ABS and VDC failure...

murphyebass

ok so getting in to the car this morning the handbrake didnt want to go down but did thankfully. Was part frozen I'd imagine. Think its ok now though. So that was the first thing.
2nd and more importantly was 2 failures came up. ABS and VDC. Now I'm presuming its just to do with the sensors not liking the cold as the car drove to work fine and not a problem braking etc, albeit at slow speeds due to the snow/ice, etc.
So should I be worried or am I right in thinkin that when the car thaws a bit the lights will just disappear?
My thinking is that both the VDC and ABS are still functioning properly and fine but the error is coming up as the sensors are ****ed with the cold.
Any thoughts?
oh and its an Alfa GT.
thanks.

CountingCrows

Yes, most likely an issue with the sensors in this weather..... I had an similar fault with my old GT and ended up having to get the Control Unit replaced. Reading through the Alfa forums at the time I believe a battery not emitting the correct voltage can also cause the error.

murphyebass

CountingCrows wrote: »

Yes, most likely an issue with the sensors in this weather..... I had an similar fault with my old GT and ended up having to get the Control Unit replaced. Reading through the Alfa forums at the time I believe a battery not emitting the correct voltage can also cause the error.

Dont think its the battery. It was only replaced this time last year so should be fine.

Is it safe to drive with these lights on?

Am I right in saying that the VDC and ABS could still be working fine but just the sensor throwing up the fault?

A-Trak

Could just be the sensor alright.
If the VDC isn't functioning, it'll handle like a nightmare on ice/snow so you'd know all about it.

My 156 ASR/ABS/VDC lights are all on and the cars parked up as it's not fit to drive.

Thread over on alfa owner here shows it's quite common

murphyebass

A-Trak wrote: »

Could just be the sensor alright.
If the VDC isn't functioning, it'll handle like a nightmare on ice/snow so you'd know all about it.

My 156 ASR/ABS/VDC lights are all on and the cars parked up as it's not fit to drive.

Thread over on alfa owner here shows it's quite common

spoke to the local alfa dealer. He reckons its a sensor problem alright. Likely some ice blocking them. So need to clear that asap with a powerhose or something and hope it resets itself.

God I hate this weather.

Anan1

murphyebass wrote: »

Am I right in saying that the VDC and ABS could still be working fine but just the sensor throwing up the fault?

AFAIK if the system detects a fault then it deactivates itself and illuminates the warning light. If this is the case then you have no ABS or VSC.

Matt Simis

murphyebass wrote: »

spoke to the local alfa dealer. He reckons its a sensor problem alright. Likely some ice blocking them. So need to clear that asap with a powerhose or something and hope it resets itself.

God I hate this weather.

If you have a VagCom cable you can use the free FiatECUScan software to see exactly where the error is. It could be Relays, Sensors, Pump Failure, Water on ABS Pump connector, Water on ECU connector etc etc.
ABS and TC lights are the most annoying and time consuming problems to fix, which is why it pays (literally) to be able to scan the codes yourself.

If it is ice on the sensor(s), powerhosing them will make it a lot worse, you will force water into places water wouldnt normally get and it will freeze in there. Take the wheels off, unscrew the sensors and clean them (they likely have metal particles from years of usage on the magnetic contacts).

As above, power hosing is a no no, I hope the dealer didn't recommend that, if he did who is he so all can avoid him :pac:

murphyebass

Matt Simis wrote: »

If it is ice on the sensor(s), powerhosing them will make it a lot worse, you will force water into places water wouldnt normally get and it will freeze in there. Take the wheels off, unscrew the sensors and clean them (they likely have metal particles from years of usage on the magnetic contacts).

The powerhose idea made sense to me hot water melts ice that blocks the sensor but I see what ya mean about what getting into places then that it shouldnt.

However I dont have the space, time, etc to take off wheels and clean them.

So for now it's powerhose and hope for the best. If that fails off to the dealer unfortunately. :rolleyes:

If there was ice anywhere near the sensors it's long gone know if you drove the car any distance at all, ever touched a wheel after a spin ? They're hot

Matt Simis

murphyebass wrote: »

The powerhose idea made sense to me hot water melts ice that blocks the sensor but I see what ya mean about what getting into places then that it shouldnt.

However I dont have the space, time, etc to take off wheels and clean them.

So for now it's powerhose and hope for the best. If that fails off to the dealer unfortunately. :rolleyes:

Power hoses arent usually hot water! Also the misted water freezes far easier than a garden hose would (lots of cool YouTube videos of this effect). If you really want to try brute force (and hey, I can respect that ) then use an Air Compressor with a needle like cleaner nozzle on it. No water, just compressed air.

murphyebass

Matt Simis wrote: »

Power hoses arent usually hot water! Also the misted water freezes far easier than a garden hose would (lots of cool YouTube videos of this effect). If you really want to try brute force (and hey, I can respect that ) then use an Air Compressor with a needle like cleaner nozzle on it. No water, just compressed air.

compressed air, stupid question but whats that?? Do garages have them??? like a texaco or one of those?

murphyebass

RoverJames wrote: »

If there was ice anywhere near the sensors it's long gone know if you drove the car any distance at all, ever touched a wheel after a spin ? They're hot

I drove it first thing this morning like at what 7am. My journey to work is about half an hour doing the speed I was doin ie about what 10mph due to crazy traffic.

