Had a strange problem - ABS issues?

[Dark_Horse]

I had an issue with the car tonight and I'm wondering if anyone else has run into this. During a left turn and going WOT to merge with traffic, the traction control light came on (did not have T/C disabled) then went off after a second, ABS light comes on and the gauges go haywire. Seemed like they all froze at weird places for a moment (the gauges did not do full sweep and reset like when you disconnect the bettery). The whole gauge cluster then reset itself back to zero, lights cleared, and then went back to taking their normal readings. WTF right?

Could this be an ABS unit issue? I know it had something to do with losing traction at that particular moment...maybe even a sensor issue? I flipped through the chiltons manual just to see if I could troubleshoot but couldn't come up with any solid answers. I even tried to replicate the same even but failed to do so. Any ideas fellas?

 

[nyuk98gt]

Dark_Horse:

Some tunes are set up to disable the alternator at WOT (I don't know why or which vehicles). I would not have concluded an ABS problem but, rather, an electrical issue (alternator, battery, ground,...). I will check my trusty SCT Advantage (ProRacer) file tonight to see what the switches are for the alternator.

Chris

 

[trombonedemon]

Besides the speedometer change, I would put everything back to stock as far as your tune is concern, at least for a while to see if this happens again, just to rule out a faulty tune. For some IMHO, I think the tunes are confusing our ECU's. And again, unless you have changed your engine dramtically, you might need a new tune anyway. Just my opinion.

 

[Dark_Horse]

Besides the speedometer change, I would put everything back to stock as far as your tune is concern, at least for a while to see if this happens again, just to rule out a faulty tune. For some IMHO, I think the tunes are confusing our ECU's. And again, unless you have changed your engine dramtically, you might need a new tune anyway. Just my opinion.

Yeah nothing has really been done to the motor except the tune. Also, I was running my SCT Xcal 91 tune on the car at that time. I have three tunes that I use: [1] being my 87 fuel economy (this is what I normally run), [2] 91 premium tune, and [3] my 93 track tuned by american muscle.

About a month ago I was experiencing some alternator noise through the radio and I decided to go ahead and replace it. The sound changed pitch as I revved the motor leading me to believe the alternator was bad. It didn't fix the problem but I figured it was good to have a fresh alt anyways. Wondering if the culprit could be a bad ground somewhere?

 

[trombonedemon]

Hows your battery? You can go ahead and check around your speed sensors to see if anything is blocking the magnet for a false reading. You can also check your grounds on both sides of the engine. Do a search on current ripple hear and follow the website, if anything its good pracice to check for ripple.

 

[GDawg]

Hows your battery? You can go ahead and check around your speed sensors to see if anything is blocking the magnet for a false reading. You can also check your grounds on both sides of the engine. Do a search on current ripple hear and follow the website, if anything its good pracice to check for ripple.

Did someone say, "AC Ripple"? Amazing how many problems that causes our cars and always seems like something else. AC Ripple can make your computer act up.

 

[Dark_Horse]

Hows your battery? You can go ahead and check around your speed sensors to see if anything is blocking the magnet for a false reading. You can also check your grounds on both sides of the engine. Do a search on current ripple hear and follow the website, if anything its good pracice to check for ripple.

The battery is less than a year old, the car still starts up fine on the first crank every time. I'm guessing it's one of the grounds that has come loose or something. I am going to check them tonite. I'm going to rule out AC ripple since both the battery and alternator are fairly new.

 

[trombonedemon]

Yea, a loose connection can trick your car into thinking your battery might be going dead and do that full sweep w/the gauges.