Sensor

Now that we know the types of wheel speed sensors, we know how important components they are to the optimal functioning of a vehicle. Understanding the causes of malfunctioning wheel speed sensors is important to know where to look for damage and take precautionary measures to avoid the problem.

● Heavy contamination or debris is a primary cause of failure.
● Broken wiring of the speed sensors that can disrupt signal generation and detection.
● Since speed sensors also work with voltage, internal short circuits will cause them to fail. Read here to know about the causes of short circuits in a car along with solutions.
● Driving with increased wheel bearing clearance is another reason.
● Mechanical damage to the wheel encoder, which detects the rotation of the motor, can adversely affect the wheel speed sensor.
● Any other kind of external damage can impair the speed sensors.

Improper or Harsh Shifting: When the sensor for transmission or engine sensor malfunction, this results in poor control with shifting gears on the part of the Powertrain Control Module or PCM. You therefore end up with higher revs before you shift gears or leading late transmission overdrive. Your vehicle is also unable to go to top gear. Harsh shifting is dangerous because it damages your vehicle's internal components such as the mechanical gears, hydraulic lines, and valve bodies.

Inactive Cruise Control and Speedometer Issues: Your cruise control may also become inactive to safeguard your vehicle from the malfunctioning sensor. This is because this car part doesn't only control the speed of the input and output shaft. It also monitors the cruise control. Without it, an error code will be sent to the ECU or Engine Control Unit. This is a failsafe shutdown essentially. In turn your speedometer can also shut down or work frantically in light with your compromised sensor.

Blinking Check Engine Light Whenever You Accelerate: Another symptom that it's your engine sensor specifically that's malfunctioning is your check engine light. If it only blinks intermittently or sporadically every time you accelerate, then perhaps it's a sensor problem. Your overdrive light might also blink or go on and off as well. It's also important to check what error the check engine light is alerting you to.

Troubleshooting and Repairing the Engine Sensor: Your mechanic might have to check the problem with your sensor by running a complete computer diagnostic test. The car computer was invented specifically to make it easier for the repairman to pinpoint what's wrong with your car without having to test different parts manually. Just alert the auto repair shop about the other symptoms that should help them eliminate any other potential issues with your vehicle. From there, they can quote you a price for parts and labor.

Like any other sensor, a sensor can be an inductive sensor (magnet with a wire coil surrounding it) that produces an AC analog wave, or it can be digital, which produces a square wave. Some wheel sensors are designed to detect whether the vehicle is moving forward or backward.

The sensor typically either reads steel teeth moving past the sensor as the wheel spins (this is very common) or in some cases, a series of small, carefully spaced magnets will be embedded in the bearing seal and the sensor will be designed to read those magnetic pulses.

Wheel sensors (WSS) are another example of an automotive sensor. The anti-lock brake (ABS) module monitors each wheel’s speed via the sensors. During an emergency braking situation, the module uses the data to determine when to pulse hydraulic pressure to the brakes, thereby preventing wheel lockup.