Ruthl3ss

Hi guys,
First time poster/lexus owner!
Just a quick intro about me,
I'm Matt, 19 from Melb, Victoria - Currently on my P's and landed myself a 1993 ES300 for free from a family friend (Score!)
Only downsides of this were - torn seats, the engine had a bottom end knock & few other *minor* cosmetic blemishes.
As of today, I've managed to get a quality 3VZ-FE engine in (140xxx kms), all new tires around for RWC (got a set of Work VS-SS waiting to be put on ) & some really nice plush seat covers to hide the rips in the seat for RWC. (I'll be getting them re-done in the near future)
Anyway, things were going along smoothly, no leaks - I got all my seals changed for the transmission, did a full 100K service while the motor was out - it's practically running amazing.
The only thing is the ABS light is on!! D:
I've taken off all 4 wheels, cleaned my sensors, checked my hoses (I think they're all placed correctly), I've reset my ECU & done most other things I could think of (I'm replacing all my pads today - actually as we speak) and my light still isn't cleared.
I'm not too keen on going to Lexus and paying $80 to get an OBD-I scan done so does anyone else have any ideas on what it may be?
I can post pictures and any other information needed, but I really want to try doing all that I can before I go to Lexus and pay an arm and a leg just for the scan!
Thanks in advance!

Kind Regards,
Matt

EEngineer

it happened to me that ABS sensor wiring got a small cut and would sometimes cut off connection to sensor. check the wires

canucklehe

I must be old school. i don't find ABS that critical. I spent 15 years never having them, just like airbags. Don't get me wrong, both are great safety features, but not critical to me.

My airbag light is on. On my old cluster, the bulb was burnt out, so I never knew until tonight when I did a swap. I'll probably first see what the issue is, but it can be many things to set off that light. I may pull the cluster and put a burnt out bulb in that socket because I find it irritating.

hey RUTHls300, you should swap that sterring wheel location to the correct side of the vehicle.

glad to hear you've worked so hard to salvage this vehicle.

Ruthl3ss

Do you know where I could find the whole ABS unit to check all the wiring?
Is there a link to a diagram floating around at all?

Also, how did you go about replacing it?

Haha, hey mate I'd definitely agree with you that I don't find ABS nor an airbag critical - it's just I can't have the light on for RWC. & My dad is being really picky about how I go about doing all of this.
HAHAHA! But my steering wheel is already on the right side of my vehicle, I couldn't imagine having it any other way :P

Yeah it's a beautiful car - I really do love it.
Anyone got any links to some engine modifications I could go for that extra bit of *oomph*, too.
I'm not looking at forced induction *just yet*, perhaps just a place to source a CAI/Tunings etc =D

canucklehe

well....plan b could be remove the bulb or replace with a burnt out one. I know it's a bit tacky but it gets rid of irritating light.

Ruthl3ss

Bump!
So I've got an update guys, code 35 is what's wrong with my ABS which is an "Open circuit in left front or right rear speed sensor circuit"!
So now that I know that...how do I fix it? :P
Thanks guys!

canucklehe

can you start in those 2 corners and follow the ABS wiring back as far as you can, looking for a possible break, or chafed wire, or whatever you might see that looks suspicious?

my son's Z400 quad died on us during a ride, middle of nowhwere. towed him back. Once home I eventually chased the problem down to a broken male prong in an electrical connector for the ignition. believe me, i chased many other things before I got to that point. My point is: chasing wiring can be tedious and frustrating.

Hopefully someone else has a waaaay better answer to pin point it.

Ruthl3ss

Hey mate, yeah I think that's what I'll have to do!
I wish there were an easier way to pin point what it was but speaking practically I guess that's all I can do.
haha, by the way Canu, I took out my cluster and was going to go for the easy option and remove the damn globe. Not long after my Dad pointed out to me that when I go for an RWC, they'll turn the key to ignition and see that the ABS light is out (Everything lights up initially so he said it's pointless).
Anyway, now that I know how to remove the cluster etc I've ordered some LED's for my cluster mod *yay*

EDIT: Also, once I've managed to source the problem, how do I get the ABS light to disappear?
Would it be a reset on the ECU that's required?
If so, is it possible to do that without paying an arm and a leg?
I've read that you can remove the battery terminal etc but can't confirm if it's true or not!

canucklehe

Maybe if they are looking to see if light works with ignition first turned on. Maybe they won't even realize or notice it should be on, or where it should be located. I could see that being easily missed. I don't think they're always that sharp.

i would definitely start by disconnecting battery for a few minutes to see if that resets it.

you've got nothing to lose either way.

Ruthl3ss

Yeah that's what my brothers were saying, but my Dad is the man of the house, haha :P

Yeah, I have - Is there a way to tell if it has reset the ECU though? Like how do I know if it has been reset or not?

Cheers Canu, absolute legend

canucklehe

i don't know on the ECU. some of the OBDII vehicles need to be "flashed" to re-set check-engine-lights, but your '93 is OBDI so I don't know. If you disconnect battery and ABS light is out when you re-connct, then I'd say it's re-set.

Ruthl3ss

Damn it I'm so frustrated guys! D:
I've got a few things that I might be able to see what is up with it but I'm still having some trouble getting to it.
Does anyone know how to access the ABS ECU unit in a 1993 ES300?
I found a diagram but I can't actually see whether it's under the hood, passenger side, driver side etc.
I'm worried that when the new engine got put in that a sensor has actually broken which means replacing the whole unit!?
Any help guys....