Abs/ tracs sensor frustration!!

[dez]

Right, i need to get this sorted, its been doing me nut in for the last 6 months!
Ive heard its a common fault on the 850 Rapid-dog carrying chariot!
My ABS/ TRACS sensor seems to have been possessed by the devil and seems to come on and off whenever it pleases! My dash currently resembles the mothership off Close Encounters!
Now, I aint a McClaren chief mechanic, but I reckon that theres a loose wire somewhere on the main unit. This is fine, but the problem I have is that
A- Im not a Chinese contortionist, so i cant get to the bolts (you think i would being an ex-alfa owner, who puts an engin in tilted 60 degrees!
B- I havent got a clue what size the bolts are to remove said unit!
I was just wandering if anybody could tell me if this is a common fault, and if so, would it be better to replace the whole unit instead of trying to solder my thumbs to it!
I reckon a re-conditioned one off flea-bay will do the trick!

Cheer, Dez

P.S Why whenever u get your car MOTd do you feel like somebodies been making love to your rear without
A- asking for your permission or
B- having the common decency to give u a reach round!

£360 TO GET A 12 YEAR OLD CAR THROUGH!! Still, its worth it to see that Chavs face as a 850 T5 estate chews there ****ty BMW up! LOVE IT!

[Alv70t5]

Dez,

Very comon fault with 850's phase I S/V70's very likely to be the ABS ECU, get in touch with Wobbly Dave (On this forum) he does a cracking re-build!

Alan.

[cameron]

What year is your car ? they ( volvo ) changed the system mid 95, the later ones are far more easy to locate, if its an early 95 or earlier, then good luck my friend cause they are like rockin horses doo-doo!

[dez]

Its a 96, I believe its at the top right of the engine bay? Was just wandering if its actually worth changing, ive heard the TRACS systems pretty dog-turd anyhow(only works in snow apparently,and being that it snows for about 14 seconds a year in England!)
ABS aint a problem either, cadence braking people!!
Got to admit though, i was pleasently surprised at the performance on the old hearse(previous cars Alfa 156 V6, Sub Imp WRX, BMW 328i, Celica GT4), makes me laugh when u see the dog splayed across the rear window!! lol

[cameron]

Theres tonnes of recon units on fleabay, ive got an early 95 T5 S and the ABS pump went, and it was the TRACS one, took me 3 months to find one, then i found another one, then another one, only payed peanuts for them as well, i bought one from the states for £60 all in and sold it on Fleabay for £175, nice profit!

Shouldnt think its too hard to get the abs module off, theres a few lads about that can refurb them, theres a couple on here, not sure what they charge, but certainly less than a new one! My 96 T5 CD i had last year was the newer braking system and i overhauled that, but for the life of me i cant remeber what sizes the bolts are, it was easy though, all depends on how confident you are at pulling the braking system to bits, lol.

[Alan M]

If you feel confident with a soldering iron and spanner you should be able to repair the old unit yourself. If not, try 'readview' a member on here. You need to speak to a guy called Adam. He has second hand units knocking around as he breaks our cars. He is a genuine guy who even replaced one for me for free, after purchasing the first, as the first one he sent had the same fault after a few miles. Try this site if you feel confident to carry out the repair.http://www.freewebs.com/dacvolvo/absrepair.htm

I wrecked my first unit whilst taking it apart so be very careful when removing the top cover from the bottom. I would say break the plastic lip off all the way around before cutting out the silicone. You will still be able to seal it properly after as there is a second lip just inside that some fresh silicone should seal against. I would say do not prize it apart with a screwdriver inside the lid as you will catch the PCB, just prize it fom the edge. I repaired the faulty one that I bought and so far so good after my first botched atempt.

[Dangerous Dave]

Yeah, do it yourself if you know your way around a soldering iron. I've done mine, and it was easy enough. Just give us a shout if have any probs.