Contemporary car models include many sensors and warning lights to tell you about any issues with your vehicle. While all these sensors are essential, the ABS braking system is considered one of the most important.
This article will give you the answers to what causes the ABS light to turn on and go off and how to cope with them.
Contents
What Does ABS Flashing Mean?
ABS is designed to detect when something goes wrong with your car. It comprises sensors at each wheel that controls the rotational speed during movement.
The car’s electronic control unit will monitor and find out the unusual signals from these four wheels or brake pedals. These signs could interfere with your stability in many ways.
If it can’t find a signal from any sensors, then the ABS warning light will flash on as soon as you start driving.
Receiving signals from the wheel speed sensors, a computer monitor can turn on the ABS light for other reasons. This phenomenon could be due to blown fuses or low brake fluid levels and will flash when activated during drive-time, so keep an eye out.
A blinking indication usually means there are only minor problems with this system. However, you should contact your mechanic if these continue after cleaning off any dirt buildup or fixing modules.
Some ABS systems are set up to flash by the severity of your problem.
For example, it will blink more times for major problems and once or twice for smaller issues. Consult a repair guide or visit your local mechanic to clarify what this warning light means when it comes up.
There are many reasons why the ABS indicator light would go on after repairing your vehicle. It is always good to make sure everything is connected before turning on your car.
If the ABS indicator were left disconnected, it would trigger an error message when starting up and driving around for a while. In that case, you’ll need to inspect those wires again.
What Causes the ABS Light to Go On?
If you are driving and the ABS light keeps staying on, there is a problem. Some of the most common ones contain:
The Car System Is Not Activated
You may have the option to turn your traction control or ABS on and off. When you turn it off, an indicator light usually tells you that this important safety feature isn’t working properly. Sometimes, it may be you or something bumping the switch by accident and turning it off.
Check if anything’s wrong before consulting your owner’s manual as well, so there are no other problems that arise.
Glitchy ABS Module
The ABS in your vehicle shares some vital components with other systems, such as traction control and emergency braking. It will ensure that all four wheels stay on the ground and roll smoothly by limiting power when necessary so they don’t skid out of your control.
Since they all use a self-diagnostic module, an issue within this area can turn up its corresponding light.
Broken Speed Sensors
One of the essential parts of your car’s traction control system is the wheel speed sensors. They detect if you’re going too fast and make the appropriate adjustments on each wheel, which is crucial for safety.
If these signals get out-of-date or stop working altogether due to a sensor failure, then ABS will be disabled as well.
There would no longer be accurate information about how much force was being applied by what kind against any surface during driving conditions.
Run Out of Brake Fluid
The idea is that your braking system is hydraulic. So if fluid seeps into it or there’s a leak, it can cause the brakes to malfunction.
When this happens, you’ll notice the ABS light is on in your vehicle because this is how the computers monitor response for leaks from within these fluids.
What Should You Do About The ABS Light?
Sometimes, you will notice that the ABS light is brightened up on your car’s dashboard when you are on the way. It is time for you to stop and take care of whatever issue is causing this. You should always check for any problems under control before continuing journeys.
It can be time-consuming and expensive to fix when the ABS unit goes wrong. It will show an error code on your scanner, which you need to follow up with information to know what’s wrong.
If you can not check the errors, you may want to try one of the following things:
- Speed your car up to 40 km/h or 25 mph on an even and empty road.
- Make sure you won’t trouble other drivers when you make sudden braking.
- Press hard and clear on the brake pedal to stop the car completely.
Most of the time, after following those steps, the ABS light should go off, and the anti-blocking system is working again. But in some cases, if it isn’t enough, there might be more serious issues like a broken component, other than just electronics failures.
It is not possible to replace the ABS sensor on your own. Maybe you can examine the fuse box and inspect any related fuses. But to make sure, you might need to take your car in for an inspection with a professional mechanic.
In a car with ABS, the wheel itself can get dirty and mess up. Dirt and mud can cover their working surface. Then you will need to wash your vehicle to see again and check on how much of an issue this is in real-time.
Conclusion
Controlling your vehicle can be a challenge when you don’t know what causes the ABS light to turn on and go off.
If it has been happening to you, take the time right away and visit with a certified mechanic about what could cause this problem for them to fix it so that things don’t get worse from there.
In any case, if the anti-lock braking system is turned off, hard braking will make the wheels lock up again. And because it is important to avoid situations where emergency brakes need activating, always detect malfunction as soon as possible.
Thank you for reading our article, and we hope to see you have your problem fixed!
