Anti lock light and Firm ride light on. No power assist?

AWD1990Tsi

Registered User
Hey all, I've got an 89 SC with the 5-speed transmission and ABS. I got it knowing it had no power assist on the brakes, but the previous owner told me it just needed the antilock controller in the trunk replaced. So before buying it I checked out the electrical running to the pump motor. It has 12v going into the pump plug with the key on but the pump doesn't run. That would mean I need a new master cylinder/abs acctuator correct? Or is there something else that could cause the motor not to run even if it has power going to it?

Second problem, and I'm not sure if it's related or not, is that the Firm Ride light is always on solid from the moment i turn the key on. I know I have 1 shock that seems to be bad, as it's always soft even though the other 3 are stiff. But all of the little sensor things on the top of the shocks work fine and are stuck or anything. So what could be the issue there?

Even when i unplug all of the sensors the firm ride light stays lit solid. Could that the brakes aren't functioning properly causing the firm ride to stay on? or is it something else?

Any help would be awesome. I'm pulling my hair out on this one. Especially since I had found a good master cylinder for cheap but it turned out they didn't have it anymore after all. So I'm still on the hunt for a replacement that isn't gonna cost me a few hundred or more.

Thanks in advance,

Randy
 
The two have nothing to do with each other. Your ABS pump motor is bad which is a very common failure with them. You can either get the whole unit replaced or just the motor. Check with SCPI or SpinningWheels for a rebuilt replacement. As for the firm ride, either the controller has failed or your switch on the console is stuck or shorted "on" more than likely.
 
My vote is a stuck firm ride switch....

Your ABS pump has locked up (common problem:rolleyes:)....

I have some rebuilt ABS pump motors....
 
I guess I'll have to take my switch out and check that to see if it works. Where is the controller at for the ride control? And is there a way to test it?

And I was pretty sure it had to be the pump motor, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some strange extra circuit I didn't know about. lol.

How much would you want for one big-e?

Thanks guy.
 
The ride controller and relays are mounted under the back glass on the tray inside the trunk on the drivers side. The ABS controller is right next to it.
 
I guess I'll have to take my switch out and check that to see if it works. Where is the controller at for the ride control? And is there a way to test it?

And I was pretty sure it had to be the pump motor, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't some strange extra circuit I didn't know about. lol.

How much would you want for one big-e?

Thanks guy.

What is your ziip code?
 
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