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Hyundai i20 ABS light on

Bought one of these, about as much use as a concrete parachute, didn’t show any codes at all….
It will display a string of numbers. Look up those numbers on-line for your make of car and the site will tell you what fault the code indicates. After the fault has been fixed, plug the reader in again and select delete, then the warning light will go off.
 
It will display a string of numbers. Look up those numbers on-line for your make of car and the site will tell you what fault the code indicates. After the fault has been fixed, plug the reader in again and select delete, then the warning light will go off.

But, only engine management codes! It cannot diagnose, or clear ABS controller codes, or any of the other various controller codes.
 
But, only engine management codes! It cannot diagnose, or clear ABS controller codes, or any of the other various controller codes.
If it displays the code then it will clear it. If it doesn't display it then obviously it won't and the op is still in the same position. My local garage would do that as a favour job and clear it in 2 minutes.
 
If it displays the code then it will clear it. If it doesn't display it then obviously it won't and the op is still in the same position.

How pray tell - is an engine management code scanner, ever going to present a code from an ABS controller?
 
How pray tell - is an engine management code scanner, ever going to present a code from an ABS controller?
Yes I understand that Harry but I wasn't meaning the one in the link. Are there no cheap scanners that monitor other parts of the car that the op could have bought. I'm not professing to be a car mechanic.
 
Yes I understand that Harry but I wasn't meaning the one in the link. Are there no cheap scanners that monitor other parts of the car that the op could have bought. I'm not professing to be a car mechanic.
Nor am I a car mechanic...

OBD2, is a standard of engine management systems and accessing them with a scanner. From memory, the cars manufacturers were forced into common OBD2 standard. There is no such general standard for the other ancillaries systems on a car, so each car company, Ford/VAG/BMW/LR/etc tends to have their own. So an OBD2 scanner, can read the fault codes, but then you need to have some means to translate those codes, to what they mean, to some extent, some scanners can do this, by configuring the manufacturer and model. All of these systems, can be accessed via the OBD port, with the right adaptor, and the right software. Such adaptors and software, is what the dealers have, and the car manufacturers, try to keep the details under wraps.

Some much more expensive scanners, claim to be able to tackle the ancillaries too, but they might not cover everything, and can rapidly go out of date with later developments, so still a compromise on the dealers unit.

The manufacturers scanner kit for my car, sells used, for upwards of £5000, basically BMW systems. I have a really cheap (£10) VAG OBD2 adaptor, which with a bit of clever reconfiguration, can tap into absolutely all of my car's many systems. Some really clever Polish guys, developed a suite of software, which runs on a laptop, that plugs into the VAG unit, and can do all and more, than the official £5000 version.

Before OBD2, there was OBD. I built and designed my own scanner for that, just an OBD plug, switch, and an LED. You counted the LED flashes, and length of flash, then translated that to a code, then the code to a fault from a list.
 
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Update, I’ve edited my previous post as I fitted it myself, here goes, ok I’m gonna swallow the £55 and go back to have another scan to turn the lights off, turn up at ATS have the conversation with the same guy and agree to pay another £55, he says what if he can’t turn the light off? I show him the old sensor to prove I’ve fitted a new one, long story short he goes away with his gear and comes back 20 minutes later, sorry sir its still showing rear sensor and I can’t turn off the light, that’ll be £55!!! I get very annoyed with him!! Then he throws the key at me and says f##k off and be careful closing the door!!! Obviously I didn’t pay the second £55….

I will be contacting there head office to speak with someone about there services
 
I show him the old sensor to prove I’ve fitted a new one, long story short he goes away with his gear and comes back 20 minutes later, sorry sir its still showing rear sensor and I can’t turn off the light, that’ll be £55!!!
Doesn’t mean anything. Fault codes will rarely say n/s/r sensor faulty. They usually say something like n/s/r sensor CIRCUIT fault. Okay, it is usually the sensor at the end of the circuit that’s at fault but not always. Unless you can go somewhere and prove you have done nothing else to the car and that they can simply turn the light off, you really don't have a leg to stand on. I’d say your first port of call would be to go back to where you bought the part from and take it up with them. Could be a faulty or incompatible part. Was it a genuine OE part bought from a main dealers?
 
A modern OBD2 scanner should be able to read all in the cars system inc the ABS module. The code then can be interpreted via on-line for your specific make and model.
 
I will be contacting there head office to speak with someone about there services

I agree with Motties comment above. The diagnostics only show a fault on which sensor circuit. The most likely being the sensor, but there are other parts to the circuit - wiring, plugs and sockets, and the controller itself. Often, the wiring under the wing, if not properly clipped into place, can get damaged by the rotation of the wheel.
 
The code would be handy to know, some will say abs sensor followed by mechanical problem which means its not seeing the pick up ring so it is possible to assume its the sensor when it isnt.
Needs better diagnosing, you can get apps these days which are pretty good but you would need the bluetooth dongle.
 
he says what if he can’t turn the light off? I show him the old sensor to prove I’ve fitted a new one, long story short he goes away with his gear and comes back 20 minutes later, sorry sir its still showing rear sensor and I can’t turn off the light, that’ll be £55!!! I get very annoyed with him!! Then he throws the key at me and says f##k off and be careful closing the door!!! Obviously I didn’t pay the second £55….

I will be contacting there head office to speak with someone about there services
So he told you he might not be able to turn the light off but you instructed him to go ahead in anycase and when he then came back and said he was unable to turn the light off you got the hump? I don't understand why you think he was at fault?
 
So he told you he might not be able to turn the light off but you instructed him to go ahead in anycase and when he then came back and said he was unable to turn the light off you got the hump? I don't understand why you think he was at fault?
I tell you why I got the hump, because on my first visit he gave me written confirmation that it was the rear sensor and a £55 bill, so I replaced the rear sensor and was willing to pay him another £55 and he still can’t turn the light off, what planet are you on!
 
I tell you why I got the hump, because on my first visit he gave me written confirmation that it was the rear sensor and a £55 bill, so I replaced the rear sensor and was willing to pay him another £55 and he still can’t turn the light off, what planet are you on!

You are being unreasonable. All that a scanner can do, is indicate the correct corner, which the ABS controller is reporting as being faulty. Beyond that, it is down to the mechanic, or who ever is assigned the repair, to further diagnose it, down to the actual point of failure.

If your ABS system is similar to my own. Then in the wheel hub, is a metal ring, with maybe 50 magnetic points around the edge. Your sensor will be an Hall Effect switch, basically a solid-state, electronic item with three wire terminals, +ve, -ve, and an output. Every time one of the magnets, passes the Hall sensor, the output terminal will flick on and off. If you spin the wheel slowly, you can see the output pin change, with a multimeter.

You can also test a sensor, without installing it, by plugging it in, connecting a meter, and waving a magnet in front of it.

Those +ve, -ve and the output, have to get back to the ABS controller, if they don't, due to damaged wiring, the system will flag an ABS fault. A 'static ABS fault', where the light comes on with the ignition and remains on, even if you do not move the vehicle.

Another type of fault, is a 'Dynamic ABS fault'. The light comes on to prove it works, goes off, then as you drive away, the ABS light comes back on and remains on. That suggests, the controller is seeing the sensor at switch on, it seemed to work, but the pulses on the output, are not in line with what it expects. That could be that the magnets in the ring, have some rust, sticking to them, or similar.
 
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