component tester<\/a> will tell you it’s two back-to-back diodes, one with Vf = 0.7V the other around 3V.<\/p>\nSo, connect 12V to pin 1 (the flat side of the connector) via a 1 kohm resistor, and 0V to pin 2. Multimeter to pins 1 and 2. You will see the output voltage (i.e. the current through the resistor) change when you wave a magnet around the business end of the sensor.<\/p>\n
In my case, the sensor was not the problem.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ABS-FR.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
This was the problem. This “fix” (being a stiff wire rammed down into the connector to make contact with the sensor pin, all wrapped up in insulation tape) didn’t last long, I guess, so they resorted to Plan B.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/ClusterFuck.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
This… was their Plan B. Remove the cluster, disassemble the cluster, cover the warning lights (ABS and Traction Control) with funny putty, and re-assemble*. A two-hour job, rather than the half hour it took me to replace the connector end with a good one from the spare, with good solder joints and heat shrink tubing. Doing the job right. What a novel concept.<\/p>\n
And of course it took me more than two hours to sort out the cluster. Getting the funny putty out is much more work than putting it in.<\/p>\n
* My brother tells the story of the fellow who took his car in because fifth gear did not work. Guy fixed it for R100 in parts and half an hour labour — he replaced the gear shift knob with one from a four-speed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The days of passive sensors in cars are over. Have been over for a long time, because this is the ABS wheel speed sensor used in 2004+ T5 VW transporters, and it has a bunch of electronics inside (I’m guessing similar to this device). It’s a two-pin device, and if you try to measure the resistance, you will get ~4.5 megohm. A component tester will tell you it’s two back-to-back diodes, one with Vf = 0.7V the other around 3V. So, connect 12V to pin 1 (the flat side of the connector) via a 1 kohm resistor, and 0V to...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[123,56],"tags":[124],"class_list":["post-6055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-plague-of-t5s","category-cars","tag-axe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6055"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6101,"href":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6055\/revisions\/6101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.retro.co.za\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/temp.jpg\")
<\/p>\n