Hello,

My ABS light is constantly on (yellow). Sometimes when I turn on the car it does not come on (a very dreadful moment) because then when I drive above 20 mph, the brakes engage automatically and I have to slow down or turn off the car and hope the ABS light comes on when I turn it on. If I drive slowly, the ABS light eventually engages again which stops the automatic brake engagement. Also, sometimes when I drive on the highway, the ABS will be on, but also the red brake light will start flashing red and beeping all of a sudden for the entirety of the trip. Very annoying....and very unsafe I bet but it happens very random (not always).

So my question is: Should I buy the vag-com software and diagnose it that way? I am very tech savvy for the most part. Can the vag-com software tell you if a wheel abs sensor is bad vs a bad abs module?

2nd option is to take it to a shop for diagnosis. This will cost as much as the software. I thought the software would be a great long term investment.

If someone has done this diagnosis with the software, could you give me some instructions or guidance as how I would go about doing this? Thank you everyone for your input!

Cheers!

SM


99 Audi A4 2.8 V6 DOHC

 

if you know what you are looking at and how to use it, yes. for now i would just completely remove the ABS module if its giving you those problems. that would be scarry and dangerous to drive with.

 

Get to Autozone or another big name parts store. Most have free diagnostics to help you.

It sounds like an ABS sensor is giving you some trouble. The ABS module may also be on the way out.

 

^+1 sounds very dangerous get that checked out soon

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking about doing, removing it for now. Thanks for the heads up. I think I will go ahead and buy the vag-com software and try to troubleshoot the issue. It's between the ABS sensor or module. Believe it or not, I've been driving for a bit with this now....haha...not the smartest I guess...but the only thing I have lost is the abs part of it. This isn't too bad at the moment since it's still summer-fall season. Next week I should have the vag-com stuff and hopefully have this case cracked. I'll keep you guys updated. I was told that if it's a bad module, the vag-com software may not even connect to the module. So, I'll see what happens.

Thanks again guys and keep posting tips or hits if you think of anything : )

 

You don't have to buy a vag-com. Get to a major auto parts place like autozone and they will scan it for free and give you the codes.

 

I already checked with Autozone. They can only scan "check engine" codes. When it gets to other modules like abs, etc, they do not have the proper equipment to scan those. Thanks for the suggestion : ) It would have been nice if they could. We also have a mech shop in town (Car-X) in Rochester, MN that does diagnosis for free. And even they cannot scan the abs module So I'm stuck having to buy the vag-com....

 

abs module

 

Yes - your abs module is dead or dying. The combo of the ABS light on and t Brake light flashing usually means the ABS unit is a goner (especially is the vag cannot connect to the ABS module). I had to replace mine last year - exact same symptoms.

You can have it rebuilt at www.Modulemaster.com

 

Looks like that's what I'll do : ) I'll give an update after I have it rebuilt and reinstalled in the car. I think I'll do the modulemaster.com