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dano99

Rusty reluctor rings

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Anyone know if rusty reluctor rings could cause the ABS/ESP lights to come on. I've checked them thoroughly and there are no cracks, but there is surface rust. Also, on one side there's a little patch that had some grease on it that is clean metal underneath. Could the difference between clean and rusty metal cause the malfunction? They tend to light up unpredictably and I can't recreate the conditions that lead to them coming on.

The brake light switch has been replaced as well as the ESP controller with no luck.

Thanks for any help!

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I believe if there's a problem with the reluctor rings, ABS (and ESP) will shut off at 60 km/h and not come back on until the car is restarted. My guess is that there's enough rust for the sensor to not be able to get a consistent reading, so that's almost certainly the issue.

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I have extra rings I could let go for $6 each. Rob 647-745-7883 . I'm in Mississauga.

Edited by robfrey1

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awwww... just noticed you are not in the GTA. I suppose I could ship them to you but as cheap as they are, I would just replace them while you have the axles out. Rob

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I believe if there's a problem with the reluctor rings, ABS (and ESP) will shut off at 60 km/h and not come back on until the car is restarted. My guess is that there's enough rust for the sensor to not be able to get a consistent reading, so that's almost certainly the issue.

I found a crack in one of my rings but the ABS light comes on at 130 km/h and then resets itself next day. To bad I red Rob's post after I ordered a set from England

post-13989-0-97504000-1410211226_thumb.jpg

post-13989-0-03253800-1410211247_thumb.jpg

Edited by Jerzy

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I just did my rings, too. They were the originals with 9 years and 221k on them. They were both cracked and really rusty!! All good now :masked:

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Hi I'm a new member so hello all, I bought a smart car last week & I love it, there is just one thing that needs sorting on it which is there is a brake problem it shudders & you can feel it through the peddle, it seems to only happen when driving slow & braking normal, I have know warning lights that come on the dash, could this be the reluctor rings? Any help will be much appreciated.

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Sounds like you need new rotors. This is very common when rotors have a lot of Kms on them. Does it happen without the brakes applied?

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Yes, ABS vibration in brake pedal when braking at slow speed is a sure sign you have a broken ABS ring.

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Right cheers I will take the back wheels off over the weekend & have a nosey at the rings first, I have just been on YouTube & there is a video on how to put new rings on, what size sockets do I use, is it E socket on the hub?

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Sounds like you need new rotors. This is very common when rotors have a lot of Kms on them. Does it happen without the brakes applied?

no plus the car has only done 35000 mile but it is 10 yr old.

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Go ahead and check the reluctor rings. If you rotate the wheels you should be able to find out if there is a crack somewhere.

If the car still has original rotors they are likely corroded and unevenly worn, and should be replaced anyway.

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^^Agreed. But this will not correct uneven wear, grooving, and ruts, that cause the shimmy feeling when braking.

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The discs don't look to bad from looking at them & the pads good to, I could do with knowing what hub drive shaft socket I need to get the bolts out, the size & type of socket?

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^^Agreed. But this will not correct uneven wear, grooving, and ruts, that cause the shimmy feeling when braking.

the discs & pads look good apart from a bit of grooving in them.

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Check the reluctor rings first, and if that doesn't solve you're problem look and the rotors, and then the ball joints.

I can't help you on the socket info. Make sure you confirm the rings are cracked before you start taking everything apart.

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Not a problem. Although I've hardly done anything at all.

Just for reference, and ABS type vibration is going to be fairly high frequency, almost like the vibration setting on your cell phone. Traction control almost sounds and feels like random grinding. Worn rotors is going to feel more like a pulsing - 1 beat per revolution of the wheels. Worn ball joints are often accompanied by strange knocking sounds when turning corners or hitting bumps.

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^^Agreed. But this will not correct uneven wear, grooving, and ruts, that cause the shimmy feeling when braking.

Exposure to salted roads during winter is what kills our rotors.

DSC03940.jpg

DSC03939.jpg

Rotor seen on the left has been cleaned by soaking overnight in a mixture of hydrochloric and sulphuric acid.

Of course I knocked off most of the loose rust with a hammer and chisel. These discs have lots of life left in them as still 8.6 mm thick. Minimum limit for these is 8 mm.

Hydrochloric acid comes very useful when repairing cable harnesses on Smart cars. The copper in way of a cable break usually is oxidized and black making it impossible to wet with solder. A quick wipe with hydrochloric acid will expose virgin shiny copper.

Pedal vibration due to caked up rotors will be felt when braking at higher speeds. Broken ABS rings cause pedal vibration at crawling speeds.

Edited by tolsen

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[

good morning, they look good as new although mine do have heavy grooves in the discs, I have booked my smart in at my local garage for Monday I have not used them before so I don't know how good they are or if they no much about smart cars plus they charge £20 just to look at it, I am hoping to fix it my self first I have got a bit of time today to get the back wheels off and see what's going on with them reluctor rings, cheers Martin.

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Beware some garages prefer to replace your drive shafts which may be the cheaper option if they charge dealer hourly rates.

I can supply quality ABS rings from the UK. They are rather cheap here plus air mail postage from UK to Canada is less than regular Internal Canada Post postage. Fee for two rear Smart ABS rings airmail delivered to Canada GBP 12 or about CAD 22. There won't be any Canadian taxes as the value of the items is less far than CAD 20. I get a small profit just sufficient to buy me a pint of good ale in the pub.

Drive shaft is held on with a 21 mm male triple square bolt. A 21 mm double hex socket fits. Best way to press on ABS ring is explained in below thread on Smartz:

http://www.smartz.co.uk/showthread.php?21667-Fitting-ABS-reluctor-rings-the-easy-and-proper-way

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[

yep the relutor ring has a crack in it about 3 mm and a lot of rust lol I have ordered 2 thanks.I'm from Derbyshire UK the company where I am getting them from said they will be with me tomorrow.

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