ABS light reset

[cheungderek]

I have a 98 Venture. The ABS light turned on because a cable to the front wheel speed sensor was broken. When I fixed it the very first time, the ABS light went off immediately. Lately, when the wire was broken again and I soldered it back, the ABS light was still ON but turned off after driving the VAN for a few weeks.

My question is that does the ABS computer needs to be reset to turn off the ABS light after it is fixed? Is there another way to reset the ABS computer likes disconnect the battery for a long time or driving the van for a few weeks to "overwrite" the bad code??

[cdru]

Originally Posted by cheungderek

My question is that does the ABS computer needs to be reset to turn off the ABS light after it is fixed? Is there another way to reset the ABS computer likes disconnect the battery for a long time or driving the van for a few weeks to "overwrite" the bad code??

The ABS light turns on when there is a fault in the system somewhere. If the fault is fixed, it will turn back off. I would check to see if you have a lose connection elsewhere in the system. Does the light turn on when you first turn on the car? I should flash 7 times I beleive to indicate a ready system. If it doesn't turn on, it's possible that the light is burned out.

[cheungderek]

Originally Posted by cdru

The ABS light turns on when there is a fault in the system somewhere. If the fault is fixed, it will turn back off. I would check to see if you have a lose connection elsewhere in the system. Does the light turn on when you first turn on the car? I should flash 7 times I beleive to indicate a ready system. If it doesn't turn on, it's possible that the light is burned out.

The ABS light turned ON and stay ON when I started the car. So, you say that there is NO NEED to reset the ABS computer as it will NOT remember the fault?

[cdru]

Originally Posted by cheungderek

The ABS light turned ON and stay ON when I started the car. So, you say that there is NO NEED to reset the ABS computer as it will NOT remember the fault?

If it stays on, that means that there is still currently a fault in the system. If it turns off, it means that the system is (supposibly) working correctly. As to whether a code is stored in the ABS control module, I don't know. My guess is that the code is stored, just not displayed.

It's probably like the MIL light. The MIL light ("Check Engine Soon") only lights up if certain codes are set, or have repeatedly been set. Pending codes or informative codes don't always light it up. The codes are stored so that they may be retrieved later for troubleshooting or other purposes.