[johnboy245]

Hi there

I have been getting great help through this forum for a good few months now and had help fixing my issues but the most recent one has me stumped.

Sometime ago I had a fault on my dash, Traction control and abs light was always staying on the speedo wasnt working, my wipers were not working on high speed, the digital display couldnt tell me how many miles I have done and the wee MPG gauge under the rev counter didnt work either, even though the rev counter itself did work fine.

The car itself is a BMW 523se, V reg, its great to drive without any other issues.

I took onboard everyones advice on this forum and changed, what seemed to be the most popular fault, the speed sensors, I changed all four sensors on each wheel.

And guess what... the two warning lights are still there. Someone mentioned that even though the sensors are changed the lights will not go out straight away but will eventually go out when enough miles have been clocked up for the data to be worked out in the computer, but the fault would still be registered deep inside the computer memory, the fault itself will be sorted.

Is this true? Its just that I fitted the rear sensors a few weeks ago and fitted the front sensors yesterday, today I recon I clocked up over 100+ miles and the lights on the dash are still there. Is this normal for the computer to take so long to out the fault is fixed, or is there another sensor somewhere that I need to check? (there is no sensor on the diff)

I dont have the fault codes as the guy at the garage said that for some unknown reason he could'nt access the ABS module or something like that

Can anyone give me any help to sort this problem once and for all?

Many thanks

John

 

[xXNealXx]

Were the codes read by a dedicated BMW reader John? Most generic ones will not spot BMW sensor problems.

 

[johnboy245]

Hi there

Thanks for that mate, just been thinking, could it be a ABS relay fault. One day when I had the car washed both lights came on. I was thinking it could be either a knackered ABS relay or water has got into where

Where is the ABS relay ?

 

[Ronnie]

I can have a look 2mrw while at work to be 100% sure, I'm guessing it is in the plastic box in the engine bay off hand,under the pollen filter passenger side, pink relay possibly

 

[johnboy245]

Thank for that, any help would be good , starting to run out of options here, some said the ABS relay was black with 4 pins on the end of it, but I would trust someone how actually works with them on a day to day basis, so yes mate, you help to find it would be good.

If the fault is caused by water (i.e from a drive in car wash) where would the water get in?

Thanks again for the help, fingers crossed we get to the bottom of this!

John

 

[xXNealXx]

Ronnie is correct John. The ABS relays (there are two of them) are light pink.

 

[johnboy245]

Hi there

I found 3 creamy coloured relays in the back drivers side above the battery , the glover box only contains fuses.

Cant seem to find the relays in the engine bay.... help??

Thanks

John

 

[xXNealXx]

John, the relays will be located behind your glove box. You will have to remove it to get access.

 

[johnboy245]

ok mate will have a good look tomorrow, I hope its easy to take off ? Will give it a try tomorrow. will be in touch

Thanks again

John

 

[jamin660]

is the car manual or auto?

 

[johnboy245]

Its manual, I just looked in the Haynes manual, and I can see a "E-box" in the engine bay so it must be under the glover box

John

 

[johnboy245]

sorry, I CANT see an "e-box" in the engine bay

 

[shaft69]

Fault codes wil have to be cleared, has wiring from abs unit to sensor been checked?? Have seen broken wires and even corroded wires due to water. Has pickup for sensor been damaged when removing old sensor (very easily done) or weathered. sensors are common problem, but not always problem.

 

[jamin660]

Its manual, I just looked in the Haynes manual, and I can see a "E-box" in the engine bay so it must be under the glover box

John

mines done the same
exept was auto so the gearbox went into limp mode, may be the abs module? costly though!!

 

[johnboy245]

Hi again

Ok, today I took the passenger glove box off and pulled the wiring down off the clips, there is no relays in the glove box, oh and what a nightmare getting it back in!!!

So the relays must be in the engine bay, but i can see them anywhere, they dont exactly stick out.

Can anyone exactly where in the engine bay these relays are? even a possible pic would be great.

Many thanks again

John

 

[xXNealXx]

:confused I'm sure at least one of them was located behind the glovebox...maybe both located in the E-box ptimist

 

[johnboy245]

Ok where id this "E-box" ??

 

[xXNealXx]

It is located on the left side of your bulkhead in the engine bay. Covered over with plastic panel with hex bolts I think....here is an example E-box.

 

[johnboy245]

Hi there

Thanks for the info and pic, took me a few seconds to work out what angle in the engine bay it was , BUT, its actaully on the passanger side under the pollen filter. Now, thinking back, into the distant past, i first got an issue with my abs/traction control lights after it had been to a car wash, didnt think it was a water issue at the time, but I have noticed a small rubber drain pipe with a wee rubber flap on the end of it, this is a drainage pipe.

I poked about this pipe and found it full of crap!! Its too dark to work on the car just now, but I guess the the EBOX has/had water in it and it couldnt drain out. And possible shorted out the relay or something in this ebox.

So tomorrow I am going to remover the pollin filter housing and see what I can do.

So if I manage to resolve the issue tomorrow, this is a listen to be learned here, clean out the draining pipes on a regular basis!

Will post what I find tomorrow

Thanks

John

 

[johnboy245]

Hi again

Ok, today I removed pollen filter and housing, took the for allan screws out (5mm) and accessed the relays .

I can see one orange relay, part number 1742690, guess this is the ABS relay, so I have contacted the local BMW garage and they have them in stock for £6.50.

Some one mentioned there may actually be two of these abs relays, I can only see one relay here, so I will change it and see what happens. If there is another relay, where would it be ? Next to the orange one I removed or somewhere else on the car???

Thanks

John