Tbird Man Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Well, got my car back form the shop after haveing them replace the drivers front hub, not the "brake" light is lit. turns out we got a non ABS hub so they coulden't hook the sensor up. It isn't that big of a deal as my ABS didn't work anyway. my question is can i do something to the ABS sensor pluc to shut the light off? It is really annoying. on a side note, the shop claims to have aligned it but obviously didn't cheak tire pressures beforehand. the drivers front had 60lbs(my fault i filled it late at night from a local gas station that dosen't have a gauge on the nozzle) pass. front had 20lbs and both rears had around 11-12lbs, I am thinking of going back and asking for a re alignment now that I corrected the pressures. do you think I should? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROGDOR! Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Alignment is computerized and done using the hubs or the actual wheel rims. The tires have nothing to do with it. It's done with the car off the ground anyway, so even if they did use the tires, flatness wouldn't matter. So your alignment should be fine. Easiest way I know of to get the light off is to pull the instrument panel and remove the bulb for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Alignment is computerized and done using the hubs or the actual wheel rims. The tires have nothing to do with it. It's done with the car off the ground anyway, so even if they did use the tires, flatness wouldn't matter. So your alignment should be fine. Easiest way I know of to get the light off is to pull the instrument panel and remove the bulb for it. Actually the first thing the shop is supposed to do is make sure all the tires are properly inflated before they align it. It can affect the qeometry of the car and WILL throw off the whell alignment. If all the tires are the same pressure it wont matter, but since they werent it upts the center axis of the axles in odd positions. the alighnment guy is going to try and make them al even. In any case the wheel alignment guy screwed up and they owe you an alignement. Also having tires that far out of wack will not only make the car dangerous to drive, but can really piss off the AWD and do some serious damage. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbird Man Posted April 15, 2006 Author Share Posted April 15, 2006 Well, I haven't noticed any wierdness since i fixed the pressures, And I know the different pressures can be bad on the AWD system on manuals but the auto tends to be more forgiveing. also i didn't drive far like that. as for the brake light i think i will just ignore it for a while until I can afford to get an ABS hub. as I said the ABS dosen't work anyway so the only other issue is the AWD, anyone know if the 4eat AWD uses wheel sensors or what? oh and if there was gonna be damage to the AWD i think it would have happened when my front axle popped out and I had to limp about 20mi in rwd (I pushed the "manual" button in) in hilly country, but the awd still seems fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 oh and if there was gonna be damage to the AWD i think it would have happened when my front axle popped out and I had to limp about 20mi in rwd (I pushed the "manual" button in) in hilly country, but the awd still seems fine. Actually the AWD computer will notice the drastic differnce in speed between the front and rear of the car after 50mph and stop trying to correct for it. Also popping an axle will put no load on the AWD clutch pack, so it wont do any harm. Now if you had too small a tire on that wheel causing drag on the clutch pack, thats a differnt story. The AWD uses speed sensors, one in the tranny, one in the spedometer (if you have a spedo cable), or the vss sensor for the spedo. There are also 4 speed sensors one at each wheel for the ABS. I dont know if the bulb will go out if you yank the fuse for the abs but it is worth a shot. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 15, 2006 Share Posted April 15, 2006 the TCU (transmission computer) won't use the ABS sensors, so no worry for your transmission. remove the ABS sensor from the old hub and install just the sensor on the wiring harness plug. no need to install it in the hub, just install the sensor so the computer sees the proper resistance in line. or you could measure the resistance of the ABS sensor on the other side and plug a 25 cent resistor into the wiring harness plug for the missing sensor and the computer will be happy. also you can just unplug the wiring harness plug from the computer to get rid of the light. i can't tell you where the ABS computer is though. usually you can find a plug for the computer somewhere easy like above your feet by the fuse panel, just have to know which plug it is. i wouldn't worry about the mismatched tire pressure. it is a bad thing, but that one instance should not kill your transmission unless you're really unlucky. i towed one 700 miles (without addressing anything AWD related, tried but the shaft wouldn't come off) and it's still driving excellent to this day. i don't recommend it, i don't do it on purpose but....i wouldn't consider it the end of the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setright Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 WHEEL ALIGNMENT: Is done with the wheels in contact, car must be resting on it's springs. Tyre pressure plays a big part. The shop I have had align my cars uses a gyroscope on each wheel rim, and little hose connects to the valve to control tyre pressure during the alignment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbird Man Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Well, I think for now I can just deal with the light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Is it just possible that the brake fluid is low in the reservoir which would trigger the float to register "brake light" as when the brakes wear?? In other words, check the brake fluid level... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Is it just possible that the brake fluid is low in the reservoir which would trigger the float to register "brake light" as when the brakes wear?? In other words, check the brake fluid level... actually DONT just add brake fluid. Check your brake pads first. As the pads wear, ther fluid level drops. Once the pads wear x amount, the light will go on. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbird Man Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 well i imaganr the fluid may be low, but as this happened directly after the non abs hub swap, Ockham's Razor holds that that is the likely culpret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltik Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 The wheel alignment shops here have always done a 4 wheel alignment on my car with it lifted off the hoist. All 4 wheels off the ground. Their alignment measuring gizmos hook onto the rims not the tyres. I took my wagon into the shop with my spare on the front wheel and they swapped it for the original rim during the alignment despite the fact the original rim had no tyre on it at the time. KELTIK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 The wheel alignment shops here have always done a 4 wheel alignment on my car with it lifted off the hoist. All 4 wheels off the ground. Their alignment measuring gizmos hook onto the rims not the tyres. I took my wagon into the shop with my spare on the front wheel and they swapped it for the original rim during the alignment despite the fact the original rim had no tyre on it at the time. KELTIK that doesn't make any sense because the toe/camber change depending on the bump/droop. They'd be way off at full droop. You want the car resting on the ground when it's aligned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 While I didn't actually say ADD brake fluid, in this case, if the fluid was low, you could add some as a quick diagnostic test or even just support the float and see if the light went out. If that works, then check the pads and replace as indicated, wash and wax the car, replace air freshener and you're good to go. actually DONT just add brake fluid. Check your brake pads first. As the pads wear, ther fluid level drops. Once the pads wear x amount, the light will go on. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Clark Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 Insure that the rubbers bellows inside the fluid tank didn't balloon out, or it will push the low level switch down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 While I didn't actually say ADD brake fluid, in this case, if the fluid was low, you could add some as a quick diagnostic test or even just support the float and see if the light went out. If that works, then check the pads and replace as indicated, wash and wax the car, replace air freshener and you're good to go. well the 10.00 question is why was the fluid low. Its a closed system and doesnt evaporate. And make sure the air freshner is properly calibrated nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tbird Man Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Ha, no sense in waxing this thing, its got a 6" rub dent from a tight parking spot, a key scratch the whole length of the drivers side and a few dings, I might try to either touch up the scratches or maybe i can polish them out, but the dent will need bondo as it starts in the drivers door and crosses to the seam. anyway, as I said, the ABS sensor was the biggest change so odds are it is the culpret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brus brother Posted April 18, 2006 Share Posted April 18, 2006 Bear in mind that a dent of that magnitude might itself affect the car's alignment.... bad Carma. BTW , the air freshener comes precalibrated from the convenience store... Any news on the brake fluid container/level? Ha, no sense in waxing this thing, its got a 6" rub dent from a tight parking spot, a key scratch the whole length of the drivers side and a few dings, I might try to either touch up the scratches or maybe i can polish them out, but the dent will need bondo as it starts in the drivers door and crosses to the seam. anyway, as I said, the ABS sensor was the biggest change so odds are it is the culpret. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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