When you’re driving your car, you rely on the wheel speed sensor to tell your engine what speed your car is going at. If that sensor goes bad, your car won’t be able to start. The wheel speed sensor is an important part of your car, so it’s important to know how to tell which one is bad. Here are four tips for diagnosing and fixing a wheel speed sensor problem.
What Wheel Speed Sensor Is It?
There are a few ways to tell which wheel speed sensor is bad. The most common way is to use a multimeter to measure the resistance between the wheel and the sensor. If there is too much resistance, then the sensor is likely bad. Another way to check if a wheel speed sensor is bad is to spin the wheels by hand and see if the car goes into “limp mode” (where it won’t go any faster than about 20mph). If so, then the sensor might be failing.
How to Test a Wheel Speed Sensor
Testing a Wheel Speed Sensor can be done in a few easy steps. 1. Remove the wheel from the vehicle and disconnect the speed sensor wire. 2. Connect an ohmmeter to one end of the wire and the other end of the wire to ground (a metal surface). 3. Touching both ends of the ohmmeter to each other should cause a current flow. 4. If no current is flowing, then the sensor is bad and needs to be replaced. 5. If current is flowing, then the sensor is good and can be used again.
When to Replace a Wheel Speed Sensor
If your car or truck is having trouble slowing down or accelerating, it’s likely that one of the wheel speed sensors has gone bad. Here’s when you should replace a wheel speed sensor:
If your car or truck consistently stalls or has other problems when you try to accelerate, you should replace the wheel speed sensor.
Conclusion
If you’re having trouble determining which wheel speed sensor is bad on your car, there are a few things to check. First, make sure the sensor itself is plugged into the proper connector on your car. Next, turn off all of the power to the sensors and instrument panel (if you have one). Finally, use a multimeter to test each sensor for continuity. If any of them doesn’t have continuity, it’s likely that the sensor is bad and needs to be replaced.