Hey folks, looking for some steering here...

I've been living with Los Tres Amigos for the past few months. It's a momentary fault, so it clears on restart. The cause is always the same: making a tight right turn. Usually into a parking spot, sometimes I'll be exiting an alley or something or pulling into a lot where there's a bit of a dip in the transition. Sometimes I'll hear the ABS/TC cycle for a sec. Then bong, bong, bong... The few times I've checked it with the Amigo, it's been the same thing:

Active Faults:
None
Logged Faults:
114:Shuttle Valve Electric Failure
<-END Faults
--------------------------------------------

So a couple weeks back I did Akebono pads and new rotors on all four corners- EBC up front and Brembo out back. No change, not that I thought there would be, but I was way overdue. And the stopping power has certainly improved!

Today I got off my butt and did the SVS circuit bypass. No major snags along the way. Now instead of my old buddy SVS fault 114, I'm throwing:

Active Faults:
None
Logged Faults:
014:Pump fail pump sticking
017:ECU internal valve relay bad
064:Front Right sensor electric fail
Front Right Sensor Bad Output
<-END Faults
------------------------------------------------------------



Further research here indicates that a bad ABS sensor can also throw that 114 fault, is that right? This has me thinking maybe my SVS circuit was actually fine, but my front right sensor is flaking out at full lock or when the front suspension travel is substantial. I know there has been an improvement made to the sensor wiring as a result of high failure rate.

Any sage insight from the collective? I've done some searching, but so many ABS threads here, it's hard to see the forest through the trees!

Thanks always,
G

 

My first priority would be to check out the battery state - why - because a defective battery although it may appear to start the truck OK can reduce the 'visible' power registering to the ECU and throw up all kinds of erroneous fault codes. It needs a current/amperage load check to see whether it is 100% or not.

You may have multiple issues if the battery checks out as good. It may well be an ABS wheel sensor in which case you will need to scan with a reader that covers ABS faults and identifies which sensor is misbehaving. Also re-check your SVS mod to ensure it's working properly.

IMO changing rotors and pads may just be purely coincidental and shouldn't affect anything that going on electronically in the controls circuits.

It could be just crud on the sensor or on the tone ring that's causing these issues and fault codes or a duff sensor. Take out the sensor plugs and clean them with a brush and airline, spray them with electrical contact cleaner and put them together again. Also check the offending corner wheelbearing to ensure it's not shot and causing an ABS tone ring deflection.

 

Thanks! That's great feedback. I think I'll jack up that corner in the morning, check the hub for excessive play. If it seems sound I'll yank that rotor off, pull the sensor, and take a gander at the tone ring. I'll clean up the old sensor, and check the integrity of the connector under the hood.

It'll be a good opportunity to start fitting my braided stainless lines on in any case.

If all else fails Napa has the sensor in stock. But at $150 I'd really rather not buy it if I don't have too. Especially if replacing the part won't fix the problem!

I used a salvage SVS for the bypass mod, so putting my original back in and restoring the yellow/green wire wouldn't be a big deal if my work turned out to be suspect.

Thanks again.

 

Well the diagnosis was a snap. The repair... time will tell. I pulled the right front wheel off this morning and boom staring me right in the face were some exposed copper strands on the ABS sensor pigtail. Can't believe I didn't notice when I did the pads & rotors. Chalk it up to tunnel vision I guess.

I put the wheel back on and saw that in a hard right turn the abraded spot contacts the inside rim of the wheel. So there's a smoking gun at least. I used some plasti-dip type stuff to restore the insulation. And then I loosely fastened the ABS sensor pigtail along side the brake line with a zip-tie to keep it clear.

Guess my SVS mod was a bit of a time-suck! But, the good news: adios Amigos!

Thanks for the help.

-G

 

de rien. I'm pleased you sorted your issues out. Chasing these electronic problems is like chasing phantoms sometimes.