamming on the brakes in reverse, eh Mike72271? I'll give it a try. At this point what can it hurt?

JWS

I've discovered a way to trouble shoot the ABS Diagnostic Trouble codes (DTC) by using the ABS warning lamp. Basicly you jumper pins 12 and 4 of the OBD II scan port (DLC), turn the key switch to the on position. The ABS light will flash out the DTC.

Attached is a link to a .pdf file I created that gives the procedure with the DTC code descriptions. The description identifies the components that are the source of the problem.

ABS DTC.pdf (http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/files/ABS DTC.pdf)

You da man LetsRodeo!! :cheers: That is AWESOME info.

Joel

where is the ehcu anyway?
also..i have seen on the msn site...stating that the abs light maybe due to a bad wire harness..anyone know anything about this?
where is the rear wheel speed sensor wire harness anyway????
thanks


I've discovered a way to trouble shoot the ABS Diagnostic Trouble codes (DTC) by using the ABS warning lamp. Basicly you jumper pins 12 and 4 of the OBD II scan port (DLC), turn the key switch to the on position. The ABS light will flash out the DTC.

Attached is a link to a .pdf file I created that gives the procedure with the DTC code descriptions. The description identifies the components that are the source of the problem.

ABS DTC.pdf (http://forums.klipsch.com/idealbb/files/ABS DTC.pdf)

the 95 Rodeo was notorious for having a poorly designed wiring connector.......

On my 99 Rodeo the rear sensor is located on top of the rear differential and the wiring is routed to the driver’s side. The second connector is just inside the rear driver’s side wheel well. The first is at the differential.

I found two wires busted loose at the second connector as well as a bad rear sensor on mine. The connector pins can be removed from the plastic housing. That’s what I did and soldered the broken wires back on the pins. Disassembling the connector is a pain.

I bought my rear sensor from St Charles Isuzu (http://isuzu.stcharlesauto.com). for ~$56.

i did see a black box on the diff. with all these brake fluid hoses going in
is this the ehcu?
or is this just the sensor?

Barring the differences are minor between your 98 and my 99 Rodeo. The EHCU is under the hood on the passenger side fender.

The rear sensor is on rear differential on the topside towards the front. You have to crawl under the axil from the back of your Rodeo to get to it. It only has wires (a cable actually) to a connector clipped to the top of the differential.

The sensor has a hold down clamp secured by a bolt.

Does anyone have a picture of the speed sensor on a 97 rodeo or a year that would have a similar set up. I have a Haynes manual, but as someone said earlier it is pretty useless when it comes to the ABS system. I just want to make sure that I am screwing around with the right parts. Thanks

Does anyone have a picture of the speed sensor on a 97 rodeo or a year that would have a similar set up. I have a Haynes manual, but as someone said earlier it is pretty useless when it comes to the ABS system. I just want to make sure that I am screwing around with the right parts. Thanks

I have a 97, and replaced the speed sensor this year. It's dark most of the time here and the driveway is covered in slush and road salt so I can't send a photo any time soon. But it is located on the center of the rear differential. Right on top. You'll see a thin black wire harness that is clipped to the diff. It's hard to reach unless you jack up the vehicle and get as much clearance as you can. Get a good shoplight under there too. Disconnect the pigtail. There's a 12mm or so bolt holding it to the diff. The bolt is about an inch long and easy to get take off. Now the fun part........to get the sensor out you have to wiggle it a bit at a time while lifting up. There's an O-ring that is keeping it so snug. The bolt flange is plastic and I cracked mine by trying to jimmy the thing upward. Was more cafeful with the new sensor. Eventually it broke suction on the O-ring and came out. The new one goes in pretty quick and easy. It's a good time to check the condition of the brake lines, shocks and other underside items. I replaced the fuel filter while I had the thing jacked up. Hope this is helpful info. Highland

Good Post LetsRodeo. I had my ABS checked at Pep Boys and they charged me $400 to replace the rear sensor they said was bad. I should have done it myself but didn't have the knowledge of the Rodeo's ABS that I have now. The light remained on after the repairand the mechanic told me the sensor was bad and needed to be replaced but now there is also something else wrong. He would now try the next thing for another $400 but no guarantees. Forget that, I can guess as well as the best of them and cheapter too. Based on LetsRodeo's post, after jumping pins 4 and 12, the ABS light sequence I am getting are:

12 - this is the regular DTC start
53 - Rear Open or shorted sensor
63 - Rear Missing sensor signal
63- Rear Sensor signal dropout

So it seems he was heading in the right direction but the mechanic never checked cable connectivity. I suspect this is the true problem. I'll try this myself but I hate tracking down cable issues.

Finally, the ABS went off.

The problem was a broken wire. I did a continuity test on both the white/blue and the orange/blue wires from the ABS connecter under the hood to the differential sensor connector and found the white/blue wire had no connectivity. The test was done by pushing a paper clip into the ABS connector and connecting that to the positive terminal on the battery. Then attaching a simple 12 v probe (the one with the light bulb on the inside) to the sensor connector. Note that if you can't get a good ground on the body you can run a wire from the negative terminal to the back of the car and touch the other end of the probe to that wire.

So I cut the wires about 6 inches from the connectors and attached a test wire between the two connectors and did a continuity test to ensure the connectors were OK. They were. I then ran the new wire along the body to the back making sure the wire had some room to move where the frame and the differential met and made sure it wouldn't move too much when it was close to parts that could get hot or moved in some way. Then I drove it to ensure the light would go out. It did after about a quarter mile of going over 8 mph. After that all that was left was taping and ensuring everything was secure. Finally got that darn light to go out.

'99 Rodeo - My dashboard light just turned on two days ago and has been on ever since.



Apparently, it's a safety feature to remind you that you
yanked the 60A fuse to the damned ABS system right
after the gentleman in front of you decided to stop
halfway into the intersection when the light turned
yellow - and you were left to ponder colliding with his
brand new Dodge pickup bumper or jerking the wheel,
jumping a curb, and bouncing down the grassy hill, while
your vehicle loftily comes to a gentle stop.


:banghead: :cya: :swear:




I hate ABS.

Not that I'm bitter or anything. :biggrin:

I can understand having it in an area that actually has a "Winter" in any sense of the word, but it's absurd for the manufacturers to tack it on to most every vehicle sold in a region where we see icicles seldom enough that most of us need spellcheckers when we type the word (twice a decade, if even that.)

I will say this - that Rodeo is a friggin' tank. As much as I might piss and moan about the smaller details, I still love this thing. :thumbsup:

I have an intermittent ABS light with codes pointing to the rear. I had the rear sensor replaced and that didn't help. It seems to be a wiring thing. I read here that someone redid the connector on the left by the shock and it had a broken wire. He said that it was a pain to take the connector apart. Can you just bypass the connector and solder the wires directly?

You could try to solder the wires on directly but I would first try to see if the problem is really the connector or a broken wire. Odds are, it is a broken wire as those wires take a beating. Do a connectivity test through the connector pin and if you don't have a connection, then do a connectivity test with the wire itself (not through the connector). If you do the soldering first and the problem is a wire but not the connector, then you may make the connector unusable at that point even though it was still good. That could make future repairs to the ABS unit very challenging. Just my 2 cents.