So I doubt they got anywhere near hot to be honest but I get your point.

The annoyin thing is that once the ice melts (which could take a while by the looks of the forecast) it should sort out the problem.

I'm tempted to buy a cheap back up car for this weather!! I always wanted an old merc

murphyebass

murphyebass wrote: »

I drove it first thing this morning like at what 7am. My journey to work is about half an hour doing the speed I was doin ie about what 10mph due to crazy traffic.

I reckon they got plenty hot in that time

murphyebass

RoverJames wrote: »

I reckon they got plenty hot in that time

hard to know if your joking or not there to be honest

bladespin

Seen the same thing last January on my Alfa (156), it's down to frozen sensors, they usually come back but can take time to defrost, driving for 30mins may or may not cure it as it's the sensor itself that's the problem and heating the wheel and brakes may not heat the sensor, it should thaw but with air temperatures in the minus stakes that might not happen either. The car will still be drivable though the ABS might not work, stability control shouldn't really be needed in these conditions, traction control is handy to have but not necessary to drive either.

Powerhosing may have caused this problem to begin with, I would avoid using one on the car now, warm water poured over the components may be effective though.

Matt Simis

murphyebass wrote: »

compressed air, stupid question but whats that?? Do garages have them??? like a texaco or one of those?

Well, garages have Compressed Air for filling tyres, I was more visualising a standalone Air Compressor with the little accessory attachment... dont you have one? :P

A friendly mechanic/garage definitely will have one, but again, this is heading down the line of taking the wheels off.

murphyebass

bladespin wrote: »

Seen the same thing last January on my Alfa (156), it's down to frozen sensors, they usually come back but can take time to defrost, driving for 30mins may or may not cure it as it's the sensor itself that's the problem and heating the wheel and brakes may not heat the sensor, it should thaw but with air temperatures in the minus stakes that might not happen either. The car will still be drivable though the ABS might not work, stability control shouldn't really be needed in these conditions, traction control is handy to have but not necessary to drive either.

Powerhosing may have caused this problem to begin with, I would avoid using one on the car now, warm water poured over the components may be effective though.

I never powerhosed it. I just thought it might be an option but not by the sounds of things.

I'd pour warm water over the components if I knew where they were but I dont.

would throwing a bucket of hot water arount the wheel areas help maybe??

bladespin

murphyebass wrote: »

I never powerhosed it. I just thought it might be an option but not by the sounds of things.

I'd pour warm water over the components if I knew where they were but I dont.

would throwing a bucket of hot water arount the wheel areas help maybe??

Throw some warm water through the wheels, the parts in question are housed behingd the wheel hubs, hopefully that'll get things sorted without expense.

Also, don't leave the handbrake 'on' in very cold weather, better to use something to choc the car as the brakes can freeze on, it's not just an Alfa thing, my mondeo had the same problem this morning.

murphyebass

bladespin wrote: »

Throw some warm water through the wheels, the parts in question are housed behingd the wheel hubs, hopefully that'll get things sorted without expense.

Also, don't leave the handbrake 'on' in very cold weather, better to use something to choc the car as the brakes can freeze on, it's not just an Alfa thing, my mondeo had the same problem this morning.

ok latest is that I just started the car. Lights came on for a second with the errors and then went again. So looks like its thawed for now and problem over... for now! :rolleyes:

Looking forward to tomorrow. Meant to be loads of snow tonight!

Bladespin I'll do that with the handbrake. Its bound to freeze badly at some point.

cheers lads.

bladespin

murphyebass wrote: »

ok latest is that I just started the car. Lights came on for a second with the errors and then went again. So looks like its thawed for now and problem over... for now! :rolleyes:

Delighted, hope it all goes well, lovely cars them, hope to have another soon :cool:

murphyebass

bladespin wrote: »

Delighted, hope it all goes well, lovely cars them, hope to have another soon :cool:

Yeah they really are a seriously nice car to drive and to look at for that matter.

What are you driving at the moment bladespin?

bladespin

murphyebass wrote: »

Yeah they really are a seriously nice car to drive and to look at for that matter.

What are you driving at the moment bladespin?

My Alfa was written off in September I couldn't find another JTDM for love nor money, so had to broaden my search, I found a good Mondeo TDCI that ticked all the boxes, great cars but the Alfa was special, someday I'll have another, the GT would be high on my list just have to wait til the babies are a little bigger.

murphyebass

bladespin wrote: »

My Alfa was written off in September I couldn't find another JTDM for love nor money, so had to broaden my search, I found a good Mondeo TDCI that ticked all the boxes, great cars but the Alfa was special, someday I'll have another, the GT would be high on my list just have to wait til the babies are a little bigger.

Mine will be on sale soon for the same reason unfortunately.

the baby reason that is, not it being written off thankfully.:)

Eoin

I had the same problem in my car yesterday - I got the ABS, VDC and ASR warning messages.

It turns out that because I spun one of the wheels a lot more than its opposing one while trying to go up the road, it threw up the messages. 100 yards of driving with no wheelspin, and it reset with no problems.