[TrueTG109]

I got my Nanocom today. Felt like a kid at Christmas. After 7 years of staring at these things, it's so cool to to have one of my own.

ABS and TC lights are illuminated on the dash with ABS Fault & Traction Failure on the display. I plugged up the nanocom and it wouldn't communicate with the ABS.
Has anyone else experienced this with other readers?
No corrosion on the OBD pins, but I was getting a persistent "P1592 - Rough Road Implausible, Signal Invalid" code from the Motronic ECU.

I feel the root cause is a bad left side bearing/balljoint because of the rhythmic thunking made when going around right hand bends but I'd like to at least like to be certain before throwing an endless stream of parts at it.

Another side note: I got a possible record breaking 17 HEVAC faults.

 

[dave3d]

I don't have a Nanocom, I have a Faultmate, but it is made by the same people, BBS.
There is a Faultmate forum run by BBS which is a mine of information. There must be an equivalent Nanocom forum.

I would loosen the ABS sensor off, take it off and clean it up. Then replace it knocking it right down so it touches the reluctor ring.
The sensor may have been damaged if the wheel bearing has play in it.
Replacing the wheel bearing is a BIG job.

 

[pwood999]

Rhythmic thumping is usually CV joint problem. If it's all rusty around the bearing hub & driveshaft it can be a challenge, but doable on axle stands (did mine last December !! ).

Implausible signal is probably either damaged sensor as Dave said, or could also be broken reluctor ring or hub bearing.

Usual method for hubs is to loosen the four bolts a bit, and then thump them from behind. Remember to remove ABS sensor first because it prevents hub removal. In my case I had to sacrifice the discs & hit them with bigger hammer to shift the hub.

 

[TrueTG109]

Thanks to both of y'all for the input.

Dave, given my luck, it will be the wheel bearing. I may just buy a new hub to avoid using a press. After mucking up my F150's front bearing and seeing what happens, I'd rather not take the chance. Hopefully Blackbox has some input on a lack of ABS communication.

PWood, is there any way to test the condition of the CV joint with the car on stands? I've got an o-ring replacement to do this weekend so if possible, I want to keep it off the road. If I can't avoid it for diagnosis, I'll just get a carpet cleaner for later.

I'll also give the wheels a good shake after work to check for bad rods and ball joints/pivots

 

[dave3d]

I did my wheel bearings a year or two ago so it is still fresh in my mind.
You can't really tell if the wheel bearing is ok unless you take the hub off the car and spin it in your hands. The factory bearing is large double roller bearing, usually made by Timken.
After market bearings are ball bearings made in China or India. They don't last long.
It is a big job pressing out the old roller bearing and putting in a new one. I have done several. Bit scary, not for the faint hearted. Dangerous and comes out with a big bang. 30 tonnes +.
Doing it again, I would buy a secondhand hub from a breaker and take a chance the bearing is ok.
I did my cv joints and all the bushes at the same time. The cv joint is cheap and easy to do.
Getting the ABS sensors out can be problematic if they have not been out for ages.

 

[Richard_G]

Chances are it is the sensor on the wheel with the iffy bearing or CV joint but to answer the original question, are you trying to connect to the correct ECU? If your car is a 99 as your profile says, it, in theory, would be the Thor which should have the Wabco D system with 4 wheel traction control. However, if it is an early 99, it may have the Wabco C system with two wheel TC. On your Nanocom you should have both there as options, trying to connect with the wrong one won't work.

 

[TrueTG109]

Had a small dust storm come through so I didn't get a chance to jack up the car. It'll have to wait till tomorrow. Good news is there's a P38 that just went on the pull yard near me so I'll be getting my hands on some spares this weekend regardless of what's needed.

Richard, it's a Thor engine. Were there any Bosch's that came with 2 wheel ABS? I know the GEMS was, and that the Wabco D was more prone to failure but it would be a small save if I have a C unit since I've seen they command a lower price used.

 

[kcr]

I am not a fan of the Nano, just bought it, because I got it quite cheap and for storing it in the car and keep the hawkeye total at home (not available new, sadly).
And entering the EKA without fiddling with the key in the lock ;-)
Just had the case with a friends P38, ABS and traction error, plugged the Nano in, communicates with the (correct) ECU ... NO errors. had the same with a HEVAC error on another car - book symbol visible, Nano shows NO errors ... plugged in the Hawkeye and it shows several errors, not only one.
If I have to rely on a diagnosis I always use the Hawkeye or the RSW software (both freeware and suite v.4).
I had a fault mate for the classics and made some very bad experiences with blackbox, so I am not a big fan of the company, either ...

 

[TrueTG109]

The ABS ECU has ended it silence to tell me... iit's broken. Code 05 - Front right sensor short to another sensor😑😑😑
Honorable mentions: Brake switch failure, front right sensor electrical failure, pump relay driver.
I do find this interesting. I would've thought the issue was with the left sensor since the the thump appears while going around right hand bends, loading the outside axle. Assuming the "rough road" error is coming from the sensor causing all the trouble, I guess it's the right CV/bearing that's gotta go.

