2000 Regal GS w/Supercharger Possible ABS Issue?

[RHinNC]

On the way to work this morning my wife said she felt a very slight pulsation in the brake pedal followed by a brief flicker of a "light I have not seen before" (most likely the ABS light IMHO).

The car has 72,000 Miles on it and have never had any brake problems before.

Did a little Googling about ABS brakes in a 2000 Regal and did not come up with much.

Sensor problem perhaps?

Will hooking up to a diagnostic computer show a error code?

Spoke to my mechanic and he is going to look at the car tomorrow. Just would like to have a little information so I can talk intelligently to him tomorrow.

Thanks for any feedback.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by RHinNC

On the way to work this morning my wife said she felt a very slight pulsation in the brake pedal followed by a brief flicker of a "light I have not seen before" (most likely the ABS light IMHO).

The car has 72,000 Miles on it and have never had any brake problems before.

Did a little Googling about ABS brakes in a 2000 Regal and did not come up with much.

Sensor problem perhaps?

Will hooking up to a diagnostic computer show a error code?

Spoke to my mechanic and he is going to look at the car tomorrow. Just would like to have a little information so I can talk intelligently to him tomorrow.

Thanks for any feedback.

High probability it's one of the wheel sensors but there are also ABS control modules involved. If your mechanic has a scanner capable of reading CHASSIS-ABS error codes then the DTC error code may show up.

[RHinNC]

Originally Posted by bnaylor3400

High probability it's one of the wheel sensors but there are also ABS control modules involved. If your mechanic has a scanner capable of reading CHASSIS-ABS error codes then the DTC error code may show up.

Thanks for the reply.

Are the wheel sensors economically feasible to replace?

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by RHinNC

Thanks for the reply.

Are the wheel sensors economically feasible to replace?

Don't know if the wheel sensor is economically feasible to replace because GM incorporated the sensor into the hub/bearing assembly. So the whole hub has to be replaced. Depending on the brand of replacement it could run upwards of a couple of hundred dollars just for the part alone.

One thing you can do DIY is inspect the wiring going to each wheel sensor and make sure the electrical connector is tight.

[RHinNC]

Originally Posted by bnaylor3400

Don't know if the wheel sensor is economically feasible to replace because GM incorporated the sensor into the hub/bearing assembly. So the whole hub has to be replaced. Depending on the brand of replacement it could run upwards of a couple of hundred dollars just for the part alone.

One thing you can do DIY is inspect the wiring going to each wheel sensor and make sure the electrical connector is tight.

Will do. Thanks again.

[RHinNC]

This never dawned on me until I started putting a picture together of what has been going on. I'll explain...

About the only time I drive my wifes car is on the weekend when we use it to get groceries etc. Last weekend I drove her car and the same thing that happened to her happened to me. Nearing a stop light I turned the turn signal on to make a right turn, hit the brakes and it happened. ABS and check engine light came on briefly. Happened a couple more times. That is why I was thinking it may be a ABS problem.

Then on Tuesday my wife said the car died while stopped at an intersection. Again the turn signal was on. It cranked right up and she continued to work. Spoke to the local Buick dealer and because the check engine light would only come on briefly and go right out he said there probably would not be a code stored. We disussed that this particular engine was bad to build up carbon. Maybe a stuck butterfly valve on the intake causing the stepper motor to not operate properly or maybe injector issue. Anyway he suggested a couple of bottles of Gumout Injector Cleaner. And to drive the car 50 or more miles with the cleaner as it works best in a hot engine. So that is what I planned to do this weekend. However this morning while at the same intersection the car totally died (when she turned the turn signal on)) and no lights on the dash. She finally got it to start and moved it off the road where I get the oil changed. She called me at work and I told her to leave it. She had a co worker pick her up and take her to work. I spoke to the mechanic at the lube shop and he said he would take a look at it. He soon called and said it died on him, he got it running again and called me to tell me he was unable to diagnose the problem.

After work I went to the place the car was and this is what I found. I put the key in the ignition and all dash lights came on like normal. When I tried to start all lights went out. No cranking at all. Dead. My hand hit the turn signal and when it did all the lights on the dash came on! Never seen this before. If I turned the turn signal left or right the lights on the dash would come on. When the turn signal lever was centered it was dead. So strange.

Then I remembered about 2 years ago I had to get the turn signal lever replaced under warranty as the dealer determined it was defective (crusie control issue)

Now I believe there is a wire that is shorted in the steering column causing this intermittent problem we are having.

Time will tell, I spoke to the service manager at the dealer and he agreed with me that there most likley is a short somewhere in the turn signal.

Sorry for the long post, but hopefully it will assist someone if they ever have the same weird thing happen.

Will report back what they find.

[RHinNC]

Diagnosis was a faulty ignition switch. Switch replaced and all is good.

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by RHinNC

Diagnosis was a faulty ignition switch. Switch replaced and all is good.

Glad to hear you got it fixed. Out of curiosity what was the total cost with parts and labor?

Another Regal owner on the forum is replacing the ignition switch assembly on his own DIY. It's a real PITA.

[RHinNC]

Originally Posted by RHinNC

Diagnosis was a faulty ignition switch. Switch replaced and all is good.

Total cost was 259.66

128.00 Labor
118.37 Parts
5.00 Waste Disposal
8.29 Tax