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ABS light, service stabilitrac, service traction control after rear bearing install

33K views 13 replies 7 participants last post by  TomM60 
#1 ·
I have searched and searched and keep finding several different scenarios, but none sound like what I am experiencing. I had a local gear shop install all new bearings in the rear axle of my 2008 Escalade ESV AWD. He had performed this service on many Yukon and Tahoes in the past so it was believed this would be as textbook as the rest. When he was finished, he said he noticed the ABS light was on, along with the service stabilitrac and service traction control system messages. He pulled the rear back apart to double check all the reluctor rings and sensors and could not find anything wrong. I had him take it to another shop to find out why the lights and messages were on and he says the guy using a GM tech tool said the BCM had an error of low voltage and the brake switch was bad. My cruise control does not work, but my brake lights do. I just purchased this vehicle about 5 weeks ago (no warranty) and I took it to a local Cadillac dealer for a pre-purchase inspection. While there they said there were a couple of codes in the history (low voltage something or another) but they cleared them and performed a check and everything was good. Keep in mind when I bought this car, there were no lights on or errors whatsoever. So anyway, the service technician my bearing guy took the car to said the alternator was bad (had a bad diode) and not providing the correct voltage to the BCM. I asked if this was the case why would it not have shown up previously when I was driving it every day? His response was that when he had it on the rack, he turned the switch to the on position to put it in neutral, and it was there for probably 5 hours while the rear was being serviced, so it drained the battery down so much, that the alternator was not able to fully charge it again. I am working to get the invoice from the guy that he took it to so I have he actual codes, but so far this is what I know. I'll update this post as more information becomes available. As of right now, I disconnected the battery overnight to see if the code will clear, and put the battery on the charger this morning to try to make sure it is at a full charge. I know some my ask, and yes this is an AC Delco battery with what appears to be the original cables. He said they were checking the alternator output and it was only putting out about 13.5 volts and would actually go down when the RPMs were increased. Any help would be appreciated.
Kevin
 
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#2 ·
The code I received from the dealership the day I bought the truck was P0573 brake lamp switch malfunction, B0081 5A PPS module and B1375 Low Voltage. Even with these codes in the history, I did not have any ABS/traction control messages. Could they be related to the current issues?

I'm hoping to find out the current codes on Monday when I can talk to the service tech.

Anyone?
 
#14 ·
I am having the same issue with my 2010 Escalade ESV. The only similarity I can see is a voltage issue. For some time now I have been receiving a "check the charging system" message intermittently, mostly when idling in drive. The battery was replaced 2 years ago. The abs and traction control lights came on at the same time the day after I ran it through a car wash that pulls the car through.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
If you have the traction control light on I'll bet you have the same problem I am having and I lucked out to find a video with an EXT owner that had the same problem. Cadillac screwed him over and told him he needed new battery cables so he went and got them. Then while he was looking around under the hood the ground cable to the firewall was found to be frayed and broken loose. He replaced that as well and that did help for a while until he had to have the truck towed again. After which he started looking for the problem himself. He found that part of the wiring harness on the drivers side was up against the end of a bolt to the engine and it had worked its way through the harness shroud and caused a broken connection on that side of the motor. He repaired the two broken wires and hasn't had a problem since. Now on my EXT with the same problem I had two sensors replaced and the throttle body which got the motor started but ran like crap so I had it towed to the mechanic and that's where it's at now. He also said it could be the ground wire and I told him there's nothing wrong with it but it could be in the wiring harness since the traction control error can't be turned off with the button on the dash. I have one other problem with this engine and that is someone who definitely wasn't a mechanic took several pieces of wire shroud off the wires and on the passenger side I have wires rubbing against the valve cover area. I'm sure the mechanic will spot that as well. We'll see what my story ends with. One thing I know now with the traction control short, the computer throw erroneous codes and there is nothing wrong in the areas those codes referred to. Disconnect the battery and erase the codes and some of those codes are gone but the traction control light still stays on and ends up throwing codes again.
 
#3 ·
Hello Silverslayer,

I apologize that you have experienced this with your newly purchased Escalade. Although I am not able to provide technical advise regarding the symptoms you are experiencing. If you decide that you would like to work with your local Cadillac dealership, I would be happy to assist you throughout the process. Please feel free to reach out via private message with your full contact information, VIN, current mileage, and preferred dealership.

Sincerely,

Jonathan A.
Cadillac Customer Care
 
#4 ·
These cars are an electrical nightmare, and a LOT of items stem from the BCM program on the 2007 and 2008 models, which seemed to be fixed by 2010 (I'm seriously considering buying a 2010 used BCM from a salvage vehicle and having them flash the VIN to my vehicle, but I digress).

One of the things that really screws things up is if you kill the battery (drain it dead). A lot of sensors on this car require 12V power to work (4 lead inputs instead of 2), but the wheel speed sensors aren't one of them (2 leads, it's a tach drive, just sends voltage pulses and has a ground to allow the sensor to pulse). The Traction Control module however, is voltage sensitive, and if it trips the low voltage code to the BCM, the BCM will think the Traction Control module is bad, and give you the code.

Additionally, if the alternator is "weak" (been excited so many times that the internal diodes/resistors, etc are getting close to failure), a completely killed battery will pull a LOT of load through the alternator to re-charge it. This is why, if you drain the battery, you should put a deep charge on it with a CHARGER rather than charge it through the alternator (should be used as a last result on a jump start somewhere you're stranded). I'm sure the shop didn't take the time to do that after draining the battery, so they very well might have finished off your alternator if it was getting close to its service life.