Doing some circles around the local parking lot, there was a double clunk coming from the front end when setting off from a stand still to either side in both forward and reverse. So that means adding u-joints to the grocery list as well. At least they're cheap!

On a positive note:
17 HEVAC codes cleared down to 2. Left recirc door motor open circuit & heater core temp sensor circuit short to ground. Lovely, the one sensor they don't make anymore.

Edit: Went to the pull-yard and snagged both hubs, Wabco D module, and working ABS & heater core sensors for a whopping $60. Once it's not 100F out, I'll see if these things fix some things. Stay tuned!

 

[TrueTG109]

Good news. Replaced the ABS ECU & wheel sensor. No more rough road error! And my engine will actually rev above 2500 now. The CV joints haven't been installed yet but if luck holds, this will solve the road noise.

For anyone with coolant system experience: I hamfisted the refill process after the O-rings. There's a gurgling coming from the underside of the car and my new temp sensor is throwing "P0118 - coolant temp sensor signal too high" accompanied with a higher idle(1000rpm).

Can someone confirm the bleeding process?
1) Remove coolant reservoir lid and fill with coolant.
2) Disconnect small bleeder line from top of radiator
3) Put coolant reservoir lid back on expansion tank.
4) Start vehicle
5) Once coolant comes out bleeder line, reconnect to radiator
6) Shut off car
7) Remove reservoir cap, fill coolant
8) Remove bleeder line
8) Repeat engine start until reservoir maintains coolant level while bleeder hose can push out coolant.

 

[Gordo51]

I don't do step 3. With the hose disconnected from the rad I keep pouring coolant into the reservoir until a steady stream comes out of the rad. Put small hose back on and top up reservoir. Go for drive and then let car cool down. Top up reservoir.

 

[troverman]

$60 for all those parts...that's a great bargain. Lucky find.
I'm feeling lucky that my 2002 has no electronic issues whatsoever, including the HVAC. That could change tomorrow, however.

 

[pwood999]

RAVE specifically says to disconnect & make sure bleed hose is clear. I usually do this first every time, and then connect it to a vacuum pump like this one. There's cheaper versions that will also work.

Then start filling via header tank, and the vacuum pulls the coolant into everything. Once the header is full, start the engine & let it warm up so the thermostat opens. Keep using vacuum until plenty of coolant flows through the bleed hose.

Finally re-connect the bleed to header, and top up as necessary. with the engine warmed up & running, there should be a continuous flow through the hose into the header. This will help get any final air pockets out, although some old fashion burping by squeezing the top radiator hose helps.

 

[TrueTG109]

Thanks for the confirmation/advice everyone. Got it properly bled and the temp fault predictably went away. Only minor boiling over.
O2 sensor got rid of the SES.

Troverman, is this what it feels like?

First time I've seen a clean dash on a P38. I've gotta say, it feels amazing. No beeps before crank the engine, just quiet... It was eerie.
Then the magnaflows turn on.

With the bad lights off, onto the bad noises. The "new" CV/hub is going in tomorrow. Hopefully that does something.. Then onto whatever else annoys me most.

 

[neilfixes]

Every coolant bleeding thread I've read advocates raising the front end to aid burping by jacking or running the front wheels up onto a kerb. The coolant bottle also unclips to hang it higher than the radiator. This also allows you to clean the main harness connectors under it. To disconnect the bleed hose from its nipple on the header tank to check that it is clear, warm the hose with a hair drier and rotate it while pulling...dont wiggle it back and forth, or the brittle plastic nipple will likely snap off.

 

[TrueTG109]

Gordo, thanks for the omission of step 3. I would've pressurized the system and who knows what else would've happened.

Neil,
I wish I had thought of that beforehand. It might've saved the tose horn under the radiator. Thing was swollen like my aunts ankles. I just threw some WD40 at it and gave is a beers worth of waiting. (It's hot out here so that's not much)
Thankfully my apartment complex foundation was built very cheaply so I parked nose up on an astonishingly steep incline for a new parking lot and that surely sped up the process. It did require some finagling to undo which resulted in some tasty coolant to the face.

Today:
While reassembling the glove box from the o-ring job, I screwed in everything without connecting the latch release cable. It was just after this that I realized I put the heater core hoses on backwards. Spent an hour with a low profile screwdriver trying to get the box off the mounts and.....

Snap goes the tension cable mount.

Instead of getting to the CV joint, more fenagling was required to get the box out. I ended up just swapping the temp sensor to the other pipe. I realize reverse flowing the heater core can cause problems, but the coolant drained very clean(better than the dexcool horror on my last Buick engine). So in the spirit of all Rover ownership, lets see what happens.

Afterwards, I went donor hunting for a new latch cable. I found another P38, and this one hurts a little more than usual. Almost as much as the yard'ed Callaway I found on vacation last year.

As far as I can see, no insurance-totaling body damage. Must've been a liner.
In that case, condolences to the man who pulled the lump.

Annoyingly, GEMS system so parts compatibility is limited. Runner boards were bent from sitting on the steelies. The front seats were shredded so the interior's useless as a re-sellable. But I'll go back tomorrow and pull the backseat for some mancave furniture to sit around the V12 coffee table. The second headrest has got to be lying around the site somewhere.