ABS bleeding and failures

[Checkswrecks]

4 wire plug. Jump the black and darker blue next to it, then use the procedure posted earlier in the thread.

 

[AndrewA]

HOLYSHITITWORKED!!!! . I finally found the plug - it was hidden on the left side. Here's a pic in case anyone else winds up needing one:

 

[Jono49]

Well done that man for posting a pic ::008:: it saves lines of dialogue with Eh?.... where?...which side?......... which in my mind people shouldn't need to wade through to get an answer in a tech help section! ::006::

 

[Jono49]

Well I done mine this week changed all the fluid in all reservoirs using a Sealey vaccuum brake bleeder, I changed the worn rear pads at the same time, ( fitted EBC sintered ) the rear brake was alway's quite sharp in application and very progressive, but the front alway's felt hard and a bit of a let down being "Gold Spot" calipers, I had "Blue Spots" on my TDM900 previously and was impressed by their performance with Brembo pads, after bleeding the front it was miles better with the original pads a nice soft feel to begin with, and very progressive, in fact i nearly done a "Stoppy" testing it > totally transformed the braking all round and has the feel of a new bike again ::001:: I was never a believer in brake fluid changes until I changed my job many moons ago from independant garage to a Main dealership ( Mercedes ) where brake fluid changes were done religiously at 36,000 mile intervals at that time, you would get a car that had skippped dealership services for a few years and starting to show their age and the owner mentality is I'll put it in for a dealer service and everything will be put right : the brake pedal would be rock hard, the fluid would be discoloured and the braking performance abysmal, a fluid change and the brake pedal had a new soft feel, and the brakes performed as they should, after the technician having a nightmare freeing up siezed nipples

 

[BenSuper10]

interesting thread with very helpful tips!!

I'm in a spot of bother with my ABS unit. I reckon it's now a failed unit. I went for an off-road ride the other day and I never turned off the ABS. I did slam on the rear brakes a few times.
On the way home on the road the ABS light came on and stayed on even after cycling the ignition a few times.
I've checked everything that I can at this stage as per the manual. with the battery fully charged @ 12.96V, I have tried cycling the ABS pump with the test procedure but I don't feel anything like I should at the front brake lever or rear brake pedal. The thing that annoys me is that with the jumper in, I can't even read the error codes from the ABS light becasue it just stays on constantly, no flashing for codes as it should, so I don't even know what the problem is.
I reckon I've three options at this stage, (1) leave brake lines as they are (2) bypass the ABS unit with new brake lines or (3) replace the ABS unit. The ABS worked as it should up to when the light came on. Not sure what to do now. The bike is 7 years old with 89K kms, I've had it 12 months so I'm not sure when the brakes were bleed last.

The other strange thing with the failure is that the ABS SOL (fuse) circuit is draining my battery, when I take out the fuse (20A) the battery stays charged.

I might freshen up the fluid tomorrow through both reservoirs, but I've no way now of circulating through the pump.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Dogdaze]

As you mentioned that you went off road, I would carefully clean the surrounding areas and then take off the wheel sensors and clean them (keep anything magnetic away) and check for wire damage. As far as I know, when the ABS fails, you generally don't get the ABS light warning, this is based on what I have read from previous failures.

 

[Nikolajsen]

Rear wheel sensor damage? (short cuttet because of draining battery)

 

[BenSuper10]

As you mentioned that you went off road, I would carefully clean the surrounding areas and then take off the wheel sensors and clean them (keep anything magnetic away) and check for wire damage. As far as I know, when the ABS fails, you generally don't get the ABS light warning, this is based on what I have read from previous failures.

The front & rear wheel sensor is fine because I was getting a speedometer reading on the way home. I did clean the sensors and made sure there was an earth to them where the bolt makes contact with them.
I'm curious about keeping anything magnetic away from the sensor? isn't the plate of which it reads the speed magnetic?

 

[Dogdaze]

The front & rear wheel sensor is fine because I was getting a speedometer reading on the way home. I did clean the sensors and made sure there was an earth to them where the bolt makes contact with them.
I'm curious about keeping anything magnetic away from the sensor? isn't the plate of which it reads the speed magnetic?

