Question I'm having a little trouble with my 1995 Honda Civic EX coupe
(1.6L with ABS, 112,000mi). I just replaced both rear wheel
hubs and bearings. As I was test driving the car, I noticed some
problems that have got me a bit stumped. First of all, the car
actually seems to brake just fine, especially at low speeds. The
problem I was noticing, was that at speeds over 25mph when I
press on the brakes, the pedal pulses and you can hear the
control system cycling on and off- sounds like a small electric
buzzer or motor. When the speed dips below 25mph, the
brakes seem to function normally. Logically, I'm thinking that
one of the rear abs sensors isn't working properly (they are
located very close to the hub). My problem with this line of
thought is that the abs diagnostic system appears to be
functioning just fine (it lights up when I start my car, than turns
off as it should).
I did have a bit of trouble removing the passenger side (I had
to heat it up and bang on it a little bit). Does this seem like an
ABS sensor problem? Could it have just gotten knocked away
from the hub, but is still functioning properly? If it is the sensor,
is that something that I could realistically replace myself? If so,
is there anything in specific that I should look out for? I've
found that is I start the car with the parking brake slightly
engaged, after a quarter-mile the abs deactivates, but this is
just a temporary solution. Thanks for any help!
AnswerTim, I think you're on the right track. Seeing as the problem occured after rear wheel bearing replacement I think the right rear(one heated up) may be the culprit. Since the hub unit is in such close proximity to the sensor tip heat and/or vibration from hitting the race may have damaged the internals of the sensor. Replacing it is fairly simple as long as nothings seized. You might want to check the air gap between the sensor and the pulser and make sure it's .4-1.0mm all the way around. Let me know, RICK
