ABS Light

[James Morse]

My ABS light comes on seemingly random. I'm trying to determine if there is any pattern to it but I haven't found one yet. I'd say it's about 50% of the time. Sometimes it doesn't come on at all, other times it comes on and if I tap the brake it goes off. Other times doing that has no effect. What can I check to see why is this happening. Owner manual says if it comes on, I still have regular brakes, so it's not unsafe, but, having ABS is nice, plus, I much prefer to have no lights on the xmas tree. Any ideas?

 

[Curious Hound]

Is the fluid level OK in the reservoir? Check electrical connections at the wheel sensors and sensor on rear differential.

 

[Dirtman]

My ABS light comes on seemingly random. I'm trying to determine if there is any pattern to it but I haven't found one yet. I'd say it's about 50% of the time. Sometimes it doesn't come on at all, other times it comes on and if I tap the brake it goes off. Other times doing that has no effect. What can I check to see why is this happening. Owner manual says if it comes on, I still have regular brakes, so it's not unsafe, but, having ABS is nice, plus, I much prefer to have no lights on the xmas tree. Any ideas?

Is this 4 wheel or 2 wheel ABS? If you don't know simply look under the hood and follow the lines from the master cylinder. On a 2 wheel ABS system one line will go to a small block about 4 inches long and then one line to the rear. On a 4 wheel ABS system both lines from the master cylinder will go a large square aluminum box with the 2 lines going in and 3 lines coming out.

This is a 4 wheel ABS valve/module, it will be on the driver's side inner fender.

On a 2 wheel ABS system the problem is almost always the valve or connection to it. A 2 wheel drive ABS valve looks like this.

 

[James Morse]

It is definitely 2WD. Thanks.

 

[Curious Hound]

It is definitely 2WD. Thanks.

He wasn't talking 2WD vs 4x4. He was talking about 4 wheel ABS vs the older Rear wheel ABS (RABS) system.

 

[Dirtman]

Yes in 1999 you could either have rear wheel only ABS or 4 wheel ABS. Nothing to do with whether or not it's 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive.

 

[James Morse]

Does the build plate tell?

If not then I'll have to look and compare it to the pictures you sent. But I can't do it at the moment, so if the build plate is no help I'll have to get back with you in a couple hours, please. Thanks.

 

[Dirtman]

Um, I *thought* the owner manual said it's only on the front, but I could be mistaken. It will take me a bit of time to check, I'm not with it at the moment, please bear with me and I will get back to you. Thanks.

It's rear only, or all 4 wheels. Front only was never an option. Take your time, we are here all day.

Like I said if it's rear only it's very common for the valve to go bad and cause an intermittent ABS light. The 4 wheel systems are much more complicated BUT those modules very rarely fail. On a 4 wheel ABS system it's more likely just a wheel sensor.

 

[Dirtman]

Does the build plate tell?View attachment 65154

If not then I'll have to look and compare it to the pictures you sent. But I can't do it at the moment, so if the build plate is no help I'll have to get back with you in a couple hours, please. Thanks.

It may be decipherable from the VIN but I don't know how to do that so you'll have to just look when you get a chance unless someone else chimes in.

 

[James Morse]

In another thread my VIN is decoded but I didn't see anything on the ABS spec. I couldn't find my thread, I see it was moved to correct forum, thanks.

Here is pic of mine, it looks like it's 2 wheels only for the ABS, I think. There's only two brake lines from it, one comes from master cyl and the other goes to... uh... I guess rear wheels. Wonder why they did it that way, instead of to the discs, but I guess it kind of makes sense, rear is probably likely to lock up first. I guess. Anyway, I hope this helps.

 

[James Morse]

don4331 decoded my VIN here: https://www.therangerstation.com/forums/index.php?threads/more-b3000-questions.195101/post-1864807

just fyi. type of ABS must be hidden in there somewhere... or not...

 

[Dirtman]

Yes that's 2 wheel ABS. They did that because rear wheel ABS is extremely cheap and simple. 4 wheel ABS, or ABS on the front wheels in general costs alot more and requires a much more sophisticated computer system. The ranger is a cheap truck so 4 wheel ABS wasn't standard until the early-mid 2000's when it was becoming pretty much unheard of for a new vehicle to not come with 4 wheel ABS.



But anyway.... Pull that connector off the valve and check for any dirt or corrosion on the terminals and check the wires. If you can't see anything physically wrong there go to the rear of the truck, on the top of the differential is a sensor, pull that plug and check it out as well. If both look fine you may need a new ABS valve. I don't think you can pull codes from a RABS vehicle but I may be wrong, if you know someone with a GOOD scan tool (regular scan tools rarely read ABS codes) it would be worth checking for codes.

 

[James Morse]

OK, pulled connector up front, looks really clean inside, don't see any corrosion or debris. That said, do you know of a good dilectric spraycleaner or grease, and, would it be a good idea to use such on these kind of connections? Is silicone spray an option?

As to the rear, it looks a bit dicey to get to it. I'm thinking maybe with a creeper I can get under and reach up to it, but not sure I'll be able to see what I'm doing, and I don't like working like that. My experience with old plastic parts is I need to be pretty gentle, plastic tends to get brittle and it's easy to break stuff then you are worse off than before.

Lift would be nice. I see one in my future, but I don't have it now. Maybe I'm making into more of a big deal than it is.

I do not yet know anyone with GOOD scan tool. I assume you mean that Advance Auto will not have a good one?

Looks like reman valve about 120 and up. I didn't see new, but reman would be fine. And probably not the kind of part you want to take from a junk (?). Ouch. Maybe it's the rear connector. I'll find a way to get to it.

Thanks. I might stop by Advance, it's 4 blocks away, I go past it every day, and see if they read anything. I'd assume even with it being intermittent that the first time the light comes on the dash, it should throw a code. Maybe.

 

[Dirtman]

CRC MAF sensor cleaner or CRC electronics cleaner (both available at the parts store) for cleaning electrical terminals and you can use silicone grease on the rubber gasket of the connector but not on the terminals themselves.

I doubt advance auto has a good enough scan tool but worth a shot since it's free.

 

[Curious Hound]

If you see a can of "electrical contact cleaner". That's the cleaner you want. As Dirt mentioned, CEC makes some. It's good and easy to find at most auto parts stores.