Caprice This full sized sedan gained infamous recognition as being the choice of many police forces nationwide.
Platform: B-Body

91 Caprice has been in storage

Old Jan 15, 2013 | 12:46 PM
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Default 91 Caprice has been in storage

This Caprice belonged to Dad . It has been in storage for at least 10 years .

The ABS lite is on .

How do I go about troubleshooting what is wrong ?

Thanks ,
Wyr
God bless
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Old Jan 15, 2013 | 3:51 PM
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Originally Posted by WyrTwister
This Caprice belonged to Dad . It has been in storage for at least 10 years .

The ABS lite is on .

How do I go about troubleshooting what is wrong ?

Thanks ,
Wyr
God bless
I've looked at this post twice, now three times. I am no expert by any means on abs. Your Caprice is setup with obd1, looking through those codes for that vintage, I don't see anything that would reveal an abs problem, I certainly could be wrong. I'd suggest simple things first, will it start? If so, and still abs light, I'd suggest with engine off, and back wheel's chocked for safety, jack up the front end see if you can roll the front wheels, are they free?
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Old Jan 15, 2013 | 10:21 PM
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Usually when the abs light is on it is due to a faulty sensor, a wiring issue or a faulty abs controller module
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 7:22 AM
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Originally Posted by kevinkpk
I've looked at this post twice, now three times. I am no expert by any means on abs. Your Caprice is setup with obd1, looking through those codes for that vintage, I don't see anything that would reveal an abs problem, I certainly could be wrong. I'd suggest simple things first, will it start? If so, and still abs light, I'd suggest with engine off, and back wheel's chocked for safety, jack up the front end see if you can roll the front wheels, are they free?

Although it is not registered ( license plates not current ) , it will start and run . The wheels & brakes work .

I also have the check engine lite on , indicating throttle position sensor problem ( I have a TPS on order ) .

No problems at all , before it was put in storage .

Thanks , :-)

God bless
Wyr
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Old Jan 16, 2013 | 7:26 AM
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Originally Posted by go-part
Usually when the abs light is on it is due to a faulty sensor, a wiring issue or a faulty abs controller module
Do the wheel sensors plug into a wiring harness or are they " hard wired " ? If plugged in , I was thinking about unplugging them , spraying with electrical contact cleaner and putting them back together , one at a time ?

Does the lite reset , like the CEL lite , when the battery is disconnected ?

Thanks , :-)

Wyr
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Old Jan 19, 2013 | 5:52 PM
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They are connected to the wiring harness, that would be the best way to clean them.

Yes, it can be reset.. even though I do not suggest doing so.
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Old Jan 20, 2013 | 2:36 PM
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Did not get around to working on the ABS or shocks .

The mice had been inhabiting the engine compartment , at least part of the time it was in storage . :-(

I had ordered a TPS( from RockAuto.com ) and was going to install it first . By the time I got the air cleaner & housing off , I discovered at least one reason the existing TPS has set the Check Engine Lite .

Mice had chewed completely through one of the three TPS wires and almost through the other two . The wires going to the coolant temperature sensor were almost as bad .

I dug up the tools and supplies / parts to repair / splice these wires . Used blue insulated butt splices and heat shrink . I left the old TPS in place . No check engine lite .

Ordered a connector & pigtail for the coolant temperature sensor . In the mean time I temporarily repaired the existing , mouse chewed pigtail & connector .

During all this , I had the battery disconnected & on slow charge .

Got everything put back together , connected the battery & took it around the block . Check engine lite sis not come back on , but the ABS lite did .

Still need to trouble shoot the ABS issue . Hope it is just a wiring issue ( mice ) that I can LOCATE / FIND and not a component failure . Looks like parts are $$$ ! :-(

And I still need to do the shocks . New shocks , from RockAuto . are resting peaceably in the trunk . Waiting their turn .

God bless
Wyr

Last edited by WyrTwister; Jan 20, 2013 at 7:06 PM.
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Old Jan 20, 2013 | 3:07 PM
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Thats the proper way, systematically eliminate issues. Keep posting on the ABS.
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Old Jan 20, 2013 | 7:14 PM
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Originally Posted by kevinkpk
Thats the proper way, systematically eliminate issues. Keep posting on the ABS.
Took the 91 to AutoZone & the kid there said they had no way to test ABS lite . The car is OBD I . Do not know if they could have helped if it had been OBD II ?

My $ 50 OBD II scanner / eraser will not work on the 91 Caprice . It does work on the 96 Lumina . Think OBD II became " standard " around 96 ?

The old shocks are truly terrible ! :-( Rides like a row boat in a raging storm ! Hope to tackle them next weekend .

The plan is to inspect the ABS wheel sensor wiring at each corner , when I have it jacked up and have the wheel / tire removed . While I am doing shocks .

Does any one have a wiring diagram for the ABS & wheel sensors . Did not find it in my manual ?

God bless
Wyr
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Old Jan 20, 2013 | 8:30 PM
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Originally Posted by WyrTwister
Took the 91 to AutoZone & the kid there said they had no way to test ABS lite . The car is OBD I . Do not know if they could have helped if it had been OBD II ?

My $ 50 OBD II scanner / eraser will not work on the 91 Caprice . It does work on the 96 Lumina . Think OBD II became " standard " around 96 ?

The old shocks are truly terrible ! :-( Rides like a row boat in a raging storm ! Hope to tackle them next weekend .

The plan is to inspect the ABS wheel sensor wiring at each corner , when I have it jacked up and have the wheel / tire removed . While I am doing shocks .

Does any one have a wiring diagram for the ABS & wheel sensors . Did not find it in my manual ?

God bless
Wyr
I don't. The obd1 is what you have, abeit there are no engine codes it is old enough to try to figure out abs. This is going to be an older model abs issue. What was posted try, then get back to this bulliten board. I think with the age it's either rust or wire issue.
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