Car towed now ABS warning light is on

Jul 10, 2007 13 Replies
T

RAC had towed my Punto home. Front wheels raised so only the back were moving. The RAC chap (nice guy) put the ignition on the first setting. Got home and the ABS warning light was on.



Is this to be expected? The RAC chap said give them a call after getting the HG changed if it hasn't gone out. Unfortunately the garage doing the HG change want £30 (inc VAT?) for checking the code. I'm sure the RAC will read and probably reset the error code at no charge. But is this a consideration for towing my car in the future?



Regards,



Tim


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M

I had this on a polo, the light wouldn't reset on its own, I had to plug a dedicated clearing reader into it.

Mrcheerful

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R

we have a special notice on this with regards the MOT, we should never spin the wheels while jacked up on an ABS equiped vehicle with the just the ignition turned on, otherwise it will upset the ABS & *might* have to be reset.

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T

RAC chap said it was standard procedure to tow with the ignition on. We discussed it afterwards and pretty much came to the same conclusion you both have. I'll give them a call after getting the HG done.

As ever, thanks for the info.

Regards,

Tim

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D

I had this on my car after having it on a RR. The error cleared after disconnecting the battery for a while.

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T

Tried disconnecting it for about 15-20 minutes but no luck. It's going in for a HG change, so it will probably be disconnected longer.

Regards,

Tim

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S

Yes, almost certain to happen as the ABS will not be able to figure why the rear is moving but the front is not.

99% of the time the light will go out after you have driven it for a few miles. Not sure why RAC bod would have towed it with ign switched on, it certainly isn't standard procedure to do so. I can think of no reason for the ign to be on while being towed.
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M

to make sure the steering isn't going to lock ( happend to me, except I turned it off ! )

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T

Why should that matter if the front wheels are raised?

Tim

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M

to make sure the steering isn't going to lock ( happend to me, except I turned it off ! )

The steering will not lock if the key is turned on then off, the locking mechanism will only come into play as the key is removed (after it has been turned on)

In any case the key could always be turned to the accessory position (first click) and left like that for the duration of the tow.

Mrcheerful

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G

The message from "Tim Downie" contains these words:

What /did/ happen to rear-wheel/4-wheel steering? It was all the rage in the early 80s.

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A

But if the front wheels are raised then it wouldn't matter anyway?

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T

The light went out after driving it a 100m or so. I hadn't taken it for a drive as the HG was gone.

Thanks for the advise,

Tim

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S

???????????????????????? If the front wheels are on the spec frame, then it doesn't matter if the steering is locked or not, as they will be solidly strapped down.

If the rear wheels are on the spec, then the steering has to be locked, or the back of the car will be all over the road.

Either way, the last thing you need is the steering to be unlocked.

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