Pontiac Repair: ABS, wheel speed, abs sensor

Question
2 weeks ago i purchased a 2004 grand am. Once in a while the abs, trac off and service engine soon lights come on...but when the car is restarted they are off again. The dealership refuses to look at the car unless the light stays on. Yesterday i noticed something new. At times when i apply the brake i hear a grinding noise and the brake pedal jumps. There are no lights on when this happens. I called the dealership last week about the lights coming on and he said most likely there was water on the abs sensor. Yesterday the lights came on twice and the roads were dry.

Answer
Hi Deb:

It sounds to me like you have a bad wheel speed sensor on one of the wheel bearing on the car. More then likely it's one of the front ones and the sensor is shorted out to the Chasis. That is why it's an intermittant issue and that's why it has to be driven a while before the lamps come on. It's a pretty common issue for these cars. Don't blkame the dealer for not wanting to look at it because of the nature of intermittant issue they are hard t find if you don't know where to start looking and if it's a hard fault meaning the lamp is on and stays on it makes it easier to find the problem. Good luck :)