2000 GMC Jimmy 4x4. Sorry I'm not good at short stories, so please bear with me!

Had my right front CV axle replaced today. Afterwards when I started the car, the ABS light came on and stayed on. Mechanic reached under there and wiggled the sensor wiring around and the light went off. He told me it shouldn't be a problem and we'd check it next week when we do the ignition switch. So I drove off and the ABS light came on again shortly (as he said it probably would). No problems driving several miles, with lots of braking in between.

After stopping at a store, I noticed the ABS light did NOT come on when I restarted the car. But when I went to leave the parking lot, hitting the brakes (very slow speed) to check for traffic on the road, I got a loud groaning sound with a vibrating hard resistance in the brake pedal...thought I wasn't going to stop....then the ABS light turned ON and the braking returned to normal. Freaked me out of course. I drove to an empty parking lot and tested it out several times. Turn the car off, restart, no ABS light, hit the brakes and got the same sound/resistance, then ABS light would come on within seconds and back to normal braking.

So I know from reading the posts here that there's most likely a problem with the sensor and/or wiring. I'm really wondering if the mechanic damaged the wiring during the axle replacement since I've never had the ABS light come on before. All the tutorials I've read on any work involving hub removal says to detach all the clips and unplug the sensor wire. I saw myself that he did not unplug the harness where it sits up on the frame, so thinking it may have had some tension that could cause damage. Can the wiring pull partway loose from the sensor or plug? I looked when I got home and can see no obvious damage to the wiring itself, like worn sleeving or kinks with wires exposed. I did squeeze on the plug some more, and push in on the wire where it goes into the hub, then took it for another test drive around town. The light did not come on any more and I didn't get any more of the wierd groaning ABS action.

So any opinions? Is it possible the wiring got pulled partway loose where it attaches to the sensor or the plug? Any fix for this or am I looking at a new hub? (Checked for sensor pricing only and it's nearly as much as a new hub anyway.) Or could it be coincidence that the same time this work was done, the rust built up just enough around the sensor to cause this problem? This is an aftermarket hub I put on a couple years ago, and I've read that some of these don't have sensors that can be removed to clean the rust.....HELP!

 

sounds like the senor is damaged. im had the same problem with my blazer started with my abs light go on and off when i hit a bump on the driverside wheel and like u said. when i went to park at autozone a loud groan and resitance in the brake pedal i almost went over the curb cause i couldnt stop so i just pulled the abs fuse everything fine now except my abs light is on. going to replace the hub soon so i get the sensor and wheel bearing. hope this helps. try cleaning the sensor i did to mine and put a new seal in it too no progress. so u may have to replace the sensor. they ar about 60 bucks for it or you can just get the whole wheelbearing with a new senor for 100 bucks at oriely auto parts. good luck

 

I haven't had any more problems since that night. No ABS light, no locking up on the brakes. So I'm hoping the plug was just partially pulled loose, if that's possible, since the mechanic didn't unplug it when he removed the hub. I suppose it could still be that the whole wire got pulled at the sensor, and maybe I will eventually hit the right bump to make it come loose again....but until then I'll keep my fingers crossed!