Intermittent ABS/RSS Problem

[Texas Jim]

Glad you finally found someone who will take the time to do it right... :D

[Cadillac Jim]

Actually, this is the kind of thing I would expect from a dealer and a Goodwrench tech. The problem is that the dealer that I thought that I had a relationship with ten years ago seemed bent on prying me out of my Cadillac and I went elsewhere for service and maintenance. And, when my private mechanic recommended a specific tech, he was at the same dealership. For a good time, see post #29 on this topic on how *that* worked out.

I found to my exasperation that private mechanics could be depended on to work one problem at a time, and the connector had multiple problems. A private mechanic told me that a connector clamp was missing, for example, but he did not look at the spades in the connector; this particular excellent mechanic wanted to look at my reluctor wheels, or get an ohmmeter and start looking for problems in my wiring harness. He might have found the bad ground but I think that was a problem in the making, not a cause of my current codes and ABS/TCS problems. I don't know what he would have done when he found out that my car has sealed wheel speed sensors that are part of each of the four hubs.

The Goodwrench technician followed the textbook. He started out by measuring voltages at the connector pins and found minor discrepancies which he tracked down. He pulled on the wires, one by one, and found that the pink wire pulled right out of the connector - something that private mechanics had been missing for over a year, and which, along with the missing connector clamp and retaining pin, explained everything. He noticed the damaged connector shell because he was familiar with that connector.

As I've said before, a dealer may not be the best place to maintain an old car, but sometimes you want the Goodwrench warranty (I have one on my A/C compressor and on my alternator) or the Goodwrench training, as in fixing a persistent intermittent problem. I've done a lot of web searches on EBTCM problems and I find that there have been several on Caddyinfo and quite a few out there, mostly on Corvettes, which use a similar system and connector. I've also found that GM once sold a connector kit for my car. I think that's because it isn't that uncommon for someone to forget to disconnect the ABS when they drop the cradle...

Well, I'm a year older and a lot smarter. And I still drive a no-codes 1997 ETC. I would have solved it a lot sooner if I had gone to a dealer when it became clear that the problem really needed a Goodwrench tech.

[Cadillac Jim]

I was going to wait for three months before declaring final victory, but after a few thousand miles and going back to the same dealer and tech for a transmission flush with Dexron VI and to deal with a list of little things, and still finding no codes, ever, since I had the EBTCM connector rebuilt, I think it's time. The EBTCM problem is dead. BodybyFisher's help in finding and sending me a connector clamp, my new mechanic who told me that one should be there and installing it properly, and the Goodwrench Tech at Chevrolet Cadillac of Turnersville NJ (856) 649-1641 to find the deepest buried bodies and do the big job of rebuilding the connector, it's all over.

One lesson learned, that is not at all obvious: when you get an occasional C1783 and C1785 as HISTORY with no driveability problems or other codes, check the grounds on the EBTCM (G107 for the motor, but more importantly G110) and on other things like the coil pack, then if that doesn't do it then clean and check the EBTCM connector. The C1783 and C1785 are the most sensitive codes to an EBTCM that is fritzing out very quickly and then coming back once in a while.

[BodybyFisher]

Glad to hear it Jim