Windstar Brake, ABS, and Trac Off Warning Light

Hello Everyone,

About a year ago my 2001 Windstar began to show a weird problem that others don't seem to be talking about. Intermittently my van with turn on the Brake, ABS, and Trac Off warning lights after driving it for about 5 minutes. I would say that it happens once in every ten trips. What is odd is that when the lights are on I get no OBD-II Codes. It's as if the warning lights are not even on.

I checked if the ABS and Traction Control were actually disabled and they are (skid when slammed on brakes / squealed tires on take off). If I pull up to a light, turn off the van, and start it again the warning lights go away and the systems respond normally.

I have only found one other person (lives in Florida) that has this exact same problem. He has never found a fix and has just been dealing with the lights.

One other thing I found interesting is that when I use my after market automatic start for the van the ONLY dash lights that are on before I put my key into the ignition are those three lights! When I put my key in the ignition they turn off. Also...if the light don't come on within the first 10 minutes of driving I can drive 300 miles and never see the lights. Rough road conditions don't seem to trigger the event either.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

ABS Trac control has sensors on each wheel right at the axles. It a squared toothed ring with a mounted pickup which must flex as you drive.

Common causes leafs mud will set a light. COMMON
Pickup clearance to wide - slight wear on pickup
pickup loosing maget power
Pickup wires broken inside - where it flexes with wheel or axle VERY COMMON
water in the pickup connector VERY COMMON

Your active trac needs the signals from the ABS sensors so if the ABS shows something odd, both light will come on.

About your auto start. Has the Auto start always worked setting those lights?
Have you tried disconnecting the auto start Main Controller and relays if any?
They say never to install a autostart in these vans, only because sending power thru ford wiring that is shared my give you crazy problems like lighting up your abs trac light. As power is shared in there circuits.

If you have a meter volt ohm you can check all four and compair. One sensor may be on its way out. Broken wires are the harder thing to diag. as its intermit

I agree with everything tartarsauce says about the braking/traction system. Especially about the sensor wiring and need to measure and compare their resistances. If you get the "alarms" when not braking, but only bouncing across railroad tracks or down rough roads ... it adds suspicions to the wiring and connections.

I would add: the entire braking system has to be in good order. That means each wheel should have braking components that are clean and properly lubricated. All it takes is one caliper hanging on the slide pins ... or one set of shoes hanging on the backing plate, weak return springs, etc ... to give you a false wheel-slip indication when braking.

There are codes that can be read ... but they are not OBII, so a trip to AutoZone does no good. The Ford dealer/shop can read them for you as well as some brake shops. Expect a charge for diagnosis ... but it will lead you directly to your concern.

Brakes are pretty easy to detect a fault. Drive up to speed and hit the brakes pretty hard and see if the van pulls left or right. Kinda loosen up your hands on the wheel and let it slid wear it wants.

Remember a sticking caliber say on the left would make the van pull right.

No brake on left - Right brake has brake etc..

You always loose braking power. Never gain. A few calibers stick on hard, but you would notice the smoke right away.. lol

Zugzug21: Thanks for the info. I've recently replaced all of my brakes, shoes, discs, and drums hoping that would help. When it gets a little warmer out I'll have to take everything apart and try to visually inspect the sensors. If nothing is obvious there I'll see if the dealer can find any codes with their computer. I didn't know that they could pick up more codes than I could with my OBDII.

12Ounce: I would add: the entire braking system has to be in good order. That means each wheel should have braking components that are clean and properly lubricated. All it takes is one caliper hanging on the slide pins ... or one set of shoes hanging on the backing plate, weak return springs, etc ... to give you a false wheel-slip indication when braking.

Zugzug21: Thanks for the info. I've recently replaced all of my brakes, shoes, discs, and drums hoping that would help. When it gets a little warmer out I'll have to take everything apart and try to visually inspect the sensors. If nothing is obvious there I'll see if the dealer can find any codes with their computer. I didn't know that they could pick up more codes than I could with my OBDII.

12Ounce: I would add: the entire braking system has to be in good order. That means each wheel should have braking components that are clean and properly lubricated. All it takes is one caliper hanging on the slide pins ... or one set of shoes hanging on the backing plate, weak return springs, etc ... to give you a false wheel-slip indication when braking.


More common are the Front Sensor wires, not only do they move up and down but must turn too. They are exposed to heat cold just about everything 6 or 8 inches from the road. "Stones" You can just turn the wheel all the way left and look in there. You will see the connector mounted with a wire. Just follow the wire and look for wear or cuts. Open the connector etc.

I'm not sure if those lights always came on. It was something I noticed after the warning lights came on when I was driving. I haven't tried disconnecting anything. Yesterday I was actually trying to figure out where the auto start is. I have three boxes under my steering wheel that look like they weren't original equipment...so I'm going to look those numbers up once I crawl back down and get them. I know one of the numbers was 555U which is some type of RF transponder. Thanks for the info.


About your auto start. Has the Auto start always worked setting those lights?
Have you tried disconnecting the auto start Main Controller and relays if any?
They say never to install a autostart in these vans, only because sending power thru ford wiring that is shared my give you crazy problems like lighting up your abs trac light. As power is shared in there circuits.

