[chris bowman]

i have a mkiii 2.0 115 tdci
only when on cold start (first thing in the morning only)
i turn on the ignition and wait for the warning lights to all go out
then when i turn the engine over, the ABS light comes on briefly until the engine fires, then goes out and stays out

does anyone know if anything is wrong?
no other warning lights behave in this way
is the battery low, causing the abs to do a recheck?

[smudger]

Welcome to the site Chris, you said, Quote" turn on the ignition and wait for the warning lights to all go out"

What happens, if you start the engine straight away?

[chris bowman]

all the warning lights go off after a number of seconds and stay off.

[smudger]

Thanks for your quick reply, Ah! well, bang goes my theory, don't give up, I'm sure one of the site Gurus will be able to help you, good luck.;)

[chris bowman]

thanks for ure interest. not sure if it is a problem. all infor i can find is "worry if the abs light is on while driving". just out of interest what was ure theory?

[smudger]

Ah! it was a dodgy electrical joint in the dash board of a Ford Cortina I once owned, which caused a similar effect?

Mind you there were a lot less lights on the dash boards in those days;)

[chris bowman]

thanx anyway, i remember the cortinas and mkii escorts when i started driving. much simpler maintenance!

[Hometune]

It may be a low battery. If the car always starts ok and the ABS light goes out then I'd probably just leave it. Sometimes if the battery is very low all the gauges sweep from one side to the other.

[chris bowman]

thanks mate. the engine seems to turn over as fast as usual and the light goes out the second the engine fires so im happy theres nothing wrong as i get no other symptoms. presumeably the abs is confused into doing the abs light check as there is a significant drop in voltage in the ignition as the engine turns over. cheers again

i will however monitor the condition of the battery and get it checked just incase