ABS light on.... Clues what to check please....?

[madhouse]

As the post says the ABS light has come on. The car is a 1997 2.0 8v Gti. Brake pads all appear in good nick, what would cause the light to come on please?

Any simple checks that can be done without a fault code reader? Is it a case of checking the ABS rings and sensors on each wheel etc?

Cheers

 

[snifferdog]

Ive heard that its usually a sensor?! Dont know for sure though.

[tonysmallwood]

prob is the sensor best way is to get it on vagcom and see what codes come up

[aminorthreat1]

try unplugging each ABS sensor and checking the resistance with a multi meter. not sure what the exact resistance should be, but very small i'd of thought, if its sky high then you'll know theres a problem. its easy to do, just jack up each corner one at a time and take the wheel off and unplug each sensor. have a look at the rings too, make sure they haven't corroded away in any places.

[tweed]

Mine stayed on after a gym session today, will try the testing my senors at the weekend. I remember about a month ago it stayed on, but I turned my car off and on again and it went out.

[CHRIS_MC]

turn the wheel from full lock on one side to the other, its porbably the sensor on the right hans side

just unplug the lamp or put black pvc over it,

[Rmachines]

Just a heads up for those who like to hide the fact the ABS light is on (i do as and when i can ) lol  but come MOT time most testers will know to check that it comes on with the ignition then goes out,  if it doesnt its an instant fail regardless.  not all MOT testers bother to look to be honnest but just be aware 

[snifferdog]

Yeah i heard that - the abs light has to follow the correct sequence of operation! I bet alot of places wouldnt know that or even check it though if you bought a blanking plate or something similar!