Paying attention to your automobile is very important in these modern times, indeed, if you do not do the minimum routine service of it, or if you do not take into account symptoms of abnormality, you strongly risk to observe your car withering away. This is exactly the topic we are going to discuss on this webpage, one of the indicators that most disturbs motorists is the ABS warning light on Cadillac ATS. In an attempt to help you review this warning light, we will first check out what this ABS warning light corresponds to, then in a second what you can do if the ABS light is on Cadillac ATS?.

abs-light-stays-on-cadillac-ats

What does the ABS light on Cadillac ATS mean?

We will commence our article with the definition of an ABS warning light on Cadillac ATS, to do this, in first, we will discover what an ABS is, and afterwards, why the ABS light on your car lights up.

What is the ABS on Cadillac ATS?

To start with, it is vital to explain to you what the ABS of your Cadillac ATS is employed for so that you can understand the remaining of this guideline. The ABS (Anti-lock Braking System) is a system that prevents the wheels of your car from locking during braking. The goal of this system is to lower the braking distance of a car by preventing the wheels from locking, sliding on the road and you losing control of your car. The ABS system of your Cadillac ATS is made from several parts, here they are:

  • Speed sensors on each wheel, which will review if one of the wheels locks up.
  • A hydraulic system and valves that will manage the pressure of the pads on the discs to manage the braking power of the car
  • A computer that is the control center of your entire ABS system as well as the ABS light of your Cadillac ATS

.
In reality, you can very easily feel how your car’s ABS works. If you have to steer, you will find that your car will brake by pawing, this is precisely the behaviour that ABS allows, it will optimise braking to the maximum by linking the phases of pressure on the brake discs and the phases of release to prevent the wheels from locking up.

Meaning of an ABS light on Cadillac ATS

Now we proceed to the section that you are certainly more keen on, meaning of an ABS warning light on a Cadillac ATS? To begin with, it is an orange light, so if it is on it means that your ABS system is defective. You should be advised that whenever the ABS warning light is on, the ABS will be put into safety mode, so you should change your driving and not take any risks. Here are the different problems that the ABS warning light on your Cadillac ATS can signal:

  • It could be a simple short circuit, a damaged wiring harness, a defective relay or fuse. Use a pressure gauge to verify it.
  • A malfunctioning ABS sensor: A failure of one of them causes the ABS light on your Cadillac ATS to come on
  • The ABS hydraulic block of your Cadillac ATS: If it is defective it is possible that the indicator light will turn on and you will no longer be able to use your ABS.
  • The ABS computer: If the computer has a trouble, being the center of all decisions made to manage your ABS, the light will undoubtedly come on.

What if the ABS light comes on on my Cadillac ATS?

We will now proceed to the section where we will try to give you some answers to switch off this light, and thus answer the following question, what to do if the ABS light is on on my Cadillac ATS?. The answers will be contingent on the deficiencies you are having. To begin with, pass your Cadillac ATS to the diagnostic tool, if you don’t know how to read a fault code on Cadillac ATS, don’t think twice to examine our guideline which details the steps to take. Once you have identified the origin of your problem, here are the steps to take to fix it and turn off the ABS light on your Cadillac ATS:

  • Trouble of the ECU or the hydraulic block: It can only be altered, and in this case, you will have to go through a specialist, but if it’s dead, it could cost you around 1000€ to change the ECU and 1500 to 2000€ if you have to change both of them.
  • Electrical problem: Once you’ve spotted an electrical problem with your manometer, if it’s only a fuse or a relay, count around 10€ maximum, otherwise you’ll have to repair the wiring harness.
  • A defective sensor: Sometimes a simple cleaning of the sensors will be enough to solve the problem, otherwise changing a sensor can cost up to a few hundred euros.

If you want more guides on the Cadillac ATS, go to our Cadillac ATS category.