Hi All,

I have having an issue with my Seat Alhambra MK1 2.0s Petrol, Manual. The ABS light which used to intermittently come on, is now on permanently. Whats also annoying is, the Air Bag light is also on now recently, even though I changed the Airbag Clock spring, about 11 months ago. Maybe the two are now related.

So far, I have, Scanned for codes which are ;

- 01276 - ABS Hydraulic Pump (V64)
- 00588 - Drivers Airbag Igniter (N95)

I don't have VCDS diagnostics yet and the MOT is due soon, so need to get this done ASAP.

I have read on other forums, sometimes its the Earth strap which is corroded, between gearbox and chassis. I was not able to see one under the car, although there was an earth point on the chassis near the gearbox which is not being used. I have also checked the ABS fuses under the dash. There does not seem to be another fuse box in the engine bay, apart from a 3 fuse block, which I am assuming is for the starter motor. These fuses are good too.

Before I go to the trouble and expense of a new ABS unit, can anyone advise me where to look next. I have been trying to locate other Earth points for the ECU and the ABS module but with no success yet..

All help gratefully received..

Thank you..

The petrol doesn't have the second box (hence you can't find it :) ) but sadly 01276 is nearly always because the internal control board for the ABS module is dead/dying.

00588 is the igniter or drivers airbag. When you installed the new clockspring unit did you centralise both wheel and unit before installation? If not then its likely to have become taught and overstretched which sadly, means replacing it again.

Thanks for the Reply Mirez.   That is what I was afraid of. I just replaced all the ABS fuses but still the same problem.  Also used measuring blocks on the Diagnostics machine and I am getting about the same reading from all the wheel sensors..

Do you by chance know where the Earth points are ?  My Haynes Manual, which is for a Ford Galaxy and not for my Alhambra, says on the wiring diagram, earth point is ;
E3 - Right Hand Engine Compartment
E7 - LH rear engine (Post 99)
I have not been able to find these yet. Any idea?

As for the airbag clock-spring, the steering wheel was central, and as the Brand NEW clockspring had an orange TAB in it, I am assuming the clock spring was wound and set correctly for insertion, so I did not do any adjustment to it.  It has been working fine until recently.  Was i supposed to unwind it a little first ?

I want to fix the ABS unit first, because I have read, a faulty unit, can give rise to other systems showing faults.

Do you know if I have to remove the ABS unit and control module in one go, or can it be removed separately? Removing the whole unit means I will have to remove the brake lines which i did not want to do ..

Apparently, these units are easily repaired, probably because the circuit board has Dry solder joints..

If I was to get a secondhand unit, and plug it in, without pluging in the brake lines, do you think the error would clear and definitively prove the old unit is faulty?

Idealy, I need to check the wiring, as this is a common problem with bad earths.. so if you know where the earths are, that would be really helpful.

Thank You.

Donââ,¬â,,¢t bother trying to find and check earths just run some more to good clean metal parts on engine and body from battery neg terminal with adequately sized cable and crimps.

If you are sending abs module away for testing/repairs personally I would send the whole lot as they will test everything. As Mirez said high chance the control board is failing but thereââ,¬â,,¢s always chance pump is the cause.

With airbag does fault come straight back on if clearing the code?

Thanks for the input Johnny,

I was thinking there are different earths. is there not one from the ECU  and one from the ABS module wiring looms, going to different Earth points around the car ? Not sure what a new clean earth would do.. but will have a go..

I'm about to buy a Bench Power Supply, which I need for my general testing purposes anyway and will then try testing the ABS module solenoids and pump. ABS units are relatively robust and I suspect a dry solder joint after so many years..  I will look for a replacement ABS unit, but would like a later model and wonder if the abs units are the same across the Mk1, Mk2 and Mk3 models..

The Airbag light i am unable to clear. It stays on.  When the ignition is turned on, the airbag light does flash once and then stays on.   I will not be opening the steering wheel again yet, until i clear the ABS fault.  One problem at a time.. !!

There is a connector on the side of the ABS unit (assuming yours is in the same place as mine on a 2.3 petrol), I had issues with the light on which I was expecting to be something serious, it turned out to be the locking connector wasn't fully pushed on, if you haven't already had it off to inspect the pins there, I'd rule that out first. Also worth noting its very close to the edge of the scuttle panel, which if it does the usual trick fills up with leaves and other debis and then water. That water may be able to leak out of the seal the scuttle sits on which would be right above the ABS module. The locking bit prises out to push the connector off the pump via a couple of locking lugs if you haven't already investigated down there.

Don't know the age of yours, but pins that are either corroded, dirty or just lost their springy action are possible on a car of this age, and worth a check.

