Do it yourself ABS module repair. Topic is solved

[Matty Moo]

Many thanks to everyone for all the work and pictures you have contributed. My ABS light was coming on infrequently. I took it off and apart. I could not see any cracks in the solder using a magnifying glass so I decided to just put it back on without doing anything to it. I sprayed the connectors and the metal tubes that the module slides onto(electrical contact cleaner). After about a month the light came on again. I put a piece between the wiring harness and pump to put pressure on the pins and that seems to have worked, it has been about six months now.
This is on a front wheel drive non turbo, no tracs.

Pull the module back out and resolder all of the pins. DO NOT jam things between the harness and the module. I've posted pics here of what can happen when you do that, the end result is a melted module/harness at best. That power can only be stopped by the 30 amp fuse once it takes off and that 30 amps will do a ton of damage before that fuse blows.

The shim trick would work just fine if it weren't for the incoming power pins being on the same harness. Those 4 pairs don't crack, but by shimming you can crack them and once they do that's when the mess starts. Also, shimming does nothing to address the pins that feed the pump motor.

I know there's a Canadian website that advocates doing that, and there are dozens of posts there declaring victory against their abs lights. You wouldn't rig up the electrical in your house and you surely shouldn't do it in your car either.

[B234R]

So I got the codes read and cleared. I started the engine, ABS/TRACS lights off, drive the car and at 20 kph the lights came back. Again the code reader, and this was the code that stayed:

"ABS-443. Pump motor electrical or mechanical fault"

Following Matty Moo troubleshooting (so useful...thanks a lot!) it could be the pump or the module (the module was repaired by a friend a month ago). I checked with a multimeter the resistance in the pump´s harness, I got 2 ohms, so it´s just between the 2-10 ohms (acceptable) range.

How could I know if it´s the pump or the module, before spending 200 euros in refurbishing the module again (this time by a pro)?

Thanks!

[Matty Moo]

Your pump is good if it's ohming out at 2 ohms.

Open up your module and snap a pic of your friends work.

[B234R]

Your pump is good if it's ohming out at 2 ohms.

Open up your module and snap a pic of your friends work.

Two pics: before and after. I have highlighted the areas that seem "repaired".

Thanks Matty.

[B234R]

Having said that, the harness coming from the pump to the module had its insulation deteriorated. I have covered each wire with rubber tape, but I couldn´t do the bit under the rounded plastic cover. I don´t know if there is a way to remove that cover. But the ABS light always goes on when I start to drive and reach 20 kph, I suppose that if the wires were touching something metallic the light went on from the moment I turn the ignition key into position II.

[Matty Moo]

All that needed to be done was on the right side where the two harnesses plug in. It's hard to tell by the picture, but it looks like your friend didn't use enough heat on the two pins that feed the pump motor.

[B234R]

All that needed to be done was on the right side where the two harnesses plug in. It's hard to tell by the picture, but it looks like your friend didn't use enough heat on the two pins that feed the pump motor.

I think I´ll send to repair another (defective) module I got from a scrapyard and meanwhile I´ll drive around with this, at least I have speedometer.
This time I´ll take the module to a pro. It´s a shame shipping from Spain to USA and back is a bit expensive!

Again, Thanks Matty.

[matt199x]

I have not read any one that has done this on a S80. I may have just successfully rebuilt my abs module for my 2001 s80 T6. I have only driven a mile with it so far and no abs lights are on. I will keep you posted though. My abs light was not always on any ways it came on ever other couple trips. So lets hope it is permanently off. It was surprisingly easy to get it out of the car, I thought it would take a lot longer. I probably had it out in under ten minutes. When I pulled it out of the car guess what it had on it a re-manufactured sticker on it. So the previous owner must have had trouble with the abs also and sent it out to get rebuilt. The soldering job looked pretty nasty there was left over flux residue all over the place and it was thick. I may have been lucky having to deal with a rebuilt one though. To get it open all i had to do was take a razor and score the RTV seal all they way around then I could pop it open. From what i read the factory seal is vary hard to get open. I re-soldered all the connector pins then put a bead of rtv around it then clamped it for a couple hours, then popped it back in the car. When I had it open I could not really see any solder points that I could say for sure were bad. It was hard to see them with all that nasty stuff all over the pins. Lets hope I fixed whatever was wrong though.

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[Matty Moo]

I get at least one of those units with the white label in every week, every single one is identical inside. I literally cringe when i open a box with a core return and see that white label, they're always a train wreck when you open them up. Just a general mess and lots of cold soldered joints. Also a few sawed off pins from how they remove the lid.

I never did figure out where they come from, but it seems like there are zillions of them out there. I bet I've had at least 200 or more come through and i see them on ebay used all the time. .

I make it a point to not say anything bad about other folks work, but since nobody knows who does those I'll make an exception. It takes me 3x the amount of work to fix one of those versus an untouched unit.

[blader8901]

been putting this off for a few years...

it wasn't easy

soldered the two power pins which were obviously cracked and put it back together with silicone

abs/tracs light went off immediately after pulling out of the driveway

thanks for the great write up!