Brake switch I don't know enough about. The above is general knowledge (alternator/battery) and knowledge about the Traction Control and BCM that I've gained fixing my own car and talking to the GM dealer master tech who's been helping me fix my salvage theft recovery vehicle. As for fixing it, you've got me. I "fixed" my battery issue by putting it on a deep cycle charge here at home (Harbor Freight charger works just fine), then having the dealer clear all the stored codes with a Tech II then running the car again. After you do that, see if the alternator throws the same code. Most alternators are only good these days for about 5-7 years, crappy diodes from China (I have mine rebuilt locally when they die with quality diodes and resistors).

Brake switch appears to have several "switches" internally that go out different wires. It's altogether possible for one of them to have gone out but left you basic brake light function. Check this thread, it's a $15 part at any GM dealer and would probably take you all of 10-15 minutes to fix yourself:

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showthread.php?p=322837#post322837

Good luck!
 
#5 ·
Thank you so much for the time to post.... I did try disconnecting the battery overnight, then put a 2amp charge on it for about 10 hours and it ended up with 13.2v before I connected the battery and found the lights/messages were still present.

----------

Is there any way to reset the ABS, service stabilitrac/traction control messages without the GM TechII?
 
#6 ·
Nope, wish there was.

The Traction control message will go away on its own when the error is rectified, as will the ABS light. It does a self-check every time the car starts. The last time I had one pop up was an actual broken CONNECTOR that the ABS harness comes off the bearing and connects into. Had to get a different wire harness, as soon as I plugged it in, ABS error went away.

First thing I'd do is get your head up in there behind the tire (yes, it will fit), and follow the wire coming out of the bearing hub behind the wheel up to the wire harness connector right beside the shock/strut coil. Make sure it's not tight/pinched/broken and the connector is connected TIGHTLY, then follow the wires along until they disappear into the main harness to make sure they haven't been shorted/cut.

If it's just the hub, periodically when you start the car, it will think your system is OK (no traction control message), but will start chiming and give you the message the second the truck is moved. I'm not 100% sure, but some after-market hubs can cause issues periodically with bad signals. I'm about to do one of mine (front right), fingers crossed.

The Stabilitrac... who knows. It's a gremlin related to about 5 different systems, hence the garbage BCM issues. If it affected safety, they'd have recalled them by now, they're all glitchy on the 07 and 08 models. Only the Tech II can clear it and it'll likely come right back on if the affected system isn't fixed. Mine is on right now because of a leaking exhaust causing a Bank 1 timing issue, throws the Stabilitrak and check engine light.

Annoying is putting it mildly that the Stabilitrak is so cross-linked into unrelated systems.

Good luck!
 
#7 ·
Just to update this thread... I took the car to the dealer and all they had to do it hook up and reset the code. They kept it overnight (my request) and the tech drove it home that night and back to work the next day to make sure the light didn't come back on. everything looks good so far.
 
#9 ·
Excellent!

Glad yours was so easy... dealer replaced my right front hub on Thursday, reset it, and it came back on as they were driving it back out to park it. They then took it out for a drive with the Tech II hooked up, now the left front hub is throwing the code periodically and I'll have to replace it too. Can't win... Ha!
 
#11 ·
I have searched and searched and keep finding several different scenarios, but none sound like what I am experiencing. I had a local gear shop install all new bearings in the rear axle of my 2008 Escalade ESV AWD. He had performed this service on many Yukon and Tahoes in the past so it was believed this would be as textbook as the rest. When he was finished, he said he noticed the ABS light was on, along with the service stabilitrac and service traction control system messages. He pulled the rear back apart to double check all the reluctor rings and sensors and could not find anything wrong. I had him take it to another shop to find out why the lights and messages were on and he says the guy using a GM tech tool said the BCM had an error of low voltage and the brake switch was bad. My cruise control does not work, but my brake lights do. I just purchased this vehicle about 5 weeks ago (no warranty) and I took it to a local Cadillac dealer for a pre-purchase inspection. While there they said there were a couple of codes in the history (low voltage something or another) but they cleared them and performed a check and everything was good. Keep in mind when I bought this car, there were no lights on or errors whatsoever. So anyway, the service technician my bearing guy took the car to said the alternator was bad (had a bad diode) and not providing the correct voltage to the BCM. I asked if this was the case why would it not have shown up previously when I was driving it every day? His response was that when he had it on the rack, he turned the switch to the on position to put it in neutral, and it was there for probably 5 hours while the rear was being serviced, so it drained the battery down so much, that the alternator was not able to fully charge it again. I am working to get the invoice from the guy that he took it to so I have he actual codes, but so far this is what I know. I'll update this post as more information becomes available. As of right now, I disconnected the battery overnight to see if the code will clear, and put the battery on the charger this morning to try to make sure it is at a full charge. I know some my ask, and yes this is an AC Delco battery with what appears to be the original cables. He said they were checking the alternator output and it was only putting out about 13.5 volts and would actually go down when the RPMs were increased. Any help would be appreciated.
Kevin
Hello Silverslayer,

I apologize that you have experienced this with your newly purchased Escalade. Although I am not able to provide technical advise regarding the symptoms you are experiencing. If you decide that you would like to work with your local Cadillac dealership, I would be happy to assist you throughout the process. Please feel free to reach out via private message with your full contact information, VIN, current mileage, and preferred dealership.

Sincerely,

Jonathan A.
Cadillac Customer Care
I am having the same issue with my 2010 Escalade ESV. The only similarity I can see is a voltage issue. For some time now I have been receiving a "check the charging system" message intermittently, mostly when idling in drive. The battery was replaced 2 years ago. The abs and traction control lights came on at the same time the day after I ran it through a car wash that pulls the car through.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
 
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