1999 Forester ABS code retrieval

[KrazyKooter]

To all who may have a suggestion for this problem:

 

I recently replaced the right rear wheel bearing on my wife’s 1999 Subaru Forester. As we are in the “rust belt”, it was not a fun job. Anyway, to do the job, of course the hub was removed from the car so I could press the old bearings out and press the new ones in. I had to disconnect the ABS sensor, brake line, etc. to get the hub off.

 

After I finished the job and put everything back together, the wheel bearing was nice and quiet again, but the ABS light was on. I have a cheap Actron code reader here, so I plugged it in to try and reset the codes so the light would go out, but it said no codes were found. Apparently the ABS computer codes cannot be read by my code reader. I am fairly certain that I did not damage the ABS wheel sensor when I removed it from the backing plate, but I can’t be positive. I have a VOM meter here also, so is there any way to check the sensor to see if it is OK? It is the only thing I could have screwed up, as the ABS was working fine before I replaced the wheel bearing. I also put new rear brake shoes on both sides when I did the bearing job. The brakes work fine, but the ABS does not kick in, I checked this by skidding on patches of snow and ice, which we have plenty of right now here in Cambria County PA.

 

You have been extremely helpful in the past, so I am hoping you will have some suggestions on how I should troubleshoot this problem. I want to avoid a trip to the dealer at all costs! Thanks in advance for your help.

[nipper]

OBDII code readers only read OBDII codes. They do not read transmission, airbag, or ABS codes. There is a procedure to pull the codes, but if the light wasnt there before the wheel bearing, i would inspect the tone ring for a crack and the wheel speed sensor.

 

 

nipper

[KrazyKooter]

Thanks for the reply, I will double check those things, but I was very careful with the tone ring, I removed it so as not to damage it when I pressed the bearing race off of the shaft. When I reinstalled, I even torqued the allen head screws with a 3/8 drive torque wrench to factory specs. I would like to know how to do the code retrieval anyway, just for future reference. I went through a lot of posts on the site regarding ABS stuff, and read about retrieving codes. It seems that up to 1998 you could retrieve them manually by grounding certain terminals on the ABS terminal. This 1999 Forester does not have that type of terminal. It looks like there is a connector near the drivers side heater duct to the right of the accelerator pedal that might be the one that is used for ABS diagnostics. I think there is a way to check the wheel sensors with a VOM also. I saw that on one of the other posts. When I get this fixed I will let everyone know what the solution was.

[nipper]

Wheel sensors are easy. Just physically inspect them. They need to look cylindrical with a nise 90 degree edge to them. Usually they get eroded and rounded. When this happens they dont pick up a proper signal. This is the way they usually fail, without failing.

 

I'll see what i can find out about the other thing.

 

 

nipper

[idosubaru]

You should be able to get the code to flash by grounding a pin and counting the blinks of the ABS light. I've done it before by looking it up here and online and finding the plug and which pin to ground. It was very simple.

 

I'm fairly certain you're going to find out that the sensor is warn and possibly the tone ring.

 

You should be able to do what Nipper said - look at the sensor and tone ring and compare them to the other side. My guess is you'll notice the sensor or tone ring to be quite warn compared to the other side.

 

Also - the sensor is magnetic, make sure it didn't pick up some metal when installing, it might be covered with a ton of rust/debris.

[KrazyKooter]

Thanks for all the replies, and when I get this fixed I will be sure to let you know what the solution was.

-KrazyKooter