HIDS making my ABS light come on

97GT4.6 · Feb 9, 2011

So i installed this 55 Watt, single beam 6000k hid kit, and i notice if i turn them on right after starting it, the ABS light comes on and disables my ABS. Now it seems to be doing it almost all the time, regardless of how long i wait to turn them on. any body have any ideas? This is kinda frustrating in the dark and in the snow.. either no head lights, or no ABS lol

97GT4.6 · Feb 9, 2011

Oh, i forgot to add that if i shut the lights off, shut off the engine, restart the engine and then turn the lights back on, the abs light goes on temporarily and then shuts off like the Airbag light..

OnyxCobra · Feb 9, 2011

my HIDs throw the abs light too, I've gathered that it's due to the magnetic field of the HID ballasts interfering with the abs module. Some people don't have the issue and I feel that those people installed the ballasts further away from the abs module. I'm not 100% sure though but yes it is frustrating. What you can do in the meantime (at least it works for me) is turn the lights on while you are starting the car, if i do that i don't get the ABS light.

red95r · Feb 9, 2011

Where did you locate them? And what brand did you buy? I had DDM's and I placed the ballast's along the radiator support, never had a problem.

Win · Feb 9, 2011

red95r said:
Where did you locate them? And what brand did you buy? I had DDM's and I placed the ballast's along the radiator support, never had a problem.

I also did this. You can just hardly see them if you look on the right and left of the pony in the grill.

MustangChris · Feb 10, 2011

i put my HIDs in front of the radiator.

your ABS sensor is a magnet that measures the rotation of a gear. the ballasts mess with the magnet, thus, it cant properly read the roatation of the gear (it functions like a crank position sensor or camshaft position sensor.)

move your HID equipment away from the brake assemblies.

ttocs · Feb 10, 2011

hmm. I did not know this.... Thanks.

97GT4.6 · Feb 11, 2011

Awesome, it's nice to see lots of replies.. thanks fellas.

I will move them away and see if that helps.. good to know..

oh, and i think they cost me 80 bucks from sharphids.com

OnyxCobra · Feb 11, 2011

where are these brake parts that we have to stay away from, on the hub? Also how far are we talkin do you think?

MustangChris · Feb 12, 2011

OnyxCobra said:
where are these brake parts that we have to stay away from, on the hub? Also how far are we talkin do you think?

im not 100% sure on our mustangs, as my mustang doesnt have ABS.

here's a pic of the bolting location...

<img src="http://www.mikefordmustang.com/writeups/ltsv8/comprsssprg.jpg">

the magnet isnt very strong, and im not sure how strong the HID's ability to f*ck them up is... so im thinking 2 feet?

OnyxCobra · Feb 12, 2011

cause at first it was just my fog lights that triggered the ABS but now the headlights do it too, even flicking from high to low beam is enough to trip the ABS. so freakin annoying, i definitely want to fix it.

MustangChris · Feb 13, 2011

yea. sending out more power to the lights (high beam) might make the problem larger... ya know? I dont know, im in no way an electrical engineer. lol.

id relocate them out of the engine bay, if possible. at least mount them on the "upper" part of the bay. you dont want them messing with the cam sensor, abs sensors, or crank sensor. perhaps on the firewall.

ttocs · Feb 13, 2011

almost makes me want to make a faraday cage to sell and solve this problem....

red95r · Feb 13, 2011

ttocs said:
almost makes me want to make a faraday cage to sell and solve this problem....

Very possible. You could wrap the material around the ballast like a glove

My bet is the magnetic frequency they emit only goes a few feet.

OnyxCobra · Feb 13, 2011

the weird part is it usually happens going from high back to low lol. The ballasts aren't in the engine bay, more like the fender area. They can't be too far from the headlights because of the wiring is only so long.

MustangChris · Feb 14, 2011

OnyxCobra said:
the weird part is it usually happens going from high back to low lol. The ballasts aren't in the engine bay, more like the fender area. They can't be too far from the headlights because of the wiring is only so long.

learn to use a soldering (sp?) gun and some shirk wrap.... it will give you GOBS of options in the future for more problem solving activities.....

OnyxCobra · Feb 14, 2011

i'm actually decent with a soldering iron, i'm just not big on hacking up my new HID kit to extend some wires.

BLCKSTNG96 · Feb 14, 2011

I have 2 96 gt's and both have ddm ballasts in them,my coupe has NEVER thrown a light in almost 4 yrs,my other car,throws the light if I don't first turn on the lights then start the car.odd thing is the ballast are essentially in the same spot on both cars so idk.also realize where the and sensor word runs,it goes up in the fender and is quite a bit closer then most think.only odd thing is it doesn't do it on both cars.pretty lost but turning the lights on first then starting the car helps

JiMi_DRiX · Feb 15, 2011

Mine never use to throw the light until more recently, it happens quite often. My ballasts are on each side of the inner fender, next to the battery, and next to the hole where the stock air intake boot would be. I saw someone who put them up front under the radiator cover, I may try that. The fogs seem like they would be too close no matter what. HANDZ has his mounted underneath in a great spot, but he doesnt have ABS, and I have yet to get HID fogs to find out.

BLCKSTNG96 · Feb 15, 2011

Inside the fender where u have it runs right by the abs sensor wire,try the center as close to the grill opening as possible.that's where my coupe ones are.