I've seen several issues related to the brake and ABS light coming on the Astro vans. I have a 2001 with 119000 miles and this just occurred on mine. My brake fluid was a bit low which I thought was the problem, but after filling, the light still comes on. Also it is not constant, sometimes after shutting down overnight, the light is off and stays off for a while, then it will come back on, I'd assume after hard braking or whatever, maybe a bump in the road. I see no leakage of brake fluid on any of the wheels. After filling the fluid reservoir the level stays topped off, so I don't appear to be losing any fluid. I'm thinking it's a bad sensor.

Since this model has drum brakes on the rear, I am thinking that there are only 2 sensors for the ABS, one on each front disc brake, is that correct? I don't think the drum brakes are antilock capable.

Also, will a defective ABS sensor cause any safety issues? I don't think they can cause the brakes to lock up can they?

Lastly, can the diagnostic computers at Autozone they let you use for free troubleshoot this problem?

Any advice is greatly appreciated, thanks!

dhspring

You need an ABS-capable scanner. The free scans provided by many auto parts stores do not normally test ABS and SIR systems.

Thanks Blue, will do. First I will pull all wheels and see if there is anything suspicious before going to the shop, maybe it's a loose wire or leaking wheel cylinder, although there is no evidence yet of that. If I find out on my own, I will post the cause of the malfunction.

Does only the amber ABS warning light turn on, or does the red BRAKE warning lamp also turn on?

If both lamps turn on, it may be an ABS power or controller problem. If only the ABS lamp turns on, it may be a sensor (the RW sensor on an AWD is on the transfer case).

Both the red brake and the ABS lights are on when this occurs, but it is intermittent, sometimes it's on, then other times it's not. I'm not going to worry about it, since the ABS very seldom ever kicks in unless you're on a slick surface, and here in Houston, we don't get much ice, I'm going to unload this pretty soon anyway. It does not appear to be a serious issue, I guess this thing fails safe, and at worst case, I don't have ABS, so I'm essentially back to pre ABS days when you pump the breaks. THanks