2003 olds silhouette. The abs light and traction light have come on a couple of times

Big Poppa Marv

• 302 Answers
• Posted on Dec 07, 2008

SOURCE: 2003 Oldsmobile Silhouette Trac System and ABS Stop working

I think your abs sensor is dirty and needs to be cleaned.

There are many things that can cause your ABS light to come on. Some are serious, so you should never just ignore the light. But there are times when the light comes on and can be met with a simple solution. For instance, a dirty ABS wheel sensor can cause the system to trigger the ABS light during self evaluation. You'll be shocked when you see how much road gunk can accumulate on this very important sensor.
Even if your ABS light hasn't made an appearance, it's a good idea to clean the sensor. A good time to do it would be during brake pad replacement when you have the wheels off anyway
Begin by loosening your wheel lugs, then jack the front of the car up and rest it securely on jack stands. With the car safe, remove the wheel lugs and take the front wheels off.
With the wheel off, turn the steering wheel all the way in, opposite the side your working on. For example if your working on the passenger side, turn the wheel all the way toward the drivers side.

Locate the ABS wheel sensor. Remove the bolts that attach it to the rest of the suspension. You may also need to remove a few bolts to pull the sensor away from the vehicle for cleaning. Follow the line to see if there are more bolts. Remember not to force it or pull too hard. Then along the line theres another two 10mm bolts, that need to be removed, just follow the abs sensor line to get at them.

With the sensor free, take your rag and wipe the sensor until its clean. I prefer not to use any chemicals on the sensor to avoid potential problems. If you need to, use mild soapy solution and rinse well.
Reinstall the sensor in the same manner it was removed.

SOURCE: 2002 Oldsmobile Silhouette ABS Light is on and

The first thing i would check is all 4 abs sensors at the wheels.You can do this with a volt meter set on ac voltage and spin the wheel if it generates voltage at all on the meter its good.

SOURCE: 2001 oldsmobile silhouette traction corntol is off and ABS light

I agree with the post about the tail lights. And the symptom about the brakes on when starting was also helpful. When I took off my rear tail lights and removed the top light bulb (top of the 4 is closest to connector) then repeat starting the car the problem is gone. I have a whole drawer of these bulbs that I removed, not because the filament was burned out, but because the base (similar to circuit card edge connector) had heat damage and melted. I am not sure exactly what the problem is but I think there are multiple conductors in the fixture which are too close or get moisture shorts. Anyway I hypothesize the circuit for daytime running lights is leaking current into the brake light circuit, and it causes that module that controls traction control and ABS to declare a fault. When you start with foot on the brakes the brake lamp is pulled on (I don't know if switches hi or lo) so that module doesn't declare the fault until you release the brakes.

I put in new bulbs and it works fine for now, but I know it may reappear some day then I will repeat, disassembly of the fixtures and inspect bulb bases for heat damage and clean out and replace. That is what did the trick for me.

Thanks Fixya and all contributors

SOURCE: auto traction and cruise control problems

Just replaced both front bearings on my 2000 olds silhouette, the traction control light / ABS light is still on. What do i do?

SOURCE: Just replaced both front bearings on my 2000 olds

You have to go to a shop and get them to put it on an ABS scanner to see if you broke a wire or the codes just need to be reset. only a scan can tell you what is wrong and it should not cost very much if any thing to do this