ABS LIGHT IS NOW OFF !! WHAT I DID TO FIX ABS...


I was hoping the issue was a simple Earthing problem. But I could not find an issue here. So I went onto ebay and bought the cheapest ABS modulator for the correct year and model. Basically to use as a learing tool and see how it came apart.  My car is a MK1 2.0L Petrol. However the unit I found was for a MK1 diesel 1.9 TDI, but the part numbers matched. The ABS unit was Ã,£40. When it arrived, it was in a poor condition, dirty, rusty and a year older than my original. As the error message said, ABS Motor, I proceeded to remove the motor, but the screws were so rusted, I managed to snap the screw head OFF holding the motor on..  so, for the other screw, I used WD40 and left it for a day. Next day, I managed to remove the next screw, and removed the motor.  I tested the motor with a power supply I had, and it spun up.

I went to the Cars ABS unit, heated up the wires with a hair dryer, as they were hard to move and may be brittle and i was working in the cold. This made the wires a bit supple and the motor connector came off easier. But the motor was left in place on the modulator. I just plugged the doner motor in.  Alas, No Joy..  The light persisted.  I did not want to remove the ABS UNIT, as this would have ment more work, and bleeding the brakes, which I will do later when I put on new brake disks and pads.  So I tried to remove the ABS control unit, from the aluminium modulator body. But I could not gain access to  two screws , as thgey were covered by two middle brake lines, so i had to remove the two middle brake lines, which I think are for the back brakes.  I then had access to the control unit.  I swaped the ABS control unit. I was not expecting this to work as the doner unit looked worse than my original.

On power up... the ABS light went OUT !! so.. it was the ABS Control unit at fault.   Now, when i have time, I will open the faulty ABS control unit and see if I can see any dry Solder joints or any obvious problems and reconnect them and have it as a spare..

As for the Airbag Clock spring, I don't want to buy another clock spring. So will try and repair the old one I took out and swap it with the current one in the car.  I will update you when I have done this..

NOTE: All those reading this and who have gained an insight into their own problems,  I hope I have showed the importance of coming back and updating everyone on a good or otherwise, outcome.   It is important to come back and let us know the solution to problems you were asking for help on.. So many people just ask questions and never come back with a solution, because they have sorted their issue..  Your help and experience and solution will help others as I hope I have helped someone..

Bob

Good luck with the clock spring, Its supposed to be the part that flexes as you turn the wheel that breaks (which makes sense really).

Good result on the ABS side there, hopefully you will have it all sorted soon, thanks also for posting an update with details of how you fixed it, It might just help someone else in future.

UPDATE..

I repaired the old Clock spring by drilling a hole in the casing and passing two new wires in and soldering them past the cracked flexible circuit board.  Airbag light has now gone out..

Good evening. I am new here and French, so I do not master your language too well ... I discovered your site while looking for information about my Ford Galaxy 2.3 petrol lpg , this engine is still very rare in France because of the predominance of diesel here !
   So I have a Ford Galaxy 2.3 from 1998 with a small set of problems including the airbag warning light that remains on although I changed the spiral under the steering wheel which was "dead".
I "stumbled" on your post...and it seems that after repairing your spiral under the steering wheel, the airbag light went out without having to clear it with the diagnostic kit.. Do I have understood correctly ? because in my case the repair is not enough, the light is still on. If you confirm that the light is not cleared with the diagnostic kit, it is probably because I have another problem with the airbag harness ... and there are only 2 airbags on my model and the belt pre-tensioners are purely mechanical, with inertia and no electrical release, so they cannot be blamed ...  Thank you in advance for your opinions and remarks

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Hello, I'm back to give you some details, I changed the clock spring with a second-hand one that I checked with the ohmmeter and I also did the test with 2 second-hand airbags borrowed from a Sharan and the light was still on. Good day to all

Hi Jessy and welcome to the forum!

The Mk1 locks fault codes and will need to be reset, it doesn't self clear once the light is on.

Hello Mirez , thanks you very much ... but are you sure ? some seem to say the opposite on the forums, here and elsewhere including 1 French forums, at least for the mk1. I am not equipped to erase the fault and my vehicle is administratively not authorized to drive at the moment, I would have to have it transported on a trailer to the garage for that, that is why I put the question here .... Have a nice day

"Hello Mirez , thanks you very much ... but are you sure ?"

Mirez is sure and so am I.
Repairing an airbag fault on your car will NOT clear the codes or turn off the light. Disconnecting the battery will NOT clear the codes or turn off the light.
You must clear codes using diagnostic software. No reply from bobnandra as to how he got his light to go out but I am sure he must have used a diagnostic device to reset it.
I am now driving my sixth Ford Galaxy mk1/mk2, all bought cheaply on eBay with multiple faults so I can assure you I have experienced this problem first hand.

