ABS light and audible sound

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jun 2, 2009
Messages
2,158
Location
Wisconsin
Vehicle is a 2003 GMC Envoy, approx. 110k miles. I've owned it since July.

Lately here it has been cold, hasn't gotten above 10 degrees F since before Christmas. When it is very cold, especially starting it up in the morning, it turns over very hard (battery is only a year old, AAP Gold) and often the ABS light will go on. Also, there is a buzzing noise coming from a small speaker located just above the driver's seat belt. If I let the vehicle warm up 5 or 10 minutes, the sound goes away, but the ABS light stays on. Once the vehicle is warm(ish), sometimes the ABS light will go off on its own when I start to drive, and sometimes it will stay on unless I restart the vehicle.

Today, it was -7 when I started it and there was the sound but no ABS light.

From what I've read it could be nothing (others have reported this), or could be the ABS sensor in one of the hubs. Supposedly the dealer replaced one of the hubs (which should include a new ABS sensor) before putting it on their lot this summer. The one thing that concerns me a little bit is that on occasion I can feel the ABS kick in when braking while going slowly.

All of these things only occur in cold temperatures, less than 20 degrees F.

The thing that concerns me a bit is the audible sound this morning without the ABS light going on, so it seems they might be two different things.

I'm thinking of getting it scanned to see if it is a ABS sensor, and if so what one. I can get one for $68 from 1AAuto.com and it doesn't look like too difficult of a job.

Thoughts?
 
I would do a complete brake fluid flush first. Probably won't help, but definitely won't hurt. Wheel sensors are easy or hard to change depending on the rust level.
 
The tell IMO is the slow starting turnover. Your voltage is low and ABS will also have strange behavior when voltage is low. a 1 yo battery can still be bad.
 
Clean and tighten battery terminals and clamps. Have battery and charging system tested. Unless you have oil way too thick or some electrical problem, most modern cars should not really struggle to crank until things are REALLY cold.

Is the buzzing speaker part of the regular sound system? Does the buzzing change if you turn the volume knob or turn off the radio? Does the pitch of the buzzing change if you rev the engine?

Does the ABS light stay on if you start driving the car when cold, or does it need to warm up first before the light will go out?

Intermittent ABS lights and false activation is often caused by bad connections. Wheel sensors themselves are super simple and rugged, and won't often fail. The ones on my car are the original 20 year old sensors and still work fine. Your car is old enough that you may have corroded wiring or connectors causing an intermittent problem. Have the system scanned to point you in the right direction. Triple check all wiring and connectors for cracks, dirt, or corrosion before throwing money at a new sensor.
 
Quote:
Also, there is a buzzing noise coming from a small speaker located just above the driver's seat belt.


If yours has the auto climate control, the small grille is actually a temp aspirator sensor. There is a small fan in there so that buzzing noise means the motor is going out.

Just letting you know that's its not related to the ABS, radio or onstar at all.
 
Last edited:
I'd try a new battery or at least getting the battery charged and seeing how well it holds that charge first. Your truck was built before GM integrated the door and warning chimes into the audio system via GM-LAN integration with OnStar. Check grounds as well.
 
Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
(battery is only a year old, AAP Gold)


Suspect this before you start jumping through hoops. Lots of early fails.
 
Originally Posted By: Kibitoshin
Quote:
Also, there is a buzzing noise coming from a small speaker located just above the driver's seat belt.


If yours has the auto climate control, the small grille is actually a temp aspirator sensor. There is a small fan in there so that buzzing noise means the motor is going out.

Just letting you know that's its not related to the ABS, radio or onstar at all.


Interesting. It does have the auto climate control. The noise from by the seat belt in there only happens in very cold temps. So maybe the cold makes the bearing noisy for the fan?

Can this be replaced without taking the trim off (such as just removing the small cover)?
 
I just called the local GM dealer, they do scans for free and also free battery/charging system testing. They are going to diagnose it for free. Once I know what is wrong, I will decide what to do. Sounds like it very likely could just be the battery.

Note on the battery, I did charge it a few weeks ago. I didn't really pay attention to the voltage, just disconnected the charger when it was done.
 
Well I have a Honda so not sure how similar they are but this car had a five year old battery on its last legs a while back, the starter would crank very slowly when the winter temps were low.

When I would start the car on those days, the ABS light would be on and then go off. This only occurred on the coldest days where the battery would struggle the most.

I always suspected it had something to do with voltage. I ended up getting an ABS reader later on and read the code, it was low system voltage.

If you buy a reader make sure it specifically says it can read ABS codes. Harbor Freight sells a good one that's usually on sale for $100.00. I've used it on many vehicles and it works perfectly.
 
Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
Can this be replaced without taking the trim off (such as just removing the small cover)?


Not familiar with the Envoys but the grille is part of the trim/headliner. You have to get behind to change out the little module behind the grille.

 
Today it was in the 30s when I started the vehicle. It hadn't been run for a few days. It started fine, no ABS light, no noise from the temp sensor by the seat belt. It did crank harder than I would expect, but nothing like the difficulty it cranks with when the temp is below 10 deg.

I'm thinking it is just a bad battery. But am getting it checked out tomorrow morning.
 
Got it checked out. Threw a code for a bad ABS sensor in the front driver's side hub. So I ordered one from 1aauto.com for $68 and it should arrive by the end of the week. Looks like a 2-3 hour job to replace, and not difficult. Battery tested OK, though they said it was a little low on charge (I charged it a few weeks ago, though it has been very cold and I don't take long trips).

I also cleaned out the temp sensor by the seatbelt. A lot of dirt and dust in there, especially on the little fan. Hopefully vacuuming that out, and putting some MAF sensor cleaner on the actual sensor will fix it. If not, it is an easy fix and the part looks inexpensive.

Thought about buying a Timken hub for $117 from Rock Auto, but I hope/plan to buy a new Ram or Chevy truck in about a year when they will likely be heavily discounted to make way for the redesigns for 2019 MY, so just looking for this one to get me through.
 
I replaced the hub yesterday. Took almost 5 hours, but two of it (maybe more) was getting one of the brake caliper bolts off. I just had the brakes off a few months ago, but this bolt would not come off. So between trying things to get it off and running to get parts (a new bolt from the dealer - the old one was pretty stripped, and a six point impact 18mm deep socket), it took about half the time.

Overall not a bad job, fairly straightforward. It did take some pounding to get the hub off the CV, which I didn't expect. All the hub bolts (4 total, including the large one) came off fairly easy using some penetrating oil and a breaker bar.

A slight vibration in the steering wheel when turning left is also gone, so besides the ABS sensor maybe the bearings in that hub were just starting to go bad.

Overall, doing the job myself saved me several hundred dollars and even though it isn't a Timken, will last me until I trade it in late in 2018. Or that is the plan, anyway.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top