Hey Guys,

1999 camaro z28/ls1 convertible everything stock.

Currently my ASR off light is illuminated the second I start the car and the ASR switch on the dash wont do anything? (YES my car is factory equipped with ASR, and it used to work).

The light on the ASR switch itself next to the fog lamps switch blinks once really quick when I first start the car, and the switch will NOT turn the ASR on.

I do not seem to have any issues with ABS (I haven't tested it and don't know how). I checked and cleaned the rear wheel speed sensors which were dirty with magnetic filings, but the front ones seem to be built into the wheel hubs? I hear the wheel speed sensors and the TPS sensor are commonly the cause of this issue? but everyone else with this issue also has their ABS not working -- my ABS is still functioning fine? at least I don't see anything in the instrument panel illuminated? I have not checked the switch itself -- but I am ruling that out as the cause due to the fact that the ASR should default to ON when the car is started not OFF like it is doing (yes I know some of you out there wish you were in my position, but I actually want my ASR to work the way its meant to work from the factory).

I'm also dealing with a few other issues with my PCV (hose assembly crapped out and I'm replacing it soon, been driving it with a poorly patched pcv assembly) but this is unrelated. I also had the coolant level sensor fail and replaced that. A battery leaked acid all over the wiring harness which goes right under the battery (S166 in the service manual) and I had to repair some of these wires.

I am having an issue ever since the PCV started crapping out, anytime I'm stopped in idle for a while and then go to reverse to pull out of a parking spot I get a good sized puff of white smoke seems to come from the lower left side of the engine block -- but not from the PCV hole or hoses -- lower and more diffuse, there's also a lot of leaked oil around there near the oil filter and above that area), could all be unrelated, but I could just use some general advice on how to get everything going right again.

I'm also looking into purchasing a better code reader, what's the best one to get for around $80 or cheaper? should I get one of those bluetooth ones like bluedriver or BAFX and an android app like dash or torque? will this read the wheel speed sensors or ABS because I don't think my current techtron/pocketscan obd II reader is good enough to read this stuff or give me any live data?

Thanks.
Gary M.

 

since I now have become an expert in this tcs crap due to messing with flex fuel files that disable it, I will chime in here. First check the fuses in the engine bay for tcs. There is one or two. If those look good check the electrical connection by the battery, the ugly thing with the cables. If that all looks good than you need to scan the abs codes. I use a vxdiag nano. It was 118 bucks off amazon and simulates a tech2 or mdi. Worth the cost.

and you are correct, the abs can function normally with tcs not functioning. Mine is currently this way.

 

Thanks for the reply!

I've been working on the car pretty much constantly for the last couple of weeks. I have checked almost every square inch of the wiring harness except for some grounding connectors only accessible from down below, and I have replaced every fuse inside and out (all were good) with new fuses except for the large red and yellow 40 amp ones and the relays. I recently had some belt noise and smoke from the engine that turned out to be the high pressure power steering hose with a pin hole leak, I fixed that, now I think the pumps on it's way out, I fixed some bad wires in the wiring harness where the old battery leaked some acid onto it at S166. Put on a new serpentine belt... I'm certain all the larger awg wiring going to the battery leads are good, but there's a very small chance that battery acid could have eaten the copper inside one or two more of the wires at S166 and I just couldn't see it(I ohm checked and patched all the ones that looked even remotely corroded). I have a BAFX bluetooth dongle with an android phone and torque pro / other apps, I think some of these apps can see the ABS codes? the Chevrosys app claims to see ABS codes and did not find anything wrong in the abs/ebcm module? I cleaned and checked the rear wheel speed sensors, and checked the front ones with my multimeter to the AC voltage and resistance in the service manual while spinning the wheel at around 2 rpm by hand (they are still good, reading at 1.120 ohms resistance and .20 vAC if i recall).

I forgot to mention something kind of crucial because it sounded silly in my head initially, but a long time ago I went to get the car smogged at AAA and the smog guy said he was going to do something to turn ASR off so it could run on the servo properly/safely and he said flipping the switch wasn't good enough I think, I can't remember if this is when the issue started to be honest? I think the ASR worked for a while after that and then stopped working, but im not 100% sure, it could have just never worked after whatever he did. I had no idea it was possible to disable the ASR only via system tuning? and I didn't think to make it a point to check if it was working until a while after that (never cared about the ASR before recently).

I still have a messed up badly patched stock PCV setup that needs to be fixed but I don't think that would have anything to do with it.

I am still getting a P0157 code intermittently (low voltage on oxygen sensor 2 bank 2) that I can't figure out, I will have to try a new sensor soon if it comes back again. (bank 2 is the passenger side sensor in the 99' camaro right? I can't find a for sure answer on that?)

I did notice that I'm at 0.4% throttle when idle in the torque app... I have not replaced the throttle position sensor or done a relearn procedure on it?

The very first problem I fixed about a month ago was the coolant level sensor, and it seemed like it magically fixed itself -- originally i removed the battery and saw the wires in the harness corroded at S166 under the battery and solder-patched those but the sensor still read low coolant on the dash (even with it unplugged), the two leads to the sensor also read as shorted together, I traced what appeared to be a short between the two coolant sensor leads to between the drivers side dash harness (c200) and the passenger side dash where it plugs into the BCM but never did figure out what was going on? then out of nowhere the low-coolant dash light went off (sensor still unplugged) and the wire leads for it started acting properly.... I remember sticking a slotted screwdriver up behind the I/P and wiggling the wiring harness that looks smashed in there just before it started behaving... then I replaced the sensor itself and plugged it in and the lights off.

I'm just trying to give all of the information just in case any of it is relative, I am just learning how to work on cars and trying my best to keep up, I'm an IT specialist so I'm used to wiring and diagnostic procedures, but not all the dirt and grime!

Any ideas?

PS. If I hear some belt squeal after replacing the serpentine belt, and I get a high pitch wine when I turn the wheel full-left or full-right, this is likely the power steering pump on its way out right? I still have power steering, and it still seems to be working fine, but it is definitely noisey.