4wd And Abs Lights Always Coming On

[Big Zil]

I have a 1995 R33 GTR and have been having a problem with the 4WD and ABS lights coming on over the last 6 months now. I have reviewed many of the related topics on this forum but have not come across any with the following symptoms.

The circumstances under which the lights come on vary all the time but I can summarise as follows:

• If I warm the car up for 5 to 10 minutes the lights generally will stay off and I will have torque going to the front wheels under accelleration as per normal.
  
• Sometimes when getting into the driver's seat after warmup, the lights will come on as soon as I plonk down in the seat (as if my weight transfer into the seat has triggered the lights to come on - I always here the pump pressurizing when the lights come on).
  
• If the lights have stayed off from start-up, sometimes they will come on if I have had a bad gear change where I ride the clutch a little (I have a brass button clutch).
  
• If the lights have stayed off and I engage the clutch at an intersection getting ready to stop, the lights will sometimes come on.
  
• Sometimes the lights come on immediately on start-up.
  

Now, after looking at a number of threads where people are having issues with the Attessa system, the one thing that people seem to say is to check the LED in the boot. On my R33 GTR, I cannot see any LED on the Attessa unit. I have checked this when the car is off, visually looking for this light, I have looked for it when the ABS and 4WD warning lights are on in the car both during the day and night to see if there is any kind of flashing anywhere in the boot and I cannot see anything.

The canister in the boot sits slightly above MAX when the car is off and when it is on and the pump has kicked in, it sits slightly above the MIN line.

I currently seem to have an issue with the clutch at the moment but don't know if this is the cause of some of my driveline problems. The gears are slightly sticky with the clutch engaged when the car is at a standstill. I have done a gearbox oil change and although I thought the gear changes were alot smoother at first, the problem is pretty much back. If I am in stop/start traffic and I am in 1st gear and am clutching in and out as the traffic slowly moves, I find that the car still moves forward even when the clutch is down to the floor and I take my foot off the brake. It's almost as if the car is an auto and you take your foot off the brake while in Drive and it takes off. Obviously I have a clutch adjustment issue but is this enough to throw the Attessa into disarray?

One thing to note, the car has a Field Electronic Torque Split Controller installed but I leave this switched off.

I had the car down at Amberley Autos in Dandenong, Vic late last year but wouldn't you know it, the car behaved itself and they couln't find any faults - they even checked the computer for error codes but couln't find anything wrong. The only advice they gave me was to get rid of the ETS controller.

I would appreciate any helpful advice on this as these ongoing problems are starting to drive me nuts and making it hard to enjoy all aspects of the GTR.

Edited March 31, 2008 by Big Zil

[CDNDarkside]

I have a 1995 R33 GTR and have been having a problem with the 4WD and ABS lights coming on over the last 6 months now. I have reviewed many of the related topics on this forum but have not come across any with the following symptoms.

The circumstances under which the lights come on vary all the time but I can summarise as follows:

• If I warm the car up for 5 to 10 minutes the lights generally will stay off and I will have torque going to the front wheels under accelleration as per normal.
  
• Sometimes when getting into the driver's seat after warmup, the lights will come on as soon as I plonk down in the seat (as if my weight transfer into the seat has triggered the lights to come on - I always here the pump pressurizing when the lights come on).
  
• If the lights have stayed off from start-up, sometimes they will come on if I have had a bad gear change where I ride the clutch a little (I have a brass button clutch).
  
• If the lights have stayed off and I engage the clutch at an intersection getting ready to stop, the lights will sometimes come on.
  
• Sometimes the lights come on immediately on start-up.
  

Now, after looking at a number of threads where people are having issues with the Attessa system, the one thing that people seem to say is to check the LED in the boot. On my R33 GTR, I cannot see any LED on the Attessa unit. I have checked this when the car is off, visually looking for this light, I have looked for it when the ABS and 4WD warning lights are on in the car both during the day and night to see if there is any kind of flashing anywhere in the boot and I cannot see anything.

The canister in the boot sits slightly above MAX when the car is off and when it is on and the pump has kicked in, it sits slightly above the MIN line.

I currently seem to have an issue with the clutch at the moment but don't know if this is the cause of some of my driveline problems. The gears are slightly sticky with the clutch engaged when the car is at a standstill. I have done a gearbox oil change and although I thought the gear changes were alot smoother at first, the problem is pretty much back. If I am in stop/start traffic and I am in 1st gear and am clutching in and out as the traffic slowly moves, I find that the car still moves forward even when the clutch is down to the floor and I take my foot off the brake. It's almost as if the car is an auto and you take your foot off the brake while in Drive and it takes off. Obviously I have a clutch adjustment issue but is this enough to throw the Attessa into disarray?

One thing to note, the car has a Field Electronic Torque Split Controller installed but I leave this switched off.

