Problem with ABS Light Off and On 1999 Silhouette

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

Have a '99 Silhouette with 170,000 miles. All of a sudden been having trouble with ABS dash light coming on every once in a while…maybe once or twice a week, then it goes off. Any ideas what I should be looking at…or cost of repair. I know it is an old vehicle…but haven’t had hardly any issues with this van and still runs grea. Thanks for any help you can give me.

2

check your brake fluid reservoir first. I bet it’s low.

3

Well thank you…very well could be…I’m blonde so never thought of that…duh. I will check that out!!!

4

A low brake fluid level will cause the regular brake warning light to come on, but not the ABS light.

The ABS light might be coming on because there’s contamination on the tone rings for the wheel speed sensors. Take the vehicle in and have tone rings inspected for contamination. If any is found, it can easily be removed by spraying them down with a sensor safe brake cleaner.

Tester

5

OK I appreciate your answer. I did have brakes put on last year but I take it these rings are something they don’t just automatically “clean”…again thanks!!

6

Actually, I’m pretty sure that the wheel speed sensors on that van are all internal to the hub - which means that the components can’t be cleaned. You could at least have the connectors for the wheel speed sensors cleaned & inspected. I have an '00 Silhouette that was doing this recently and it hasn’t since I cleaned one of the connectors that had gotten caked in more than the usual amount of grease from split CV boot.

Of course, there may be a whole different kind of problem.

7

The tone rings on this van are part of the outer CV-joint of the halfshaft. Easily accessed and cleaned.

Tester

8

Great…that sound better (and cheaper…ha) thanks again

9

Report back either way as I’d really like to know if someone finds functional tone rings on the halfshafts.

10

You can go to Rock Auto, look up the halfshafts for this vehicle, and they ask, With or Without ABS. Guess where the tone rings are?

Tester

11

And I can walk right to my driveway and look at my van with ABS and there are no tone rings. I can pull out my Haynes and find very clearly that the wheel speed sensor components are all integrated into the wheel bearings. Of course RockAuto says “W or W/O ABS” b/c the same axle goes on whether you have ABS or not - b/c the axle doesn’t need a tone ring.