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[Undiscovered]

Good morning all,

I'm having a few issues with my ABS system, and looking for some advice.

Currently, the ABS/TCS warning lights are illuminated, my Speedo and odometer aren't functioning either. There's no issue with the brakes, steering or anything else.
Occasionally, the car will start fine, sometimes the lights will randomly come on and off while driving, and the other symptoms will follow suite.
It's been on a tech2, while the fault light is illuminated, and the main ECU is not connecting with the ABS, so fault codes cannot be read. The advice was that the ABS module is faulty, and needs replacing.
We had a brief conversation about repairing/replacement mentioned that a replacement unit would need to be clear of any previous faults before installing into my vehicle. Due to the age of the vehicle, the garage wasn't entirely sure on this though

I've got the part number and can source a replacement unit. Are these just 'plug and play', or do they need to be 'clean' of faults before installing? My usual mechanic is under the impression that it should be the former, but we have fallen foul of this assumption before...

My immediate actions are to check all the fuses and also replace the brake lights, as  I seem to have an intermittent fault with them at the moment.
Any advice or help is much appreciated.

[Doctor Gollum]

It's a common fault and the ABS ECU is usually repairable. Plenty of places offer repair services, BBA Reman or similar for example. It can, with care, be removed without disturbing the brake pipes or ABS unit.

Without the abs ECU the brakes will remain functional but obviously without ABS so use the car at your own risk during repair.

[TheBoy]

As Doctor Gollum said, ABS ECU failure is pretty common on the post 1997 V6 Omegas.  The dash gets its speed info from the ABS ECU, hence your speedo and odometer stop working as well. On later cars with built in Satnav, that also stops working as it positions primarily by accelerometers and speed signal.

You can try reading the ABS codes, but if its the usual failure mode, the ABS ECU will be unresponsive.

A working 2nd hand one from a same drivetrain and era car* will work, or get yours repaired.


*Same engine, same gearbox, Omega.