DIY - ABS relay repair - Fix that ABS light

[xalier]

i just changed out my abs relay it was very easy to find.. it was just clipped on some of the metal reinforcements of the dash right on top of the abs brain. i just stuck my hand in there felt around and there it was pull to the driver side some and it clipped right off and pulled it out.. ill take some pix of where mine was incase you guys still havn't found yours...

[xalier]

here ya go.. mines an 89 325i vert

[mosabnet]

thanks for posting pictures i will replace my relay today

[BDSax]

here ya go.. mines an 89 325i vert

what a rats nest!

[KenC]

My ABS light is on, but the ABS is also not functioning right now. Will replacing the relay likely fix this? Or am I looking at a sensor problem?

[raafhimself]

^ hrmm, i thought if the light was on ABS wouldn't work regardless of the issue- be it sensor or relay

[eek142]

Does anyone have the original pictures?

[Butler]

I bought a new relay about a month ago and it fixed the problem. I got my ABS back and the light was gone.

But last night the light came back on! Initially when the car is first started its off, it is within the first 50 feet of driving when it comes back on and then stays on until the car is shut off again.


What do you make of that?

[propr'one]

just bumping this up. I have a 90 car (iX), doesn't seem to be a relay under the driver panel, visually inspected the relatys on the ABS pump, and they look fine.

what's the next step?

[nmlss2006]

The abs relais in newer cars is under the plastic cover on the pump assembly in the engine bay.

[njenkins]

I tried fixing the relay by adding an inline fuse between the burned out pins but it keeps blowing. I used a 10A fuse since it was just above the 8A on the relay. What size fuses have been successful? Trying to rule out the fuse before replacing the sensors.

[bernzpeed]

i thought i saw 30amp on the photo of the relay being soldered. check it out.

[Hellabad]

I bought a new relay about a month ago and it fixed the problem. I got my ABS back and the light was gone.

But last night the light came back on! Initially when the car is first started its off, it is within the first 50 feet of driving when it comes back on and then stays on until the car is shut off again.


What do you make of that?

Clean the random iron dust off of each wheel sensor. You will have to remove each wheel sensor, wipe it off, and carefully reinstall it.

Jay from GC

[njenkins]

A 30A really? I didn't see any pictures with the actual fuse, just a fuse holder. I mean the fuse is in there to protect other electronics from damage so i worry about putting in too big a fuse and causing more damage.

[e30vert]

88 e30 vert with m20b25

My ABS light was on constant once I started the car.
Pulled the driver side lower panel off and found the ABS relay. Removed it.
Opened the metal can by prying back the small tabs that hold it onto the inner relay mechanism.
Found that the fusible link (wire) was indeed an "open". Removed both sides of the broken wire with my soldering iron. Discarded .
Opened the hood and went to my fuse box. Opened it and found the fuses that are added to the plastic top as replacement fuses. Found one that was 7.5 amps and the wire that goes throughout the fuse looked approximately the same as the one that I removed from the ABS relay. Used a dremel to cut away everything but the wire and the end connectors. Soldered that to the same locations that the fuse able link was soldered to and then reassembled the relay. Plugged relay back in and then clipped it to the same location above the steering column. Replaced the lower cover below the steering column . Started the car.
No ABS light !!!!

Drove the car around and found my ABS to have returned!
This was a great write up and solved my issue with perfection !