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Any low cost scanner to read 2006 Grand Prix ABS code?

nickbuol

nickbuol

New member
I am pulling my hair out with ABS/Traction Control lights. Was told about a year ago (due to having the car in for something else) that the front driver ABS sensor wires on the wheel bearing were chaffing because a previous owner didn't put the bracket back on when they replaced the wheel bearing hub so the ABS wire was just dangling. Anyway, I made a temporary fix by using a strategically placed zip tie (not tight) to the tie rod to hold it away from rubbing.

Anyway, the damage was still done, and last night I decided to finally just replace the hub (old and new ones were both Timken) and I picked up a replacement bracket from a forum member here.

So I am excited to finally have this fixed and to stop my car from having the ABS and/or traction control kick in randomly while driving (or stopping) which not only wears on the brakes, but makes for some scary stops.

I pull out of the driveway, and the Traction Control light comes on for 3-5 seconds, and then within about a minute of driving, both the ABS and Traction Control lights came on. UGH! I pulled the car back in and did my best to look at wiring, but didn't see anything obviously wrong. I could spend a ton of time looking into this, but I thought that maybe I would see if there were any code scanners that would read ABS that would be inexpensive? I figured for the cost of a diagnostic at a dealership, maybe I could get something to read the ABS codes (I use the Torque app for regular CEL codes).

I would rather spend a few bucks on a scanner that I can keep, or if I must, take it to a dealership and have the codes read instead of spending endless hours guessing where to focus my efforts.

Any ideas?
 


I saw that one earlier too when I was searching, but didn't know how good it was. Seems like the OTC stuff isn't as "universal" as some people would like. I need to find out of the '06 Grand Prix is on their "compatibility list.
 


Mine has a "4" is spot # 8 of the VIN so I guess it would work. $100 from eBay. I was toying with using Amazon and if I don't like it since it is usually easier to return items if they don't work out, but the packaging looks like it is a blister pack which makes it so that they wouldn't be able to resell it, so I might just go the cheapest option. I wish it was still cheaper since I use my phone to scan regular codes with the paid Torque app, but again, the dealership will charge me about $90 to diagnose the ABS issue, so it is almost a wash. Then again, I wonder if they will run a full diagnostic or just the ABS. If they run a full diagnostic, then maybe the $90 would be worth it, if it is just ABS then I will get the scanner. Of course it is Saturday late afternoon so I can't just call and ask. My urgency is that the car hit a deer 3 nights ago (minor body damage), they noticed the ABS/Traction control light and wrote it down, but I have to pay for the diagnostic if they determine that it wasn't caused by the accident (which it wasn't obviously), but I am also out of town this week and it might be handy to get it scanned while I am gone if it is the better way to go.

Opinions?
 
Just buy a scanner for around $90 and it'll serve you well in the future. What do you mean by full diagnostic? If you have the code for your abs a lot of people here will be able to help you out getting it fixed.
 
I guess I've never had a "diagnostic" run at a dealership before. Borrowing code scanners from Advance Auto or someplace (until I got the OBDII bluetooth adapter and Torque app), and I've used it countless times well worth the cost, but this would be $100 for just adding the ABS and SRS capabilities...
 
I had to replace the one wheel bearing, unfortunately. As mentioned above, the "splash guard" (with the clip that the ABS connector attaches to) that get sandwiched between the bearing hub and the steering knuckle was missing thanks to a previous owner, so the wiring was chaffed pretty much right through at the clip (on the wheel bearing side). I was hoping to do some sort of repair, but one of the wires was severed elsewhere too. So I put the bearing in hoping that it would just fix it and not be some band-aid fix that could fail down the road.

I do not want to (and have NO plan to) keep dropping wheel bearings in at $152 (after tax) each, thus the reason I am thinking that a scan tool will at least help me pinpoint a direction to start from here since some basic visual inspection didn't reveal anything obvious.
 


OK. So I replaced the wheel bearing just over a week ago with a Timken. The problem was still there. I inspected the wiring on the original hub (it was actually replaced at some point prior to my ownership with what also looked like a Timken) and noticed it was damaged on the ABS pigtail coming from the wheel bearing. OK. No real easy solution since the pigtail is so short and needs to stay somewhat flexible. I tried to repair the wiring, but there was a worn spot right at the connector too that was giving me trouble. So anyway, I replaced the hub like mentioned.

Then, I still had it scanned. The place that scanned it only charged me $35 and the scan came back as the same wheel bearing that I just replaced. OK. Most likely it is something besides the bearing, but now I know that the others are OK and to focus on just this one area.

So just for kicks, I decided to just make sure that it wasn't the new bearing, so I swapped it under warranty tonight. The 2nd new Timken went in, and the ABS/Trac Cont lights come on right away still. So again, just making sure.

So are there right-ups on how to test the wiring from the wheel hub all the way to whatever receives the ABS/Speed Sensor signal?

Stealthee mentions that this is a common issue. I did check the wiring right at the connection point for the wiring that is attached to the control arm and then goes towards the center of the car, but I didn't see anything right there for the first foot. I know wiring can be finicky and issues can't always be visible, thus the question about a write-up. Anyone?

Thanks!
 
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