service engine and trac off lights on. wtf??

[SnoopySnooper1]

well my service engine and trac off lights came on last night.
for months my service vehicle (not service engine) trac off and anti lock break lights came on randomly when my car was full heated up and driven for a while but went off once it was cooled. but then last night my service engine soon and trac off lights came on and wont go off..

does this have to do with my toruqe converter going bad? the car shifts fine.

[AndyT3]

Well I can tell you that the Trac Off, Service Vehicle Soon, and Anti-Lock lights would be a bad wheel speed sensor, which is part of the hub in our cars; which means a new hub. The Service Engine Soon, and Anti-Lock... not too sure about that combo. Do you have an Auto-Zone around you? It may be worth stopping by and having them scan it to give you a better idea. They may only give you the trouble codes, and not the meaning, but thats okay, just come back here and post the codes, and I'll look them up for you.

[SnoopySnooper1]

sweet man thanks, ill post em tonight!

[AndyT3]

Tonight? haha
Lets try again :)

[sfi3400]

yes its the hub, same thing happened to my alero, to the point that a hummmmmm sound started and couldn't turn trac on/off. I fixed it and it was fine, i had my trac and abs back

[undersc0re]

I have the lights on as well, is there a way to see which hub it is or which wire it is with out a scan? My simple scanner pretty much gives the basic code....they have been on for over a year and the usualy bad bearing sound just isn't coming lol...would like to get rid of the lights for a safety inspection, I would just pull the bulbs but they might question the lights not coming on when the key is turned to on.

[alero_bmxer]

get the car in the air, go around and spin each wheel individually while holding onto the coil spring and feel for any odd grinding/vibrations in the spring itself.

[undersc0re]

get the car in the air, go around and spin each wheel individually while holding onto the coil spring and feel for any odd grinding/vibrations in the spring itself.


Thats exactly what I tried this morning on all 4 wheels, I unplugged the sensors connectors and reconnected them and checked them all out, brake fluid is all good etc. I guess just a bad sensor somewhere or corrosion of some sort. BTW how long does it take for the 3 lights to go out after the issue is fixed...I figured a couple days or couple hundred km's....but there must be a certain point where the computer would reset it if it does not see the error in the system. Maybe I will try pulling the bulbs until it passes safety lol. I might look silly if they catch it though lol.

[alero_bmxer]

i think it just takes a certain number of good cycles of the key.

[Ttop191]

IIRC its 3 successful starts, and you have to drive it for a certain amount of time afterwards...and two, instead of puling the bulbs, just attach them to like 24V, blow em and put them back, that way it doesn't look intentional if they catch it :p

[whiterider00]

you should be able to pass inspection with the lights on, i did. since the ABS is a supplemental safety system and not the only means of braking, they shouldnt fail you if its not working. it would be just like having a car with out abs. this is what the guy who inspected my car told me. and this is in massachusetts, one of the worse states to get inspected in.

[undersc0re]

Ok so car did not pass without the operational abs light. Is there a store in Canada that will scan ya for free? Or some sort of device you can make to hook up to your computer and use scan software? Or I guess maybe I could buy a scanner that will tell me which wheel sensor is screwed and then return it. Do those 300 dollar scanners do the trick or would a laptop with a connector and software do the trick? Need help! I have 12 days to get this issue fixed and 180 dollars to do it lol.

Edit***guess I could have tapped the abs light into the battery light so it comes on and then goes off with it and the others lol....instead of totally disabling it...then it would have looked operational! lol as long is they don't hook it up to a computer. Could someone check what lights come on and go off together with the ABS light so I can tap into one please!!!!! thx