ABS lights on after ignition (Honda City)

EasyR1der · 19th March 2012, 11:45

Mod Note : As per the recent mass PM, please do NOT use acronyms when referring to cars. You are ONLY permitted to use the full Make & Model name. Any further usage of acronyms will invite severe Moderator action on your account.

Thanks

Hi All,

Just want a user feedback about if someone else has faced a similar problem in the past.

I got my Honda City serviced @ 20,000 Km. I have the car for about 2 years now and have taken a few trips to Hills with it.

I was at Auotmax honda workshop to the get the service done.
Everything seems fine till after i had inspected the car and drove out of the gate (after servicing). It is then i saw the the ABS lights on the dash had not gone off.
I quickly gave a call to the service adviser who came and we took a TD. The light still refused to go out.

Put the car on jacks lifted the car up to check all the cables to brakes where connected (which they were).

Next we connected the car to a honda diagnostic system. This came up with a warning that there was a problem with rear right side sensor.

The technician told me this happens sometime after the wash and they deleted the error on the system.
Then everything was back to normal. I told them i wished to talk to there head technician in order to understand this problem.

He explained than sometime during washing the connections do get a little lose with heavy water jet. This they correct by flashing the ecu (disconnect the battery for a minute ) or connecting it to the diagnostics system and deleting the error. He assured me that all was OK with the car and than i should take a TD which i did and found everything was back to normal.

I want to know if anyone here has this experience and how had they dealt with this problem.

raghu230506 · 19th March 2012, 12:02

I never personally had this experience, but once while taking the delivery of mine a gentleman had this issue.

They did exactly the same and it fixed the problem,

All the dealers do a pathetic job when it comes to washing and cleaning of the cars, if this is know and can happen I don't understand why they don't take little care while washing those areas, they should atleast check them once after a wash. Leave this as a note for improvement in their feedback form.

vikram_d · 19th March 2012, 12:14

This problem does happen with ABS equipped cars. In my Mondeo this was happening because dirt had accumulated over the ABS sensor on the left front wheel. A good wash solved the problem. In your case water may have entered the sensor's electrical contacts. If this problem recurs, then I would recommend getting the faulty sensor replaced. But I don't think the problem will recur.

CRDIsamir · 19th March 2012, 12:14

The technician is correct as the system detected a error because of temperory loss of the signal from the sensor due to the water jet. There is nothing wrong with the system. The ECU gives the signal just to alert the driver that somewhere somethig was wrong with the system. This could be due to temperory loss of signal as above or a major error. To know exactly what the cause of the warning is you have to connect a diagnostic tool to your vehicle and erase the fault code generated which is stored in the memory. If it would have been a major fault the warning light would have come on again even after erasing the fault.

So nothing to worry enjoy your drive

Regards

Samir

mayankjha1806 · 19th March 2012, 14:06

Have seen this happening on more then one car when i was at the Whitefield Honda showroom to take delivery of my car both after the first and second service.

In both cases my guess is (As i did not tracked the problem till its closure), the SA told something similar to the owner did something under the hood and the owner drove off with problem seemingly fixed. Later when asked the SA as i was next in line to get my car, got this explanation.

kap04 · 1st April 2012, 14:22

I had a similar issue with my airbag indicators. It would remain lit up while i drive, but this disappears if i turn off the ignition and then start it again. Whitefield Honda took about a month to single out the issue, and another month for the parts to arrive. It was an issue with the airbag control unit, and i got it replaced under warranty.