The magnetic pick up is not giving you a speed reading, that comes from the timing. The wheels sensors are, from what I gather, only for the ABS and TC, there have been instances where the front sensor has be routed incorrectly and rubbed through yet speed reading where still evident. The sensor does not ever make direct contact with the sensor ring within the housing, that's why the ring has magnetic contacts intermittently throughout. The manual also states that anything magnetic should be kept away, likely a magnet tipped screwdriver.

 

[BenSuper10]

The magnetic pick up is not giving you a speed reading, that comes from the timing. The wheels sensors are, from what I gather, only for the ABS and TC, there have been instances where the front sensor has be routed incorrectly and rubbed through yet speed reading where still evident. The sensor does not ever make direct contact with the sensor ring within the housing, that's why the ring has magnetic contacts intermittently throughout. The manual also states that anything magnetic should be kept away, likely a magnet tipped screwdriver.

Thanks for that, that's good to know. I'm fairly sure the ABS unit is kaput because it wont even preform a test/cycle the ABS.
The brakes are working indpendantly now. I'll have to remove the ABS unit to get it tested and hopefully repaired. New & used units are very expensive here.
The reason I thought the speedometer was getting it's readings from the rear wheel sensor is because when I had the bike on centrestand and ran it in second gear the speedometer started to read the speed.

I've more diging to do now because after checking connections and checking the connection points and readings on the ABS unit yesterday, I went for a spin last night and the speedo has stopped working along with the aftermarket gear indicator, I've probably pulled out a connection from somewhere. I'll have to go through it all again.

 

[BenSuper10]

Quick Update
I spotted an ABS module on ebay (it was only up a few hours) and I took a chance and I bought for a great price of £150. It arrived today and I'm just after fitting it and it worked. I'm over the moon. I just have to do another bleed tomorrow morning and I'm done. So so happy!!

 

[Nikolajsen]

Very strange, that the ABS module suddelly failed ???
But great that you apparently found the error ::012::

 

[BenSuper10]

Very strange, that the ABS module suddelly failed ???
But great that you apparently found the error ::012::

no apparently about it mate, my ABS module failed, that's technology for you I suppose, it either works or it dosen't. THe abs light came on on the way home from a spin and it never recovered.

Just for info or future failures, the ABS module I got from ebay was from a 2013 model XT and it works perfect on my 2011. It even has slighly different model number on it.

I'm going to open up my one to see if I can repair it. I'll post back here If all goes well, I reckon its a pcb thats the issue which can be pretty hard to diagnose.

 

[Nikolajsen]

"apparently" was only because you was not quit finished
Great it is for sure now...

 

[Kenack]

I recently installed the Helibar riser kit on my 15ES and bled the line at the new section with the bleeder but wasn't happy with it so I used me mity vac and bled it from the front calipers several times plus cycled the ABS 3 or 4 times and I still have the ABS light stay on. My question is do I need to bleed the rear since it's a linked system? Do I need to turn the wheels to reset the ABS? Right now the bike is on the center stand and I'm not able to move it due to recent surgery but it's frustrating me!
Thanks for any advice!

 

[EricV]

I recently installed the Helibar riser kit on my 15ES and bled the line at the new section with the bleeder but wasn't happy with it so I used me mity vac and bled it from the front calipers several times plus cycled the ABS 3 or 4 times and I still have the ABS light stay on. My question is do I need to bleed the rear since it's a linked system? Do I need to turn the wheels to reset the ABS? Right now the bike is on the center stand and I'm not able to move it due to recent surgery but it's frustrating me!
Thanks for any advice!

If you un-did any brake line, yes, you should bleed both front and rear. However, on Gen II bikes like your '15ES, the ABS light stays on when the bike is stopped and only turns off once you start moving. (Gen I bikes did not do this, the ABS light just cycled with the rest on start up and went out.)

 

[Kenack]

Thanks Eric! I'll go ahead and flush the rear brake so I don't need to do it for another year or two. Hopefully I'll get the doc to let me ride in a few weeks so I can see if the light goes out.

 

[Juan]

(Gen I bikes did not do this, the ABS light just cycled with the rest on start up and went out.)

On my 2013 Gen 1, the ABS stays on when the bike is started. It goes off when the bike starts rolling (and reaches 10 kph). That's what it's supposed to do, according to the manual

 

[EricV]

Juan- do you have a red key? (I.E. a EU bike)

 

[ace50]

My 2012, I never see the ABS light, (maybe before start) and it does work.