Hello everyone,

I have googled many websites and search this forum for my issue but I am unable to find a solution, short of going to the dealership. I'm hoping that perhaps one of you would be able to help me out.

I'm the first owner of one of the Japanese made 2001 Accord EX 5-speed manual (VIN starts with J) and for 8 years and 145k miles, I have never had any problem with this vehicle until a couple of weeks ago when the ABS light went on. I have read multiple sites stating that it could possibly be the sensor or the ABS module. The thing is, I would rather not be playing any guessing games as to which item(s) is malfuctioning.

I have tried removing the fuse for the ABS for 30 min and also switching the ignition to on and off 20+ times then driving the vehicle. Neither method works for clearing the light. I also have an ELM scantool that I tried to connect to the OBD2 sensor, and that did not work either. It was not even able to detect that there was any problem with the car.

I'm trying to find out if there is a "morse code" way of detecting what is wrong with the ABS system. On some Accords, I guess, people were able to short out certain pins or grounding certain pins in order for the ABS light to give a "morse code" to determine what is wrong. Is there a way to do this on the 2001 Accord? Also, once I am able to fix the problem (ie. cleaning or replacing the bad sensor), will it go away on its own or will I have to reset it? Dealers usually charge an arm and a leg for 5 min of their time to plug in their scanning tool and I'm hoping not to spend that much if I am capable to work on it on my own. Thanks in advance for any suggestion that anyone can provide.

 

Beginning with 1998 there's no SCS connector any more. Apparently, plugging in a code reader will short between 2 particular pins on the OBD-2 plug (among other things). That should cause the ABS lamp to flash it's code. Does it?

 

When I hooked up my ELM to the OBD2 connector, it did nothing to present the flashing of the ABS light. Do you happen to know which 2 pins to short? I don't want to randomly short out any 2 pins. It might cause more damage than good. Thanks for your response.

 

Yeah, until you or I find something difinitive, DON'T randomly short things. There's pins with battery voltage & you can fry something.

 

If I just clean all the ABS sensors (if that happens to be the problem), will that automatically clear the ABS light? Or do I still need to bring it in to the dealer to get it cleared? I just called one of the dealers and they are going to charge me $90 just to plug it in to their scanner. None of that is actually going to the repair cost. Someone please help.

 

The ABS light should turn off if you fix the problem.

Check your fuses for abs. Check that there is enough brake fluid in the abs reservoir. Check that your brake master cylinder has enough brake fluid and that your emergency brake is fully released.

If you are going to clean each sensor, you might as well unplug the electrical connector and read the resistance across the two pins. The resistance of the four sensors should be within 20% of each other. On my 95, the range is 700-1100 ohms.

 

I found this info from a google search:

98-02 Accord Integral with the OBD-II DLC – short the brown and black wire together

http://alflash.com.ua/honda.htm

I would try to verify this by searching the web before attempting.

 

Thanks for the information. Fuses were both good (there were two within the engine compartment that were labeled ABS). I was looking for the ABS reservoir. It seems that this generation of Accord does not have an ABS reservoir. I checked the Haynes book and the owner's manual. There were no mention of ABS reservoir. There was another reservoir with a light gray cap on it, it also uses DOT 3/4 brake fluids. But that was for the power steering fluid. That was a little low, so I did add more fluids in it. No change on the ABS light.

In regards to the testing of the resistance of the sensors, how do I know if I am within the 20% margin? I guess if the resistance is within 700-1100, then I am good to go, correct?

Thanks for the information. I will work on it this weekend and update this thread on the results. Perhaps someone else will need this information to fix their ABS issue. Thanks again.

 

The range for your abs sensors may be different.

If one sensor resistance was way off, it should be obvious.

To find out if all of your readings are within 20%, calculate the average the four numbers. Multiply by 0.20.

All four of your readings should fall into average +/- 20% of the average.

ie, 3, 7, 8, 9 average = 7
0.2x7 = 1.4

all your readings should be 7 +/- 1.4, or from 5.6 to 8.4

 

PAhonda. Thank you for this information. I shorted BLACK and BROWN and sure enough, it gave me a code. I found out that it was 5-3, which I think means the pump remains on. Now I am searching the web trying to find out why this would happen. If anyone have a clue as to what would cause the ABS PUMP to remain on, please let me know. Thanks in advance.