ABS light on??

[howardtm]

Ok...not so urgent right now but after walking out to a basically dead battery this evening, I finally got the Beastie started after about an hour on the batt charger. Now the ABS light comes on. Am wondering if perhaps the dead batt (and I disconnected the underhood batt to clean the posts prior to charging) would set this off? I will have to do the same again in the morning in order to replace the Alt. It will not charge on a cold morning, nor, when the batt light goes off, does it seem to charge enough at idle to keep the batt(s) charged. I doubt anyone will chime in on this this evening, but I need to get this Beastie back on the road in the next day or so and don't have any money to put into fixing anything right now. I have to assume that this alt. is bad, or weak, and seems to be a regulator problem. Started a few days ago...when its cold outside, she just WILL NOT CHARGE until it gets hot. The alt is from AdvanceAuto...rebuilt...I know...I know...But when the other one bit the dust, they were the only one within 40 miles that had one (that I could afford at the time)..at least it's under warrenty. That aside..I'm really wondering about that ABS light..just started this evening..wasn't on when I parked the Beastie Saturday and haven't driven since.

[Rob]

not sure about the batteries having anything to do with it, but it may. if a new alternator and/or batteries dont help i would try the Wheel Speed sensor, since if it went bad it will also set the light off, its located on the top of the rear end. it will be the cheapest fix. around 25 to 30 dollars i think.

[SCUFFY828]

howard if the batteries go dead then it will sometimes give a low voltage code from the abs module, after driven some it should go away

[howardtm]

Thanks Scott...I was hoping that such would be the case. I have to go out in a few and remove the alt and take it back to AdvanceAuto. At some point, I'll actually get not only caught up but a bit ahead on bills and just go to a dealer and get a NEW alt. Also...while I'm thinking about it, do you know off hand, what size socket I need to remove the Tracking bar? It'll be metric and looks to be a pretty good sized sucker? It looks like a fairly simple task to change this, but knowing Murphy's Law, is there anything I should be watchful for?

[SCUFFY828]

fore some reason howard 1 and 1/8 rings a bell but im not sure

[howardtm]

I have a 1 1/8" combo wrench and it's just a tad small...I'm betting its metric so I'm heading down to Sears to find a couple of 1/2" drive sockets. It doesn't appear to be too complicated a proceedure to swap this thing out..at least until Murphy shows up. Is there anyrthing that comes to mind that I should be wary of when changing this over?

[howardtm]

bny the way...any idea what the torque should be on these bolts/nuts?

[SCUFFY828]

Originally Posted by howardtm

bny the way...any idea what the torque should be on these bolts/nuts?

they have to be very tight howard , you probably wont even be able to break them loose with a hand ratchet , i dont torque them , just 1/2 inch drive impact tight

[howardtm]

The only way I can see to get an impact wrench to the bolt on the right side would be to remove the tie rod...and I sure don't want to have to do that. On the bolt side...not enough room to put a socket and ratchet...bought a long metric box end..hopefully I can break it loose cause right now I sure as heck ain't got the money to have the dealer do it. The nut on the Driver's side has room for a socket...FYI left side is a 24mm nut, right side is a 30mm bolt.