19th March 2012, 11:45	#1
EasyR1der BHPian Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Delhi Posts: 96 Thanked: 20 Times	ABS lights on after ignition (Honda City) Mod Note : As per the recent mass PM, please do NOT use acronyms when referring to cars. You are ONLY permitted to use the full Make & Model name. Any further usage of acronyms will invite severe Moderator action on your account. Thanks Hi All, Just want a user feedback about if someone else has faced a similar problem in the past. I got my Honda City serviced @ 20,000 Km. I have the car for about 2 years now and have taken a few trips to Hills with it. I was at Auotmax honda workshop to the get the service done. Everything seems fine till after i had inspected the car and drove out of the gate (after servicing). It is then i saw the the ABS lights on the dash had not gone off. I quickly gave a call to the service adviser who came and we took a TD. The light still refused to go out. Put the car on jacks lifted the car up to check all the cables to brakes where connected (which they were). Next we connected the car to a honda diagnostic system. This came up with a warning that there was a problem with rear right side sensor. The technician told me this happens sometime after the wash and they deleted the error on the system. Then everything was back to normal. I told them i wished to talk to there head technician in order to understand this problem. He explained than sometime during washing the connections do get a little lose with heavy water jet. This they correct by flashing the ecu (disconnect the battery for a minute ) or connecting it to the diagnostics system and deleting the error. He assured me that all was OK with the car and than i should take a TD which i did and found everything was back to normal. I want to know if anyone here has this experience and how had they dealt with this problem. Last edited by GTO : 19th March 2012 at 14:06. Reason: Do NOT use acronyms when referring to cars
	() Thanks

19th March 2012, 12:02	#2
raghu230506 BHPian Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Bangalore Posts: 766 Thanked: 64 Times View My Garage	re: ABS lights on after ignition (Honda City) I never personally had this experience, but once while taking the delivery of mine a gentleman had this issue. They did exactly the same and it fixed the problem, All the dealers do a pathetic job when it comes to washing and cleaning of the cars, if this is know and can happen I don't understand why they don't take little care while washing those areas, they should atleast check them once after a wash. Leave this as a note for improvement in their feedback form. Last edited by raghu230506 : 19th March 2012 at 12:03. Reason: typo
	() Thanks

19th March 2012, 12:14	#3
vikram_d Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,422 Thanked: 1,189 Times	re: ABS lights on after ignition (Honda City) This problem does happen with ABS equipped cars. In my Mondeo this was happening because dirt had accumulated over the ABS sensor on the left front wheel. A good wash solved the problem. In your case water may have entered the sensor's electrical contacts. If this problem recurs, then I would recommend getting the faulty sensor replaced. But I don't think the problem will recur.
	() Thanks

19th March 2012, 12:14	#4
CRDIsamir BHPian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Miraj MH 10 Posts: 125 Thanked: 87 Times	re: ABS lights on after ignition (Honda City) The technician is correct as the system detected a error because of temperory loss of the signal from the sensor due to the water jet. There is nothing wrong with the system. The ECU gives the signal just to alert the driver that somewhere somethig was wrong with the system. This could be due to temperory loss of signal as above or a major error. To know exactly what the cause of the warning is you have to connect a diagnostic tool to your vehicle and erase the fault code generated which is stored in the memory. If it would have been a major fault the warning light would have come on again even after erasing the fault. So nothing to worry enjoy your drive Regards Samir Last edited by GTO : 19th March 2012 at 14:03. Reason: Removing quoted post
	() Thanks

19th March 2012, 14:06	#5
mayankjha1806 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,159 Thanked: 989 Times View My Garage	Re: ABS lights on after ignition (ANHC) Have seen this happening on more then one car when i was at the Whitefield Honda showroom to take delivery of my car both after the first and second service. In both cases my guess is (As i did not tracked the problem till its closure), the SA told something similar to the owner did something under the hood and the owner drove off with problem seemingly fixed. Later when asked the SA as i was next in line to get my car, got this explanation.
	() Thanks

1st April 2012, 14:22	#6
kap04 BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 249 Thanked: 259 Times	Re: ABS lights on after ignition (Honda City) I had a similar issue with my airbag indicators. It would remain lit up while i drive, but this disappears if i turn off the ignition and then start it again. Whitefield Honda took about a month to single out the issue, and another month for the parts to arrive. It was an issue with the airbag control unit, and i got it replaced under warranty.
	() Thanks