VCDS lite and a compatible cable with a laptop can clear airbag provided you have fixed the issue.

Example cable you need > https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/374085426022

Suggest you find one from inside the EU to avoid customs costs/delays though.

Software needed is https://www.ross-tech.com/vcds-lite/download/ - Free version fine for this.

The same software would also tell you what the actual fault is just incase your looking at the wrong bit.

As above, I am 100% sure :)
The Mk3 Galaxy will self-clear some codes but the Mk1 and Mk2 are latching.

Good evening and thank you very much to both of you;I'll probabby  order this model  https://www.ebay.fr/itm/184966544163?
and I hope to get rid of this problem because I have many others to solve on this vehicle including the change of LPG tank; moreover on this subject, " brianh ", what model of tank do you have, if tank under floor, given that the available space is limited and the installation of a toroidal tank of correct volume (approximately 60 liters - diameter 600mm and height 270 mm) may not be in accordance with the standards because being too prominent so close to the bumper .... But as in France LPG stations are rare, I need the maximum volume .... and a 60 liter tank or about 50 useful liters would not be a luxury ... Good evening

The tank on mine is a 66l Irene single hole full torroidal tank
0 Degree (valve on outside edge on drivers side - opposite side to exhast rear box - I'm not sure of exhuast arrangements on the LHD models)
Its a 220mm height tank so slightly shorter than yours

I think its 650mm diameter - I can't tell off the paperwork for it and I'm going from memory there. It was originally brought to convert the Focus I had, but was slightly too big to fit so I ended up buying the next size down and reused it for this one instead.

I could do with more capacity, but can't see any way to get more short of losing more internal space. I can get around ~270 miles out of a tank, but that can be used in a day.

Its fitted in the spare wheel space. I also have a towbar fitted with the filler on the towbar so can fill from pump on either side of the car.

I don't think Irene make tanks anymore, though you should be able to find similar in Stako or Elipgaz or one of the other makes.

If i get chance will take some photos of it

That cable should be ok, it doesn't list the Sharan but I wouldn't expect an issue (mine is the blue one that works with vcds lite).

This is quite interesting, I get about 550 miles out of a 70L tank of diesel but it seems that u get about half that mileage from a tank of LPG. Does this mean that the cost per mile of LPG is actually quite similar to that of diesel at current prices?

 

I find it varies a bit depending where I'm driving - The MPG if your sat idling with the 2.3 plummets to the single digit level (the worst I've seen is 6.4mpg) whereas motorway driving sees it hover between 25-32 mpg depending on speed, traffic etc.

Given the current cost of LPG here is 74.5p a litre, vs the best price I've had for petrol recently (152.7p at Costco which also means queuing for it) it seems to work for me

I did around 140 miles prior to the last fillup of 31.09 litres at a cost of £23.16 if thats a better example to work it out from (it will have used a little bit of petrol as it starts on that, but its an insignifient amount - I've used around 3/4 of a tank of petrol over the last year or so and some of that will be down to being out of gas rather than cold starting)

The main thing is, that the petrol Galaxy mk2 is ok for the clean air zones/ULEZ hence why I've kept it, unlike the newer Espace I've got which is Diesel (and whilst it will return around 40mpg if driven carefully, still worked out much more expensive per mile for me).

It does depend what the local lpg availabilty and price is like though - Its getting scarcer now than it was, theres only 3 garages in the local area that do it now whereas that same area had 15 only a few years ago. It does also vary greatly in price - check out https://autogas.app/ to see what I mean, A quick glance shows prices anywhere from 59.9p to 129.9p a litre

Not the best photos, but you should get the idea.

Good evening and thank you all for your participation; "Brianh", you are really great for all the elements you bring to me! ...my intuition had not deceived me when I discovered your forum!
A precision for "SirDavidAlhambra", lpg less energetic than gasoline which is itself less than diesel... I don't have the head figures, somewhere on a hard disk but we find the values ��on the internet and add to this that during the penultimate decade all development efforts have focused on the diesel engine! And do you know that there is a possibility of LPG equipment on a diesel which allows enormous gains in terms of pollution with a notable reduction in fine particles! This possibility is recognized in the documents of the EU and even of France but almost impossible to make recognize here! The LPG diesel version burns both diesel and LPG, the diesel injected by the original circuit but in a much smaller quantity is used to ignite the LPG. There is a Volvo patent on it but it is not new and has been known for quite some time among the Italians who have long been the masters of LPG, now a little supplanted by the Polish. Good night and see you soon