ABS light on the DIC

[nvme]

About 5 months ago I tried the traction button on the console. I went a few feet forward and backward and nothing happened so i turned it off. Now the ABS and the emergency brake light stays on, the DIC, I think that it is a false notification. I would start the engine and wait until those lights stayed on and the other lights one would go off.and then restart it and the lights would go off. Then about 2 months later it wouldn't work anymore and stayed on, I drive the car about once a week on the freeway for about 20 miles long and some times either brake light would go off or the ABS light would and a few times they both went off. But soon either one or both would come back on in a few minutes. My driveway is a little bit up hill and I can leave in neutral with my foot on the brake petal with the brake light on and release my foot off the petal and the car would roll backwards. So clearly the brake isn't on and the brakes work exactly like they did before. I took it to someone that has a meter for the ABS and everything shows up ok except with the car battery. I took it to Auto Zone and they check it out with their meter and it shows ok. I bought the battery from NAPA on September 2021 and now it is almost 4 years old and it always starts up within 3 or 4 cranks with no foot on the gas petal. Does anyone have any ideals what happened? I intend on driving it that way, I've been told by serval people that even if the ABS doesn't work the regular brakes does, luckily I have never needed the ABS.

 

[justdennis]

I don't know much about ABS but if you know anyone with a Tech2, that could shed some light on the problem. Other then that I would make sure your battery is fully charged and check all your electrical connections and remove and reinstall all the fuses associated with the brake system. Good luck

 

[mickeytee]

Go out and find a dirt road with no traffic hit tbe brakes hard at 15-20 mph. If the abs is working it wont slid all the tires the same. The tires should grab, release. repat a dozen times very fast . Ive actually did this on a couple of gm cars that had the abs light on that the dealer said needed a module. After repeating the sudden stop twice abs light is off and all works well. Ps. You want your abs working. One of the best features we have on any car. the car will stop straight on wet slick or icy roads.

 

[RubyRod]

The scan tools at the auto parts store don't report ALL of the DTCs that may be stored in the various computers within the car. They only report the primary DTCs related to emissions. The emissions DTCs only set the Check Engine light so it's not surprising that they didn't show any DTCs. I don't know what other scan tool was used on the car but unless it was a Tech2, a Dealer's scan tool, or a professional tool like a Snap On you probably haven't scanned for anything but emission DTCs.

You are correct that if the ABS light is on your brakes should still work OK you just won't have the ABS function. However ... when I was shopping for XLRs I drove a car that had no idiot lights on or obvious faults but when I tried to test the ABS system the ABS didn't engage and when I released the brake pedal the car swerved violently from side to side. It scared me pretty good and if I had been in multi-lane traffic I would have crashed into another car. It might have been the steering system or it might have been a delayed reaction in the ABS system. The VES in the steering system is controlled from the ABS electronics module. So a fault in the ABS system MAY result in steering problems as well. I don't think I'd want to risk driving a car with potential brake and steering problems. Especially after my experience with the XLR I drove while shopping for one.

If you don't have an independent repair shop you trust I'd take the car to the local Caddy Dealer and ask them to scan the car and give you a report of any and all DTCs in the system. It'll cost a few bucks but I think it's worth the expense. There may be Active DTCs, Pending DTCs, and History DTCs. I'd worry about any Active DTCs first, Pending DTCs second, and History DTCs maybe last. The History DTCs may or not be worth worrying about depending on what they indicate.

I hope you find the root of the problem.