Low Trac/ABS

Recently my 01 Intrigue with 119k miles has been acting up. The "Low Trac" light will come on and the ABS pump will run when I start to go after a stop. Also, once in a while the pump will cycle when I'm braking to come to a stop. Was wondering if this is an indication of a wheel sensor going bad and if so how do I find out which one? It's almost like the car is trying to decide if it's slippery out or if I'm coming to a quick stop.

Thanks for your help, Bryan

Only easy way to diagnose this is with an abs scanner that can read codes and check wheel sensor inputs.

Yup, this is typically a ten minute diagnostic with the right tools

Problem is the right tools are pretty expensive if you dont have them already.

Most shops will charge anywhere from 50-100 dollars just to plug in and tell you whats wrong with it.

My local dealership quoted me 100 dollars just to plug it in.

Most of the time its something simple, like a bad wheel speed sensor, which means you have to replace a hub assembly, not terribly difficult, part isnt too expensive either.

Generally speaking Id say if youre mechanically inclined, you can take it somewhere and have them tell you whats wrong, fix it yourself, and still come out cheaper than taking it too a mechanic.

Check the harnesses/plugs going to the ABS wheel speed sensors. They corrode quite often. I had a similar issue on my wife's old car (1999 Intrigue). I cleaned up the plugs and sprayed some silicone spray on them, and the problem went away.

Had the car scanned today and it appears the right sensor is bad or is going bad. I'm going to check the connections and make sure everything is tight first before I go and buy a wheel bearing. I'm also going to spray some silicone in the connection as well. Thanks for the help......

Personally Id go with Timken bearings if you end up getting a new one. On my car, the wiring harness kept coming unclipped from that metal piece it rides on, so I double zip-tied it on there and that has held for quite some time.

If you dont end up getting a new wheel bearing right away, you can go ahead and unplug the wiring harness from that side, it will of course cause the ABS system to be disabled, but at least you will have predictable braking. I almost got in a couple different accidents because of mine acting up back in the day. You could say I should have increased my following distance, but thats a moot point:)

i had the same issue as littlehoov and the OP...abs would kick in during a normal routine stop...causing me to have to mash my brakes much harder than usual to come to a safe stop. It was the front wheel bearings that just burned out. I got some cheap Chinese wheel hubs and they seem ok a year later, although many people don't recommend them due to high failure rates. Here in canada its about $229 per wheel hub. Not a practical price seing as i paid under $200 shipped online from 1aauto.com