E46 issue with ABS & ASC lights

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joe3@sticklocal.com - 13 Oct 2005 15:52 GMT

Hello my fellow bimmers.

I wonder if someone can shed some light to a recent issue I'm suffering
with my 2000 323Ci (e46). The ABS & ASC lights go on when it rains!! If I
put the car in the garage and let it stay until the next day, if the
weather is bad (raining) those warning lights will turn on.

Ok, it seems like a simple fix, either a weather seal or the sensor
housing is cracked and lets in water? right? I'm unsure if its fixable, or
would I have to change the sensor.

I'd like to do this myself, is it hard? Anyone have recommendation for
order parts? Or should I visit BMW for the part? Also, how do I know which
wheel sensor is bad? I figured a pressure washer on a dry day, with trial
and error can be a method... But it seems dumb to try... better yet should
I change all 4?

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John Burns - 13 Oct 2005 16:07 GMT

> I'd like to do this myself, is it hard? Anyone have recommendation for
> order parts? Or should I visit BMW for the part? Also, how do I know which
> wheel sensor is bad? I figured a pressure washer on a dry day, with trial
> and error can be a method... But it seems dumb to try... better yet should
> I change all 4?

They're not that cheap. It sounds more like a bad connection to one of
them. ASC uses the ABS sensors.

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sunderland56@yahoo.com - 13 Oct 2005 18:57 GMT

Hook you car up to the OBD computer and read the fault codes. That
should tell you which sensor is bad.

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dizzy - 13 Oct 2005 23:36 GMT

>Hello my fellow bimmers.
>
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>and error can be a method... But it seems dumb to try... better yet should
>I change all 4?

Interesting. I get intermittant ABS/ASC fault-lights on my 2000 323i.
Sometimes it goes-away for a month, only to return again. I have not
noticed that it's related to water, but I'll keep that in mind from
now on.

Just today, it was diagnosed at the shop as my LR "wheel speed sensor"
(ABS sensor). I was told that it should be about $350 to replace, but
that "sometimes" they can't replace it without also replacing the
entire wheel/hub assembly, which would add $600 to the bill. I
passed, for now, thinking that I can take a look myself, now that I
know which corner is the problem.

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