Electrical problems

[SRich]

Early this spring I skidded and took out a sign post, cracking my right head light. A few weeks later I had to drive all day in the rain filling that light with water. At that time that light went dim and my turn signals started glowing when the head lights were turned on. Occasionally I would turn the head lights on and the turn signals would not illuminate but if I hit the high beams the problem would come back.It had been that way for the last 2 months as I have tried to find a short or chafing wires. Last week the problem suddenly went away and now my ABS and Brake Warning has come on. I have checked all my lines and fluid levels and have good braking action, proper fluid level and no leaks. I am getting very frustrated by this merry go round of electrical problems and am open for any suggestions.

 

[Mark_88]

Fun, eh~

The ABS and brake warning lights may be on the same circuit, but the lights are not. Looks like you just have one of those coincidental issues that just happens to pop up right after another issue goes away...happens quite often on older vehicles and is nothing personal...

Try pulling the switch from the master brake cylinder...the 2 or 3 wire clip that plugs into the master...usually on the far side of the unit...clean it as needed...but be careful when you pull it out...I just managed to destroy the one on my 96 because it would not come out in the usual manner because it was so corroded that it was stuck in there and no amount of gentleness could coax it out.

Get a tube of dielectric grease and liberally douse the connector once it is cleaned as this will prevent further corrosion...you might want to go through the light connections and do this also at some point to prevent moisture from entering the sockets.

If that doesn't correct the situation then you may need to find the ABS module and check the connection on that also.

 

[Andy D]

The light gremlin is a wet or corroded light socket or wet or corroded harness plug. This is a wild @$$ed guess, based on yr s of driving rusty old heaps

The brake warning light and the ABS are lit in the Rat. I think it is a bad connection at the proportioning valve. The brakes are pretty much all new. Whether or not the rear only ABS works is NBD. I drove non ABS cars for 40 yrs.

 

[rfl]

The ABS light will come on if the power drain is bad enough. If greasing the plug does not help, you may need to check voltage when various things are on (headlights, blinkers, etc.)

 

[SRich]

Wiggled harness for brake fluid level switch. Added fluid to top and have not had more problems. Thanks for the input.

 

[Mark_88]

Good to hear...thanks for the follow up...

Keep an eye on the fluid...as in check it frequently over the next few days. I had the brake light come on with my Tempo and just topped it up...only to find I had a small crack in one of the rear brake lines that resulted in a near no brake situation...fortunately, I hit the brakes before pulling into a highway and the pedal went to the floor.

If you can, find a couple of those brake line plugs that allows you to seal off the lines temporarily. This will allow you to get home and fix it properly with either front or rear only brakes. My Tempo had four brake lines that allowed to only have to plug one line to the rear to be driveable...might save you a tow and some other expenses...