07 Tahoe - Stabilitrack/Traction Control/Brake Light AND ABS lights all on intermittently

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MarkH42

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This is a 2007 Tahoe with 219K. I have owned it since it had about 80K and it is completely stock (2WD). It had a new transmission put in about two years/20K miles ago. Recently the Stabilitrack/Traction Control lights started coming on. After reading codes, we replaced the throttle body and mass airflow sensor. This didn't help. The lights still came on and would stay on for a while, then randomly go off. A few days later, the brake lights and ABS lights would come on and go off at the exact same time as the Stabilitrack/Traction control. I took it to a mechanic friend and he spent hours and hours pulling codes and running tests and replacing parts and was not able to diagnose the problem. Here is what we have ruled out:

Grounds - he has cleaned and checked every ground
Brake light switch - switch under dash that engages brake light
ABS module and pump - replaced both with a good one - no help
Made sure ALL bulbs are working properly

He drove the car with the diagnostic tool hooked up and says the wheel speed sensors were working fine, but maybe one works some of the time. There is no rhyme or reason to when the lights will come on. They will be off for two days, then come on when the car is started. They will stay on for an hour, or for 3 days, then go off when driving the car, or when you first start it. Sometimes it comes on sitting still, other times when you are accelerating. I have tried to determine if turning the steering wheel effects it, thinking it could be the steering wheel position sensor or a front wheel speed sensor that has some frayed wires that lose connection when turning. But sometimes they come on when driving straight. It runs and drives perfectly. There is no performance problem or any other evidence of a problem. This is my daughter's car and if it weren't for the ABS light being on and the ABS system being disabled as a result, I would just let her keep driving it. But I want to get this fixed without throwing a bunch of random parts and money at it.

From reading through the forums on this topic, the battery may be something to check. It isn't old, but batteries sometimes go bad. It shows no signs of a problem and sounds strong, but you never know. I may swap it with another one to rule that out......

Any other advice would be appreciated! This is a frustrating problem on an otherwise very reliable car.
 

Geotrash

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Check and trace the wires for the ABS sensors at each wheel. Make sure all of the connectors are pushed together tightly. Better yet, disconnect each of them and clean them with CRC electronic parts cleaner before putting them back together. My money is on either a faulty wheel speed sensor or the the wiring to one of them has developed an intermittent connection issue.
 

YukonRog

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"but maybe one works some of the time."
Could he verify this, or was that just a guess? The battery would be easy to test. Pull it and take it to a auto parts store and have it tested. And by having it disconnected for a while it gives it a chance to reset some things too. Mine did the same thing and it turned out to be the Steering Wheel Position Sensor. But that also showed a code. You can also check the fuse box, especially the ABS Fuse, making sure it's good and has a good connection.
 
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MarkH42

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I will try all of the above and report back. I appreciate the help! I don't know the exact codes he was getting. He ran off a list but I forgot most of them. I have a simple reader and I am going to try that and see what it says. Thanks!
 

Bill 1960

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If it’s just a plain OBD scanner it likely won’t read ABS codes. It’s worth your investment in a better scanner just to know which corner you’re dealing with. Keep it with you and use it when the MIL is on.

Sounds like nothing more or less than an intermittent wheel speed sensor/ wiring.

OR a mismatched tire size can do it too if all 4 are not the same size.
 

mikelouf2

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check all your fuse and the 40 a under the hood my truck abs and 4 wheel drive light came on it was a IGN fuse
 
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MarkH42

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LONG OVERDUE UPDATE - I have been driving the Tahoe for months now and the problem is exactly the same. If I park it for a few days, the lights go off. Within the first couple of miles, or maybe not for a day or more, ALL 4 warning lights come on simultaneously (stabilitrack, traction control, brake, ABS). If one comes on, they all come on. Here is the weird part. I took it to a mechanic yesterday and he scanned it with his high-end scanner......no codes. Warning lights flashing, but the scanner says there are no fault codes in the system. I am very close to just selling it as-is. It runs and drives perfectly. Does anyone have any last ditch solutions I could try?
 

Fless

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If the cluster warning lights are on, there's a code. Read it with an advanced code reader while the lights are on.
 
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