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[gavcradd]

You people on here have helped me with a few things now, so I thought I'd try to give something back. Apologies if this is too simple for most of you but it may help anyone like me who didn't have a clue and was scared of breaking something! Anyway...

1) Take one (dirty) MK3 Golf GTi where the ABS light keeps staying on.



2) Make sure the igniton's off. Jack up the driver's side front wheel and remove the wheel. The wheels have a habit of sticking on even when all 5 bolts have been removed, so don't be afraid to give it a kick to get it off.



3) Turn the steering wheel full lock to get maximum access. Identify the ABS sensor





4) Unclip the wiring from the sensor and unplug



5) Use a multimeter to measure the resistance of the ABS sensor. If the resistance is between 1.0Kohms and 1.3Kohms then evrything's fine (try another wheel!). If it's sky high, ridiculosuly low or wavering from one extreme to the other (like mine was), then you've found your problem.



6) Assuming that this is the sensor you want to replace, take a 5mm allen key and undo the bolt that holds the sensor in. I had trouble because the bolt head was so dirty and grimed up, but hammering the allen key into the bolt head sorted it out.



7) Remove the bolt and keep it in a safe place!



8 ) Now comes the hard bit - getting the old ABS sensor out. Mine was stuck fast and no amount of pulling or levering would budge it. I ended up using a screwdriver and a hammer to break it up into little pieces so I could get it out. Don't worry - there's nothing else near to break. Here's what was left of the old sensor.



9) Give the metal ring that the sensor sits in a good clean to  get rid of any dirt (or old bits of sensor if you smased it up!).



10) Get a new sensor - I got mine off ebay for £15, these were lods of people selling them. Make sure you get the correct one for the wheel you're working on.



11) See if you can push the new sensor into the holding ring, making sure the bolt hole lines up. If you're lucky, it'll slide in easily. More likely, you'll have to use a bit of force. I tried WD40 to lubricate it and sanded the sensor housing down a little to remove any extra bits that would stop it sliding in, but it still took a hell of a lot of force (and a bit of gentle persuasion with a hammer) to get it in.





12) Once it's in properly, put the bolt back in and tighten up.



13) Clip the connector back in properly.





14) Put the wheel back on and lower the car off the jack.

15) When you turn the ignition on, the ABS light will probably still stay on. Drive it for a few minutes though and it should go off and stay off.

Hope this helps somebody!

Gav Craddock, Staffordshire.

[garfayliu]

Excellent 'how to' with good useful pictures.
Any idea if it is the same or very similar with the rear ABS sensor, as my fault codes tell me I get intermittant readings from that, but when I last checked the sensor measuring blocks on a short run they were all ok, measuring the correct speed. Not sure if its just dirt between the sensor and slotted ring thing.

[adyh]

Excellent 'how to' with good useful pictures.
Any idea if it is the same or very similar with the rear ABS sensor, as my fault codes tell me I get intermittant readings from that, but when I last checked the sensor measuring blocks on a short run they were all ok, measuring the correct speed. Not sure if its just dirt between the sensor and slotted ring thing.

My rear sensor started out intermittent then just went . The rear sensors are slightly different. The connectors are beneath the rear seats (pull them up in a 5 door). You should see 2 wires going from the centre to the corners with a rubber gromit , then its easy to trace the cable down the rear suspension arms to ther back side of the axles, the only trouble is the sensors are hard to see .

[tallpaulr]

The rear sensors are a little more difficult than the front due to space restrictions, my 16v has had an ABS fault for a year before I got round to replacing the rear sensor for it's MOT. Fortunatly the dodgy sensor came out easily because i'd tried to remove the other and it was stuck fast, I even snapped part of the casing!!!! But without a replacment it's still in there and working fine (touch wood, you watch now I've mentioned it, it's gonna pack up) But as mentioned earlier brute force is about the only way to get one out if it's a bit sticky it's just an abovery *friendly* persone nightmare to get at.

[Len]

Yea dead easy! done in about 40 mins including a cable repair!

Only way to get the old one out is to smash it and chisel it out!

[garfayliu]

Thought I'd add a couple extra pics to shed some light on the abs relector ring, available from vw for about £11+vat.



Photo of my new sensor vs old cruddy/cracked one.

[chilli_dub]

Very useful thread. Changed one of my front sensors yesterday, what a nightmare that was! Finally got it in though, however the tip of the sensor is making ever such slight contact with the ABS ring! Is this okay? Or a dodgy sensor? Got it from GSF.

[anto]

sorry to bump this up again,i have the same problem as chilli dub,bought 1 form gsf yesterday and got a call from my mechanic saying he can't fit it because it's touching the abs ring,did they come in different lengths???

[spingo11]

I have just joined this forum and this subject is excellent, well done, just awaiting my sensor, fingers crossed

[aliaj00]

HI all.

i just polished my rear sensor and now its working fine. i think i get cable problems.on the ABS CU does anyone havethe pinout of the sensor there so i can check the cable.


thanks to all,

Timmy