Who makes a good scanner that will tell me which ABS wheel sensor is bad on my car?

[Spence340]

My ABS light is on so I am assuming it is the wheel speed sensor but I don't know which one. How do I know if a used scanner on facebook will give me the right info? Will any OBD2 scanner have this feature? Also, I have a predator tuner unit that plugs in will these do any other tests etc or are they just for tuning? I don't have the manual that came with it.

 

[Samos3]

Any modern obd2 scanner that reads abs codes will give you the code. Then look up the code to see what/which it is. There are other abs codes than just wheel sensors.
Autozone can read codes for you.

 

[skwerl]

Find a empty parking lot. Drive over it at 30mph or so and floor the brakes. Then get out and see which wheel locked up.

 

[Juice]

Forscan is free for diags. You need an elm327 adapter. Forscan is basically an IDS knockoff.

Best adapter for Forscan: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=vlinker+fs+usb&_sacat=0

 

[Spence340]

So after looking at several scanners on line and dealing with a scammer or two I decided to just buy new. It was tax free weekend in Mass. so I decided to see what Harbor Freight Tools had. Years ago most of their stuff was junk but I noticed over the years a lot of their stuff has been improving and since I’m just a weekend mechanic figured I would give it a shot. Their brand is Zurich but people online claim they are from Autel or Innova. Too make sure I could scan for ABS sensor problems I bought the high end one ZR15S and after a minute of checking it out “failed sensor left rear wheel” popped up and I didn’t even know what I was doing. Planning on reading the manual next and hope it turns out to be something that will hold up over time. Cost was around $300 which is what a lot of the used ones were going for.

 

[JC SSP]

You can always use it and return it to HF....

 

[skwerl]

For a one time use I woulda just done the 'skid your tires in a parking lot' thing. But if you end up using it more in the future it will pay for itself.

 

[Spence340]

No doubt I will use it often, all I had was the cheapest one you could get from RockAuto. It was time for an upgrade.

 

[Autokyrios]

Any reader will at least read codes, and then with the power of the Internet you can read all about it yourself for free. Just make sure what you get is for a Ford. Not all ODB-II readers are the same (e.g. European cars can read differently, and even domestic makers can find "standard" a suggestion).

If you really just want short and sweet, just go to any auto parts store (Autozone, O'Reily, etc) and they'll check your codes for free (and usually have the replacement part, too).

If you want to spend more than $30, personally I'd recommend getting a tuner (like SCT-X4). Sure it's like $350 but you can read codes with it so it'll become your all-in-one tool. If you go to a show or watch for a sale, you can usually pick one up on sale or with a new CAI as a bundle and save a bunch.

Oh, forgot to mention, an ABS code may have nothing to do with your wheel speed sensor at all. If the computer is reading odd numbers, it doesn't necessarily mean a wheel sensor is bad. You could actually have odd wheel speeds. This can be caused by wheel bearings, tire thread issues (lack of traction), improperly inflated tires, bad suspension setup, failing ABS pump, a bad caliper...the list goes on. So I guess what I'm saying is be careful. If any of those kinds of things are the root of the problem, you could have a VERY bad day VERY quickly.

 

[Spence340]

Replaced the speed sensor and I'm still getting the same C1175-20 code. Don't know what the 20 means The new speed sensor did not want to clip into the plug located on the car, it would go in but I could not get it to click. I blew out the old piece on the car that receives the new plug end, and it went in pretty well, but I still didn't hear a click. It does seem like it is in now and does not pull out easily like it was doing before I did the blow out. What would be my next step in fixing this so I can get the skid mark light off of the dash lights.

 

[Spence340]

So, I finally realized that it was the TCS skid mark light and the red brake light symbol coming on in the dash not the ABS light. Someone mentioned something about a plug or something on the brake fluid reservoir area so I looked around and noticed there was no brake fluid in the reservoir. Filled it up and lights went away, the scanner was indicating the left rear speed sensor was bad so I am assuming it did need replacing anyway.

 

[crjackson]

Thanks for the followup.