Rear ABS sensor possibly faulty?

Joined
May 4, 2017
Messages
116
Location
Devon UK
Bike
ST1300
Bike was in the garage yesterday having some work done on it and whilst there I asked for his advice on the ABS light coming on? Now he pulled some codes that came up rear ABS sensor,now after a quick removal of the sensor to have a quick look,the rear sensor has a grove running through the middle of it,does this sound right?
His initial thoughts were no and thinks it's been adjusted wrong and over time the cog on the wheel has wore this channel into the sensor,does this sound right please?
 

jfheath

John Heath
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2570
No there shouldn't be any - but having said that, mine had some small grooves on it when I bought the bike - at some point the sensor had been catching its back end on the pulsar ring. It worked fine for a long while.

You will get fault codes if the clearance between the sensor and the pulsar ring isn't as specified, or if the sensor has attracted bits of metal (it is magnetic) - wire brush bristles are a favourite. There has to be a small air gap, and the castelaltions on the pulsar ring need to be clear.

You can also test the sensor - or I discovered that I could on my ST1100AY (2000).

The sensors are interchangeable so if you clear the codes, switch the sensors over and try again - you will be able to establish if it is a sensor fault or something else.

If the sensor is stuck, do not try to tap it out - the bracket will break, even with very tiny taps. Find another way.

This post of my experience may help. I wrote it years ago when I had problems and the Honda dealer couldn't fix it and I came up with a method of checking whether or not the sensors were working. This helped me to pinpoint the fault to a rear sensor fault - after which I was able to replace it.

You will read it in the links - particularly the last table in Post #1 - 'what the manual doesn't tell you' - but be aware that many of the fault codes you will get from now on will be old ones. (Maybe the ones relating to the arming of the ABS actuators could be new). But in order to trigger a new fault for the sensors, the system has to have armed itself, and in order to do that it needs to have moved forward above 5mph and obtain compatible readings from the front and rear sensors. If it doesn't do this, it cannot arm itself and therefore isn't able to detect whether or not the sensor is working.

(No I don't understand why it cannot report that the rear isn't producing any signals, but this is what I found). I rode the bike for a good few months with the ABS not working, before I eventually got it sorted out. It never generated a new fault code for the faulty rear sensor !! This had me confused for a long time. See the table at the bottom of Post #1

All of this was on a UK ST1100 AY with ABS/TCS/CBS - how it relates to other models, I do not know - although some versions have a different fault code for the sensors, I believe.
 
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Joined
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Northumberland UK
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VStrom 650
Rocky, I think the gap between ring and sensor should be around 0.5mm, it'll probably say in the owners manual?
Please check, it's only from memory and mine is non ABS, so can't check.
Good luck.
Upt'North.
 

Ron

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Feb 5, 2005
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Orlando
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Be very careful with the sensor bracket when trying to adjust it. They break fairly easily I've been told.

Is your battery fully charged. Terminals tight?
 
Joined
Apr 22, 2017
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Location
Gt Manchester UK
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ST1100
Rocky, I think the gap between ring and sensor should be around 0.5mm, it'll probably say in the owners manual?
Please check, it's only from memory and mine is non ABS, so can't check.
Good luck.
Upt'North.
Honda workshop manual says 0.4-0.5mm for post '95 ABS/TCS. Just checked mine on reassembling rear end at 0.04mm.
 
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Ron

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Rocky, I think the gap between ring and sensor should be around 0.5mm, it'll probably say in the owners manual?
Do you have the blue/black tool kit bag? The tool bag has a feeler gage for ABS gap on the outside of the bag.
 
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kiltman

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8826
According to the Clymer the gap is 0.5mm (pg 494) for the front sensor. It also asks us to refer to the specs on table 1 which is located on pg. 558 Table 1 gives the gaps.
Front 1992-95 0.4-1.2 mm
Front 1996-2002 0.4-0.5mm


Rear. 0.7-1.2mm

From what i gather gen I and II for the rear is the same. The front one is different for the two generations The feeler gauge I have that came with the bike is a 7mm

The manual I downloaded says to use the feeler gauge supplied with the tool kit and that one is a 5mm. (pg. 87) I couldn't find a spec for the rear wheel.

The 7mm gauge is also used to set the clearance from the front outside left brake disk and the left caliper holder
 
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jfheath

John Heath
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Update...
will a rear sensor from a 1993 model be the same as my 2001 one?
According to various Fiches I have looked at (Ron Ayres, FowlersParts, Lings Honda ....
The 2000 part # is 38510MAJ781, the 1993 part number is 38510MY3781

Sites like Patzilla and Bike Parts Honda list the 38510MAJ781 as being used on the Pan from about 1995 on.

Googling both part numbers and looking at the pics, its hard to spot the difference, but I guess that there must be one.

Check out the info for yourself - FowlersParts is probably the best option for part numbers for UK models.
I note that there isn't a UK model listed for 2001 - check the label on the frame under the seat for the actual model number - it will probably say ST1100AY for a 2000 model (Y=2000). If that is no longer there, check the 10th character of the VIN.
 
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