ABS sensors not made by BMW??

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Masked Man
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ABS sensors not made by BMW??

Post by Masked Man »

Okay so, the ABS light is on, and finding the version made for the E24 is stupid difficult. I've investigated sourcing unit/s made for the E23 (that seems possible since those aren't NLA) While the rear units are available for the E24, the front (which I'm pretty sure are the culprit/s in my case) are NLA. So here's my question. Has anyone sourced ABS sensors from another manufacturer? The Facebook E24 group had just such a question come up several days ago and that started me poking around. One of the fellows on there, Piotr in Brasil, mentioned sensors from Opel, and Renault. So, I dug up a PN and entered it into Google search and came up with a Dorman part -that I'm not sure is the same- but even though it has a 79" cable, the bloody thing costs about $25.00!!! Yes, I did NOT leave off a digit. Twenty-five USD.

The one I researched was a Dorman 970-5001CD
Please sound off, I'd LOVE to know about a cost effective alternative to $215 ABS sensors

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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

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photo please?
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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

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Hmmmm, photo? How about a link?

https://www.dormanproducts.com/p-73016- ... in=keyword

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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

Post by Brucey »

it looks very different from an E24 type ABS sensor and clearly connects using a different method: I wonder if it will fit?

The BMW ABS sensor has a bolted connection and a skinny protrusion at the end. Thinking laterally I just looked at some Volvo parts and I found this one;

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which is from a 940 model and has what looks like the same sensor as the BMW one (maybe it is too short; need to compare dimensions/characteristics to be sure, but I am slightly optimistic; I think that generation of Volvo used the same style of bosch ABS as the E24 ). Grafting the original BMW plug onto the wiring might make you the right thing. The 940 ones are dirt cheap to buy too.

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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

Post by Masked Man »

Hey Brucey?

According to Piotr,
"the male connector you can source from BOSCH 0265007527 and the female connector from 0265006383. In Poland you can easily buy used Renault sensor for 5USD as a source of connector, then just cut it and solder in place of your broken connector in your wire harness or your original sensor plug." Again, this is according to Piotr not me. I haven't a clue, which is why I'm here, asking.

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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

Post by cjarvis »

Masked Man wrote: Mon Aug 27, 2018 6:19 pm While the rear units are available for the E24, the front (which I'm pretty sure are the culprit/s in my case) are NLA.
I've read recently that E28 front sensors are readily available and the same as E24, except the leads are not long enough. But you can cut and splice the connector from the old E24 to the new E28 and make a sensor with a lead the right length to work. I will likely be attempting this when I get some time.
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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

Post by Masked Man »

Hey Brucey & Craig,

What about coming at this from the other direction? Who else used that same ABS module? The logic here being, IF they used the same module then the connectors will be identical and we can look for proper length cables and the right insertion setup.

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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

Post by Brucey »

IMHO the connectors are a complete red herring; you will have a connector attached to your old (broken) ABS sensor and it isn't difficult to splice it to any new ABS sensor. Ditto wire length hence using an E28 sensor instead of an E24 one. In fact on many cars it is much easier to make a spliced joint in the (sensor not main) wiring harness than to retrieve the ABS plug connection from where it is hidden (E24 rears being a case in point).

For anyone who is capable of using a soldering iron and heat shrink (which is pretty much anyone full stop, if you are prepared to mess about with your brakes) the thing that would be really useful is finding a sensor that is genuinely the same as the E24/E28 one (with any connector fitted). It might be that the Renault part can be made to fit into the upright OK but if so it certainly doesn't fit in the same way.

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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

Post by Masked Man »

Alas,

The likely culprit in my case is the front right sensor and that connector crumbled to itty bitty pieces when the individual put in charge of swapping the OEM struts for new Bilstein units, dis-connected and then re-connected the abs. (Yeah, I know, it wasn't necessary to do that, don't get me started) So I'm going to have to attack that fun task myself. -and some of us are NOT adept with either a soldering gun OR heat shrink- It's not a pretty tale, so I'll save it for another day, another forum.

Thanks Brucey!!
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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

Post by 86_6series »

I installed part # 2 from an e23. Was about 14 inches longer than needed and worked out fine. No splicing.

Exact fit on both ends.

https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showpa ... Id=31_0380

Just do a search for part # (61121365275 Pulse generator)
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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

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86_6series?

What supplier and if it isn't too nosey, what was the cost per unit?

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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

Post by hornhospital »

ECS has them for $188.o4 with free shipping.
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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

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Re: ABS sensors not made by BMW??

Post by Masked Man »

I want to thank everyone who responded to this thread. I have options now that I hadn't considered before and that makes a HUGE difference! This forum is THE BEST! YOU FOLKS ARE THE BEST!!! =D> =D> =D>

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