something weird happened yesterday

[zilla]

So i come back to my car after it's been parked outside all day in sub -20C temperatures and start the car. After i started to leave the parking lot, the ABS/Brake light turned on and started beeping. The light only came on for a second or two and didn't come back. The happened once before a few weeks ago, again when it was very cold outside.

Is this just the cold wreaking havoc on the electronics? I don't have break wear sensors on the car, either.

any ideas?

[R_Ethug]

Re: something weird happened yesterday

your brake fluid could be low.. or the rear brakes were stuck on from the ebrake maybe.

[zilla]

Re: something weird happened yesterday

i didn't engage the e-brake specifically because i didn't want it to get frozen. i just left it in gear.

if the brake fluid was low, the light would be on constantly (it happened to me before so i know) plus the brakes don't feel mushy at all.

Like i said, it's happened only twice in about 3 weeks, and only when it's really cold.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: something weird happened yesterday

Perhaps just some ice/moisture buildup in the brake system and once you get going they warm up and melt it away

[dubCanuck1]

Re: something weird happened yesterday

I had a similar issue a while back. Turned out that my positive battery terminal had worked itself loose a little bit and was intermittently disconnecting, causing temporary power blips.

[JustALilBit]

Re: something weird happened yesterday

I have the exact same issue. Except once it came on when I was driving for an hour or so to...
And only when its cold out.
Im gonna disconnect the battery probably tonight and see what happends. Ill let you know what I find

[RobG]

Re: something weird happened yesterday

I don't take any warning lights too seriously when it's below -20C

[Bullfrog]

Re: something weird happened yesterday

Sounds like you may have some snow/condensation/moisture build up in the wheel speed sensors.

[gtx]

Re: something weird happened yesterday

it happens to my wife all the time on our passat,it is probably a mechanical fault.As explained to me,it happens generally when it is very cold or a lot of snow.you excellerate to get moving and the front wheels spin faster than the rear wheels,when the abs unit notices an exterme difference in tire rotation
front to back it will trigger a fault.it will go away after a couple of drives.