After a year finally did the Option B fix and it works great!!!! 3 assigos gone immediately after living with those idiot lights from day one. On my 2003 it was totally impossible to do option b with the Mod still in the truck. The hex bolts felt like they were in there with loctite. I am 6'2" 210lbs and pretty damn strong but no amount of torque would get them to budge. I went ahead and disconnected the hydraulic lines, pulled the Mod and did the Option B fix on a workbench. Much easier. The hassle of course is the post fix bleed. As Josh suggests, I did an initial manual bleed first (rf,lf,rr, lr - per the RaVE) then took it out for a test drive to engage Tc and HDC - NOTE: Do not test drive if you have a real spongy pedal, go back and rebleed it until you get a safe pedal. After my first bleed my pedal was about 90% normal, so I felt safe. After getting Tc and HDc to kick in a few times, I returned and did the manual bleed again. Got about 5% more pedal. I will pop for a full Testbook bleed which every mechanic I know says is necessary. Even if that's $100 this fix is well worth the time and the price. Shame on LR for not doing a recall on this defective ABS Moudlator. Thanks, Josh! This fix was a life saver - literally.

 

Just wanted to thank Josh again - THANKS JOSH!!! for this amazing fix. Has been a month now and I having been driving around So Cal in non stop rains, sliding around and panic stopping just to test the ABS and it works like new after I did Josh's fix. No more three amigos. Traction control works flawlessly, along with Hill descent control. Shame on LRNA for not making all dealers provide this fix on perhaps the most dangerous factory defect on our trucks.

 

I'm starting to get an intermittent appearance of the 3 Amigos (ugh). At this point, they will illuminate when I turn the engine on. If I turn it off and restarty, they always go away. It might go three a couple of weeks or a couple of days before it happens again. It always goes away after restarting.

I have almost 115K miles on my 2004 Discovery. I've recently replaced the rotors and and pads (15K miles back) and replaced the brake fluid just a week ago. The onset of the 3 amigos was before the brake fluid flush and has happened since.

I've been reading up on the ABS modulator fix. A couple of questions:

1 - I believe even the intermittent codes are stored? Do I need to wait until the 3 Amigos stay illuminated to to test with the 3 Amigo code reader? Or can I go ahead an test with them off, knowing the codes are stored?

2 - If I'm pulling the appropriate code for the "Option B" fix, can anybody point me to an online source for the right wire connector? In the write up, it is a 2 wire connector (trailer harness connector)? In looking on line, I havent seen anything exactly like that yet. Most are 4 pole connectors (4 wire). I admit that I haven't worn any shoe leather looking for this yet, but if somebody bought one online and can point me in the right direction, I would appreciate it.

 

The intermittent codes are in fact stored however they will not display a "hard fault" leaving the amigos MIL on regardless of engine shutoff and restart. Go ahead and have the codes read, they are there regardless if your amigos aren't.

The two wire trailer connector harness I found at NAPA was $2 or something like that. I once did the job using same gauge electrical wire straight through, you can do the same and add female/male ends to have the "disconnect" function. Heck if paper clips work you can use them too. Remember my OPTION B isn't the ONE and ONLY method. It's just the ONE and ONLY out there.... =)

But since you asked..
This is EXACTLY what I used... I wish the gauge was smaller though...
ABS MOD WIRE HARNESS =)

 

Thanks! I've read the disclaimers...but I wanted to try to stay as straight to the instructions as possible.

I've got a lot of value from this forum in the last year. I previously had a 2000 Discovery II and traded it in at about 112K miles and got my 2004. I took the first one to the dealer for everything and spent a load of money! I should have kept that truck and invested time in doing as much of the service and repairs myself.

This time around, with the help of this forum and it members, I've taken over a lot of the work and also found an honest independent, mechanic who also drives a Discovery for the work I can't or really don't want to do! I've learned a lot about my vehicle, take a lot better care of it and spent a lot less money!

This year, I've done wires and plugs w/o removing the intake manifold, replaced the SLS airbags, new brake rotors and bled the brakes all with the help of this group. Now, on to the 3 Amigos!

 

Thanks, Josh! I'm a week post "Option B" and can't thank you enough for the attention you've given to this topic! I bought my Disco 3 years ago knowing that the vehicle had flagged codes for shuttle valves on its last reading, and I am so far "Amigo Free" for the first time ever for this long a time. I'll keep you updated per your questionnaire but can't get them to return despite my best efforts! I found the same plug you used in our local Advance Auto in the towing and trailer section. Thanks again!

 

Easy repair thanks to the really great directions. And your option B was clever.

I purchased the replacement valve assembly prior to starting the project. Everything was wired and ready to go before I opened the hood.

There was a bit of oil inside the original however it gave the correct resistance and the seals appear to be in good shape. That one goes in the spare bin.

While I may have wasted $26 + S&H, that's a whole lot better than $1400 + labor.

Thank you. So where do we deposit the dollar?

 

Small problem after Option B repair....

Mother Nature kindly left a test pad of ice in the driveway and I've found that the ABS system is having issues. Here's the problem...

Apply hard brake...anti-lock thumping...release brake...anti-lock continues to thump...car stops.

AND

Depress accelerator...wheel spin...traction control kicks on...release accelerator...ABS kicks on...car stops (no brake applied)

I tried bleeding the brakes...That didn't help. Tonight I will take it all apart and put it back together to see if I can find anything.

Any other ideas? Thanks in advance.

ABS Amigo info below...

1. Current Faults
Active faults: None
Logged Faults: 114...Shuttle Valve Electric Failure

Previous Faults
Active Faults 022:ECU GND or Reference Gnd bad
Logged faults: none

Previous Faults
Active Faults: Comms Error
Logged Faults: Comms Error

 

Pulled the modulator out completely and tore it down. Cleaned everything carefully, reassembled and reinstalled. After bleeding the brakes I took the truck for a test run. All good. Another bleed and the job will be done.

Incidentally the 2 sets of "previous" codes above came from the factory. I only downloaded once after receiving the device this afternoon.

For anyone considering whether or not to remove the modulator completely I found it easier than working in situ (not to mention the better result).

Thanks again.

 

I tested mine with the ABS Amigo and only had the 114 error code, so I'm going to try the "Option B" fix tomorrow. If I only remove the SVS cover and don't remove the entire unit or disconnect the brake lines, do I still need to bleed the brakes after making the option the B fix? Or, am I done after putting it all back together (step 46)? I just bled my brakes about 2 weeks ago!