Yellow ABS light of trailer stays on

From what I know the light on constant means no abs.It's not an OOS, but they'll write that it does require repair. You would still get a pass.
Alot of the guys at our place love to cut the wire going to the ABS light when they're stuck on... Idiots.

 

DOT will tag you for the light being on. And no dont take the light off..lol Check the ABS sensors, if you get up under there you will see the plugs. Clean them up real good and see if it works. DOT tagged me for it a while back, remember always fix an issue and dont take shortcuts.

 

Well, it could be anything from a major malfunction of the ABS system to a wheel speed sensor being out. Either way, it needs to be repaired. Cutting the wire to the light doesn't help, either - when you cut the truck off, and turn the ignition back on, that light is supposed to light up momentarily. DOT doesn't see that happen, they'll know something's up.

 

Most likely it is a sensor that needs adjustment. You can tell which one by turning on the ignation swithc and counting the number of times the light flashes. It is a normal test when you turn the ignitation on and it just comes on and goes out. A constant on is a minor dot violation, won't get you put out of service, but can result in a ticket. When it stays on have the company brakeman make the adjustments because you must be certified to do so.

 

good point witchinghour...but the problem i see is you dont want to give the dot any reason to harass you period. if that lights not going off after you've started moving that vehicle i'm sure it'll be faster to get it fixed at the yard then letting the dot pull you in for a paperwork and vehicle check.

 

who knows what they'll find then (or make up )

 

When my lead had the light on constant and the one on the second trailer didn't work at all they asked me if I noted that in my pre trip. I told them nope, I don't even look at the abs light or care if they're working. The dot officer looked at me with a confused look on his face. I told him no part of the abs system is on the schedule 1 so why would I. It's not something I'm required to check or inspect. He wrote on the inspection the one was on constant, the other didnt illuminate and that they require repair. Marked the inspection as a pass and put the cvsa sticker on my windshield.

 

What I was referring to was when you cut the motor off during the DOT inspection, and they're looking for that ABS light to come on momentarily when you put the ignition back into the "ACC" position. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

 

I've heard of guys just unplugging the light and plugging it back in when they get to the final.

Some of my tricks include spraying WD40 in the pigtail and socket and using a bungee to hold the pigtail tightly into the socket, most of the time that helps. Oftentimes just bouncing down the road a couple hundred miles clears the problem up too because the brake sensor might have been simply fouled with brake dust and it shakes out after a while thereby making the light function properly.

It is my contention at my company that the problem is that some of the lease operators are using the trolley brake going down hills and overheating and/or damaging the trailer brakes, at least building up excessive dust and heat to the sensors which causes the majority of these problems. I would say 1 out of every 25 trailers I pick up has this problem at my company.

I had a trailer once with this problem and took it into the terminal to have them work on it. They replaced the ground wiring for the ABS, put brand new brake drums and linings on. I hooked my pigtail back up and the light was still on. The tech was perplexed, scooting around with his little creeper checking every electrical connection with his little tester thingamajig while another tech told him to cut the wires so they could go home (it was midnight). He asked me to drive around the terminal and loop back to see if the light might go off and come back to the shop if it didn't go off. Of course when I pulled back up to the shop the whole crew had shut the shop bay doors and ran for their cars to go home leaving me with the bag. I just ran with it and the problem cleared itself within 100 miles.