Calling the Veterans: ABS Sensor or Faulty Bearing?

[BigBody]

Originally Posted by wpoll

It's always a good idea to remove the sensors when doing a wheel bearing... in fact it seems impossible to drive the front wheel bearing out with the sensor in place - the tools used to remove the bearing would smash the end off the sensor... it sits down in the way of the bearing press coming in from behind, when you drive the old bearing out...

*edit* found an image of the bearing and sensor relationship - and yeah, it would be pretty near impossible to remove the bearing with the sensor in place and NOT destroy the sensor.

Wayne, as strange as it sounds, I really hope I destroyed the sensor! Did not notice it at all to be honest. Looks like it definitely protrudes quite a bit. Will pull it out and inspect, many thanks again!

Originally Posted by RocketyMan

Could also be the ABS module itself. I would verify your signals with actually spinning the wheel with the car jacked up. See what the ABS module is reporting.

You could also try switching the sensor from left to right and so on to determine if the issue follows the sensor.

I ran INPA while monitoring wheel speeds. The wheel I worked on showed zero wheel speed. I dont believe it could possibly be the ABS module. It has been absolutely fine before the wheel bearing change. I will switch around the sensors if I dont see anything obvious, thanks for the tip!

[RocketyMan]

Originally Posted by BigBody

Wayne, as strange as it sounds, I really hope I destroyed the sensor! Did not notice it at all to be honest. Looks like it definitely protrudes quite a bit. Will pull it out and inspect, many thanks again!



I ran INPA while monitoring wheel speeds. The wheel I worked on showed zero wheel speed. I dont believe it could possibly be the ABS module. It has been absolutely fine before the wheel bearing change. I will switch around the sensors if I dont see anything obvious, thanks for the tip!

That's good you used INPA. But just to be clear, you were spinning the wheel while looking at those signals, right? When I had mine connected up, I had to REALLY spin the wheel fast enough for the signal to register, and because of how the front diff was on my vehicle, I would get the corresponding opposite wheel to spin in the other direction and the ABS register that speed as well.

Let us know what you find out!

[cn90]

- Actually best is to read INPA while driving low speed in your neighborhood (watch for kids etc.), all you need is 5-10 mph.

- I wrote my experience using INPA for my 1998 528i E39 below.
Brand for E39: BMW (expensive, VDO less expensive, Bremi least expensive and the best!).

- At this age/mileage, you may as well replace the wheel sensor.

DIY: TRAC-ABS Light (Solved, it was LF wheel sensor)
https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/d...sensor.972897/