From time to time in the life of my reather low mileage 98 S70 GLT, the ABS light would come on for a while then go off. There never seemed to be any apparent rhyme of reason I could link to it. I asked the question on the forum some time ago and the solution everyone proposed was to clean the sensors. I never got around to it simply because the problem didn't occur very often and hasn't happened at all for well over a year. Well, the light came on about a week ago and hasn't gone out at all. So, I took the time last night to clean all four sensors (They were really gunked up), but the effort did nothing to extinguish the annoying orange light on my dash.

Does anyone have other ideas I should try before going to the dealer? What are the potential problems and repair costs? Are there any websites that describe fixes?

To add my comment to the Click and Clack issue, I'm really pretty sick of these "little annoying electrical problems". My car only has 43K on it. I've owned two Acura Integras prior to this and put over 60K on each of them and never had so much as a blown light bulb. I was far more rough on those cars than with my S70. Don't get me wrong, there are many reasons that I love this car. I've baby'd it to death. I'd like to keep it for a long time, but if it continues to eat time and money the way it has I'll have no choice but to get rid of it.

All,
Thanks for the input. I'm going to write this one up in detail as things progress. I'm suspecting some fowl play at the dealer so far. I've had the car diagnosed by a Volvo dealer, and since this is my first major problem out of warranty, I'm having an estimate done by a private shop. The private shop is going to take another look at it tomorrow morning. They've already been very honest with me to this point and there are major differences in their diagnosis and that of the dealer. I don't even think the dealer read the code and is just assuming it's the controller. I think the dealer spend more time inspecting belts and bushings than they did diagnosing the ABS problem. We'll see, I'll post an update.

Hello,
The abs light used to come on once in a while like yours too. I disconnected the electrical connector to the abs pump and cleaned the contacts with contact cleaner and have not had the lights for a year or so now. I probably lucked out but it may be worth a try for you.

Good luck,

Rich S.

97 BSR S3 850R

Hello,
The abs light used to come on once in a while like yours too. I disconnected the electrical connector to the abs pump and cleaned the contacts with contact cleaner and have not had the lights for a year or so now. I probably lucked out but it may be worth a try for you.

Good luck,

Rich S.

97 BSR S3 850R

Most likely a bad control unit. They're easy to replace.

Can this be accomplished by me? Plug and play? At what cost? Is there any risk involved in purchasing the unit and the problem is elsewhere?

In case anyone is curious, I checked out the price of an ABS Controller at my local Volvo dealer and the cost is $416. Unbelievable! Not that it costs $416, but that it could be fried at only 43K!!!! (And, does anyone else get a little suspicious when electronic components with date and mileage stamps fry just after the warantee has expired?)

Does anyone have any other opinions on what the cause might be? Is it possible a single sensor is out and it's detecting a malfunction like that? Loose connections?

I'm going to check with the service dept. in a little more detail and then get a second opinion from a local Volvo repair shop that was recommended to me. I'm going to do a search, but is there an alternative source I should check for a part like this?

I'm still curious if this is an easy fix. A $416 pill would go down a lot easier if this is a module that can be plugged in. Am I dreaming? Maybe I should try to get a dealer to swallow the old unit and a spoon full of sugar.

Ok, so I'm a little angry today. I get just a little more cynical and sarcastic with every mile.

The ABS/TRACS controller is a known issue in this car. The controller can develop microcracks on the PC board. If you have access to a solder reflow device, it can be repaired at very low expense. If you're crafty, you might be able to spot the cracks and repair the solder yourself.

I paid $300 for my replacement, installed.

Personally, I think any engineer who locates a PC board of any kind in the engine compartment should be sent to Guantánamo. For life.
--
(98 S70 T5SE misc mods, mostly lighting) (92 940GLE)

You didn't mention any other symptoms that went along with the light coming on. Ours started to flake out at around 46K, always with a vibration in the pedal pressure and an audible "clicking" noise (more like a "sproingggg" noise like Don Martin in Mad magazine used to do)from around the brake pedal and the light coming on. It was very annoying. But even more annoying was having the Volvo dealership tell us that they couldn't read any codes and therefore could not confirm our problem. After the 50K warranty came and went, the ABS controller went south for good. The dealer would not own up to covering it, and we were out 400+ dollars plus labor to replace it.

Looking at the repair now, I'm sure I could do it, but for the first time I just wasn't sure. But you do need to be handy bolting things in "upside down", as that's the way the control unit sits in the '98.

Seems like a chronic problem with the '98 model.

Hi Patrick,

Take the car to someone who can read the ABS computer trouble codes. This will give you a clue as to what is wrong. I doubt that the ABS Computer is fried. And if the mechanic is a good one he would recommend the cost to do the repair and read the codes for free. In other word ask for what is the cause of the ABS fault light coming on and an estimate to repair. The worse you will get charged is 30minutes for the labor to read the codes.

One other item you might want to check is the parking brake. If the light switch on the parking brake is not working correctly then this will set a trouble code in the ABS computer. The ABS computer will believe that the parking brake is on and in fact it is not. I have seen this on a lot of cars with ABS.

Good Luck,

Steven---

Hi ,

I have a 98 S70, and I had the same problem for more than a year. Everytime I told the dealer service advisor (I always take my car to the dealer and also take care of it like you do), they did not have any answers.
To make the story short I have ended up with a complete loss of the ABS (on all the time!). They told me it will cost me $600!!! This started after the 40 K service and by 65 K I lost the ABS.

I recommend to get the extednded warranty, this car is not reliable!!!! There are more problems aheah!!!

Regards,

Mavash