I had the car down at Amberley Autos in Dandenong, Vic late last year but wouldn't you know it, the car behaved itself and they couln't find any faults - they even checked the computer for error codes but couln't find anything wrong. The only advice they gave me was to get rid of the ETS controller.

I would appreciate any helpful advice on this as these ongoing problems are starting to drive me nuts and making it hard to enjoy all aspects of the GTR.

I'm having the exact same problem in mt R32 GTR. I just had my engine rebuilt and reinstalled, but since the rebuild and the addition of a Power FC, I get these lights. I don't have any answers for you yet but I'm working on tracking the problem down. I'll let you know if I find anything.

[Big Zil]

Thanks - your help would be appreciated.

Just to let you know, I had 1 whole week without these lights coming on - it was great to have 4wd back. It seemed to have corrected itself after I gave the car a good squirt one day with the lights on. Then later that night, took the car out and suddenly no ABS or 4wd warning lights (Warmed her up for a good 10 minutes though before driving off).

Problem has been back for about 3 days now though. Frustrating to put it mildly.

[gts4diehard]

the fluid solunds quite low in the attessa resovoir, try topping up the attessa fluid. The reading needs to be done whilst the car is on - as the system has then primed the clutch pack ready to activate the FWD when necessary and the fluid drops in the tank as a consequence.

The attessa computer may be playing up because the level may be moving below 'low' sometimes when you are driving. Maynot be the problem but probably one of the easiest solutions to try.

P.S. could also be an air lock problem in the attessa, did the guys who did the clutch disconnect the attessa when the clutch was fitted. Its a pretty easy thing to bleed on the R32s, not sure about the R33s.

Q; with the 'Field Electronic Torque Split Controller' turned off, does the car revert back to the OEM attessa controller? if the above don't fix it then it might be an idea to remove the 'Field Electronic Torque Split Controller' or atleast check the connections where it joins the wiring loom.

good luck.

[Ryan1200]

I had a similar issue with my 33Gtr it turned out to be a bad earth on the back of the alternator. Make sure the earth is tight mine was only slightly loose and it was causing this problem.. I removed the bolt cleaned the terminal with some wet and dry to give a good contact did it up nice and tight and it fixed my problems..

Edited April 15, 2008 by Ryan1200

[Big Zil]

Thanks to all your replies - I will try your suggestions.

gts4diehard - to answer your question regards the Field ETS controller, Yes, when it's switched off the factory Attessa computer kicks in. I have tried checking the wires in the boot using a mirror (I know, not the best method) but didn't pick up anything with the connections. I suppose I will take the black metal backing plate off to have a proper look. Did notice that all the wires look to have been taped at similar points, probably where they are joined to the wiring loom that connects to the Attessa computer. Not sure if an air bleed was performed when the clutch went in, as the car came with the clutch. I attempted this bleeding myself but didn't get very far - I found a procedure on these forums which was for a R32 GTR but couldn't even locate the air bleed bypass plug that supposedly sits in the drivers side kick panel, so possibly different on the R33.

Ryan1200, thanks for your suggestion on the alternator check. I did run a battery voltage check using my voltmeter but reading was in the normal range, slightly less when the warning lights are on. I will however do that alternator check. I have been having a slight problem with my starter motor though that seems to screech on cold startup, obviously needs a lube but don't know if that's a factor here.

Anyway, thanks for the tips again. Keep you posted on progress.

[Big Zil]

Excuse the delay on the progress on this - I did not drive the car for a good couple of weeks and only did some more trouble-shooting over the weekend just gone by.

I added some ATF to the reservoir in the boot following GTS4diehard's advice - it now sits about 1 cm above the MAX line after the 4wd system is primed. Took the car out and put it through it's paces for about 10 minutes and all was fine, however, both 4wd and ABS warning lights came on while driving down a straight. Pulled over and switched the car off for about 2 minutes which cleared the problem but then about 5 minutes later after giving the car a squirt, the lights came back on about 30 seconds after this. Overall, I must say that there has been an improvement as the lights have come on less frequently. There have been no occurences of the warning lights coming on at start-up.

Didn't get a chance to check the alternator connections but will check these tonight.

Edited May 5, 2008 by Big Zil

[Hesh]

ive got this exact problem on my r33 gts4 saloon. except to say that ive got falut code 63 which is the g sensor.

BUT having had the car on a consult today its tellin me that the g sensor is fine. (via the abs still cant get into the 4wd) ive checked the level of fluid inthe boot and it isnt dropping very far at all ..may be 1cm or so at start up ..but still above the min.

[blind_elk]

...it now sits about 1 cm above the MAX line after the 4wd system is primed...

That's too high. The fluid level needs to be between the MIN MAX markers when the ignition is ON.