ABS warning light/ switch on dash..

[chiefster1976]

Hi all... I have a 1995 AFT diesel bongo which the ABS light stays on once running..
Ive checked the fuses under the bonnet,all seem o.k.. Is there another fuse under the dash to try? Its all writen in
Japanese..Has anyone got the fuse converted to English on a chart or something??
Are these the type of brake sensors that once the pads get worn down it cuts the cable to show ABS/4WD warning light to come on??

Switches.......
1.There is a switch on the right hand side of the dash..It looks like a light switch mabe for front spotties???
2. There is also a switch sandwiched in between the 2 switches for the electric blinds on the left hand side of the dash..
The switch shows a small light symbol and has A/B on it...?????

Thanks in advance!! GAV..

[Northern Bongolow]

do the usual checks on the abs circuit/sensors, check they clean and undamaged, are the wires to them ok and connected.
not sure if the lamp doubles up for anything else (a lot of the bongo warning lamps are multi purpose).
check the fluid level, but i think thats covered with another lamp with the brake symbol on it.
on your age bongo it doesnt have pad wear warnings, well not electrical ones, it has a piece of metal that rubs on the disc and makes a high pitched screach when the pads wear down.
check the connections on the abs pump.

the a/b switch is for when you have factory fit front fogs. the switch enables another set of front lights to be connected like front driving lights. turn the front fogs on and you can alternate between front fogs and drivinglights at the flick of this switch. i have spots mounted here and find the feature very usefull. look for the spare wiring/plugs tucked up around the front lower grill area, the bonus is they are already covered by the relay for the fogs.

[g8dhe]

There are three fuses involved 60 Amp ABS, 20 Amp ABS and 15Amp second row left, see diagram below and hover your mouse of the coloured bits etc.;

[dave_aber]

Have you got LED brake lights, or blown brake bulbs?

[waycar8]

Have you got LED brake lights, or blown brake bulbs?

Ditto............... if the ABS light stays on generally blown brake bulbs

[dave_aber]

When I fitted LED brake light bulbs I got some odd behaviour of the ABS light. And they were crap - not bright enough IMO for brake bulbs.

[chiefster1976]

Thank you ADY, very inforamtive.i will try your suggestions... I think i did see the wires each side near the front bumper bar so im guessing (without looking at present) that there will be 3 wires? Earth / power for one spot/power for fog light on each side maybe...Ill check that one out..My Delica had the same feature..Its a good one to have for sure...

Geoff.. I tryed to brake lights and they work..As far as i can see there is only one each side..no rear fog lights.
There is a big spoiler on the roof with a LED in it...Both the bongos i have at present have the SAME SPOILER, its one of the larger type ive seen on a bongo..both my spoilers have LED lights in them..

[dave_aber]

The LED high level brake light is as you say standard, and not an issue.

You run into problems when you have all the brake bulbs swapped to LEDs. If there are 'real' bulbs in circuit, then their lower resistance is what is measured when the ABS controller checks the circuit, and all is OK. If all the bulbs are LEDs then a high resistance is seen, and the system assumes that a bulb is blown.

[chiefster1976]

Thanks Dave for that...
No LED in circuit fitted..checked all ABS fuses/all o.k, front o.k, rear pads definatly need changing..
I unbolted the front N.S ABS sensor but the sensor wouldnt move away from its mount... Ive smoothered it on WD40 and will try again,is there a trick to getting them out to clean them? I dont want to force them too much considering the price of new ones..lol...
I think more detective work is needed..

[dave_aber]

From what I've read on here, they rarely come out easily - and the removal process normally damages them. Proceed with caution!

You can test the sensors with a multimeter - they should have a resistance of approx 1600Ω.

[chiefster1976]

Nice one dave, ill ask a auto elecy mate if he can test the resistance without taking out the sensors.
Although the brake bulbs work,ive noticed before when bulbs are on their way out they go slightly dull and
you can see the bulbs starting to go/burning out on close inspection... Can this (if its a possible voltage drop) be a factor or isnt the system that sensitve? Sorry im not a auto sparky..

[dave_aber]

Not sure quite how sensitive the monitoring bit is which looks at the bulbs. When I had my LED ones in the ABS light didn't come on all the time, it was intermittent, so I thought I had a damaged sensor or cable. The resistance they present must have been just on the edge of acceptable to the ABS system.

Can't hurt to swap out the brake bulbs anyway I guess?

(Rear lights come off sideways by the way!)

[apapa]

I have a similar problem with the ABS warning light. It is now staying on all the time. I have had 2 garages look at it and they are unable to turn it off.

Will it fail an MOT over this?

Thanks

a

[dave_aber]

Yes, a permanent ABS light is a fail