Diagnostic Strategies

The J 35616-A Connect9r Test Adapter Kit must he used whenever a diagnostic procedure requests checking or probing a terminal. Using the adapter will ensure that no damage to the terminal will occur, as well as giving an idea of whether contact tension is sufficient. If contact tension seems incorrect, refer to "Checking Terminal Contact" in this section for details.

Most. intermittents are caused by faulty electrical connections or wiring, although occasionally a sticking relay or solenoid can he a problem. Some items to check are:

^ Poor mating of connector halves, or terminals not fully seated in the connector body (backed out).

^ Dirt or corrosion on the terminals. The terminals must he clean and free of any foreign material which could prevent proper terminal contact.

^ Damaged connector body, exposing the terminals to moisture and dirt, as well as not maintaining proper terminal orientation with the component or mating connector.

^ Improperly formed or damaged terminals. All connector terminals in problem circuits should be checked carefully to ensure good contact tension. Refer to "checking Terminal Contact" in this section for the specific procedure.

^ Poor terminal-to-wire connection. Checking this requires removing the terminal from the connector body. Some conditions which fall under this description. are poor crimps, poor solder joints, crimping over wire insulation rather than the wire itself, corrosion in the wire to terminal contact area, etc.

^ Wire insulation which is rubbed through, causing an intermittent short as the bare area touches other wiring or parts of the vehicle.

^ Wiring broken inside the insulation. This condition could cause a continuity check to show a good circuit, but if only 1 or 2 strands of a multi-strand wire are intact, resistance could he too high. To avoid any of the above problems when making wiring or terminal repairs, always follow the instructions for wiring and terminal repair.

All ABS DTCs, except DTC 85; will disable antilock and traction control functions for the entire ignition cycle, even if the fault clears before key-off. The one failure condition that will allow ABS/TCS operation to resume during an ignition cycle. is Low System Voltage. If low system voltage is detected at the EBTCM, it will turn "ON" the "ANTILOCK" and the "TRACTION CONTROL" indicators. Once system voltage returns t6 normal at the. EBTCM, normal operation will resume. Circuits involving these inputs to the EBTCM should be investigated if a complaint of intermittent warning system operation is encountered. All other ABS failures will cause the message and warning lamp to remain on until the ignition switch is turned "OFF" and theft back to