This may be a bit of a long shot but my brother needs some help urgently with the ABS on his 52 Plate Accord Sport.

Thought the ABS unit for this era of car maybe the same as for early S2ks, hence my post here.

Basically, the car has failed its MOT due to a faulty ABS unit. The mechanic couldn't even run the diagnostic to tell him why.

They don't have a code reader unfortunately and nor do I, so he took the car to Honda to establish what exactly was at fault. Their diagnostic revealed the VCU(?) is buggered and quoted him £1700 to replace the system. £1700!

I doubt the car is worth much more than that!

Is there anywhere he could source this unit on here? I've suggested trying scrapyards but are there any recommendations from the s2k community?

He urgently needs to get this car back on the road as he has a young child and his wife's car simply isn't big enough for the three of them. On top of this, his daily commute is about 80 miles and they can't cope with only one small car.

He simply doesn't have £1700, either. It would probably be far less through a local mechanic, however if he sources the part himself that would obviously be a big help.

Any suggestions?

Ta in advance

 

How would an MOT tester test for faulty ABS?
I thought it was just a brake force test on the rollers.

So lets say for instance the bulb was to be removed from the dash for the ABS light and the fuse for the abs removed and the car retested, would it not then pass?

 

No unfortunately not.

The MOT tester should look for the ABS sensors on each wheel (not all do apparently so you could try somewhere else). He will then look for the abs light on the dash on start up.

The way around this is to wire the abs light up to the starter motor for example. An auto electrician should be able to do this quickly.

Alternatively remove all the abs sensors. (although you'll need to go to another garage to do the MOT and they still may notice the abs unit)

The racecar failed the MOT for exactly the reason above.

 

There's also the minor problem of no longer being insured/driving an unroadworthy car, if the ABS is not working.

HONDA FAULT CODES

FAULT CODE IDENTIFICATION CIVIC 5 DOOR 1996, CIVIC D 1997 ONWARDS & ACCORD 4 DOOR
1996 -98 Petrol

Fault code Fault location
11 Open circuit in right hand front wheel speed sensor
12 Short circuit in right hand front wheel speed sensor
13 Open circuit in left hand front wheel speed sensor
14 Short circuit in left hand front wheel speed sensor
15 Open circuit right hand rear wheel speed sensor
16 Short circuit right hand rear wheel speed sensor
17 Open circuit left hand rear wheel speed sensor
18 Short circuit left hand rear wheel speed sensor
21 Damage to rotor teeth
31 Right hand front inlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
32 Right hand front outlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
33 Left hand front inlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
34 Left hand front outlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
35 Right hand rear inlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
36 Right hand rear outlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
37 Left hand rear inlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
38 Left hand rear outlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
51 The pump motor is locked
52 The pump motor is inoperative
53 The pump motor is constantly on
54 Inoperative relay
61 Low supply voltage
81 The combination control module or relay

Diesel

Fault code Fault location
12 Self diagnosis-initiating
16 Left hand front inlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
17 Right hand front inlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
19 Relay of the hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
25 Damage to rotor teeth
26 Left hand rear inlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
27 Right hand rear inlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
28 Left hand front outlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
29 Right hand front outlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
31 Left hand rear outlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
32 Right hand rear outlet, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
35 The pump motor
37 The (BPP)Brake pedal position switch
39 Open circuit in the left front wheel speed sensor
41 Short circuit in the left front wheel speed sensor
42 Open circuit in right front wheel speed sensor
43 Short circuit in right front wheel speed sensor
44 Open circuit in left rear wheel speed sensor
45 Short circuit in left rear wheel speed sensor
46 Open circuit in right rear wheel speed sensor
47 Short circuit in right rear wheel speed sensor
48 Low supply voltage
55 The combination control module or relay
56 Operating error with fault code indication

CIVIC 5 DOOR 1995, ACCORD COUPE 1994-97, ACCORD AREODECK 1995-97
FAULT CODE IDENTIFICATION


Fault code Fault location
1 The hydraulic pump motor is over-run
1-2 The hydraulic pump motor
1-3 Is a high pressure leak
1-4 The pressure switch
1-8 Accumulator of high pressure system
2-1 Circuit of handbrake warning lamp switch
3-1 Rotor teeth damaged on right hand front wheel speed sensor
3-2 Rotor teeth damaged on left hand front wheel speed sensor
3-4 Rotor teeth damaged on right hand rear wheel speed sensor
3-8 Rotor teeth damaged on left hand rear wheel speed sensor
3-12 Combination of different sizes of tyres
4-1 Circuit of right hand front wheel speed sensor
4-2 Circuit of left hand front wheel speed sensor
4-4 Circuit of right hand rear wheel speed sensor
4-8 Circuit of left hand rear wheel speed sensor
5-4 Right hand rear wheel lock
5-8 Left hand rear wheel lock
6-1 Front fail safe relay
6-4 Rear fail safe relay
7-1 Right hand front, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
7-2 Left hand front, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
7-4 Rear, hydraulic modulator solenoid valve
8-1 Operation of the ABS
8-2 The ECU
8-4 Internal circuit of the ECU

Think you need more info or to source an EEEECU from a scrapper.

 

Surely you just insure the car as not having abs?

 

i don't believe there is any inherent danger of a failed ABS system, but if it's fitted, and it don't work, then it will fail MOT.

some things are essential for MOT (brake lights for example)
other things only fail if they are fitted to the car (ABS, 3rd brake light, front fog's etc)

not helpful in-terms of price or quickly finding them, but have you done a scrapyard search online? there was one that i used for S2000 rear caliper and i got a handful of calls with immediate stock within 24-48 hours of posting a 'wanted' ad.

a word of warning though - some ABS systems dont like to be manually bled. they have to be pressure/vacuum bled. also, there are others that require diagnostic tools to hold the valves inside the ABS pump open, while you bleed the system.
check workshop manual on the exact process before you decide on DIY or mechanic.

 

I had this on the Volvo I ran a few years ago. The ABS control unit failed, resulting in an MOT fail. It wasn't £1,700 to replace, but still a hefty £600.

If a car is fitted with ABS, it must be working in order to pass its MOT. This despite the fact there may be similar models in the range that don't have it fitted as standard. I didn't believe the garage but they showed me the official MOT blurb that confirmed they were correct.

So it's not a question of just insuring the car with no ABS. If it is fitted with ABS it must be working to pass its MOT and be considered road legal.