If you have a meter volt ohm you can check all four and compair. One sensor may be on its way out. Broken wires are the harder thing to diag. as its intermit

The autostart will and must have a Controller or Brain. It will also have relays, some newer controllers will have the relays right into the controller. The Main wires are pretty thick not like say speaker wires. Under our dash, theres nothing wire tied anywhere under there which may give you some clues.
Ford does use Black Electrical tape tho, so dont let that confuse you.

The OBDII codes are those (mandated by Uncle Sam) that all gasoline powered vehicles, '96 and later, would use for indicating power train faults that would impact emissions. Therefore most of them are "Pxxxx" in form.

There are many other power train codes, usually proprietary, that have little to do with emissions .... they are not in the OBDII group and not read by a scanner dedicated to OBDII. There are also other codes that are not "power train" ... the manufacturer has been free to keep these "close to vest" and away from the unwashed masses (us!). There have been various litigations to make all this code info public ... I'm not up to date on the legal outcomes.

I maybe wrong so someone affirm or correct my thoughts. There was a recall on the brake pressure switch was is know for creating some pretty funky symptoms. You didn't mention problems with your CC not working, so this may not be it. It is connected to the underside of the brake reservoir. It would leak and bad things would happen including fire. Do a search in this forum.

My second thought is the transmission range sensor/neutral safety switch has caused some funky symptoms. It is located on top of the trans and connected to the trans shifter cable. I could be way off on these.

I maybe wrong so someone affirm or correct my thoughts. There was a recall on the brake pressure switch was is know for creating some pretty funky symptoms. You didn't mention problems with your CC not working, so this may not be it. It is connected to the underside of the brake reservoir. It would leak and bad things would happen including fire. Do a search in this forum.

My second thought is the transmission range sensor/neutral safety switch has caused some funky symptoms. It is located on top of the trans and connected to the trans shifter cable. I could be way off on these.
If it is leaking the first sign is the brake light.. But does that infact turn on the ABS light? I know mine didnt. NO abs or trac lights... Easy check tho.. If the brake fluid is low, the brake light comes on. Same light as your Parking brake. Looking under the hood will show if its wet under the master cyl and a wet cruise sensor. Mine also soaked my TRS Trans sensor but it didnt act up. Its been replaced anyway.

This may be worth a try. I had both the ABS and Brake lights come on together sporadically on my 95 Winny. Everything checked out ok, but still came on. I couldn't figure out why the two lights would come on together. I said what the heck, I've got nothing to loose, to my utter amazement, the lights stopped coming on after I topped off the already full brake fluid reservoir!?!:headbang:
First, I would never have guessed that low fluid would make both lights come on. The manual lists what each light comes on for, but not the ABS for low fluid!?! It really bothered me that I had to fill it that high, because after a brake job I had overfilled the reservoir and caused the brakes to drag and overheat due to thermal expansion of the brake fluid. Draining some off fixed it.

Hello Everyone,

About a year ago my 2001 Windstar began to show a weird problem that others don't seem to be talking about. Intermittently my van with turn on the Brake, ABS, and Trac Off warning lights after driving it for about 5 minutes. I would say that it happens once in every ten trips. What is odd is that when the lights are on I get no OBD-II Codes. It's as if the warning lights are not even on.

I checked if the ABS and Traction Control were actually disabled and they are (skid when slammed on brakes / squealed tires on take off). If I pull up to a light, turn off the van, and start it again the warning lights go away and the systems respond normally.

I have only found one other person (lives in Florida) that has this exact same problem. He has never found a fix and has just been dealing with the lights.

One other thing I found interesting is that when I use my after market automatic start for the van the ONLY dash lights that are on before I put my key into the ignition are those three lights! When I put my key in the ignition they turn off. Also...if the light don't come on within the first 10 minutes of driving I can drive 300 miles and never see the lights. Rough road conditions don't seem to trigger the event either.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.zugzug21...I would check the rear wheel bearings very carefully. to do this jack up the rear wheel and use a small breaker bar under the tire and lift the tire slightly. It should not have any slop or up and down movement. old wheel bearings or out of adjustment bearings can set the abs light on intermitantly. Took me
a while to find the fault. I fixed mine by readjusting and lubing rear wheel bearing, and it solved the problem.

I have a 2001 Windstar LX with the same problem. It was happening prior to replacing my front pads and rotors. Problem remained afterwards. My brake pressure switch is good. I filled the resorvoir to the top. Problem still exists. I posted this problem and was told some control module may be on its way out, and it is an expensive fix. I can get the lights to go off by turning the van off, then restarting. They stay off for a while, then come back on. Sometimes right away, sometimes after many miles. I cleaned the ABS sensors on all wheels with no luck. I know that the ABS and Trac Control do not function when the lights come on as it happened during a snowstorm and I spun the tires without the Trac Control activating. No rhyme or reason when the lights come on. I tried to see if it was when I was braking, or going over bumps, etc... It happens when it happens. I do not have the autostart feature. When weather and time permits, I will try some of the diagnostics in this post.

A bit of anecdotal information concerning the ABS wheel speed sensors: My Ford dealership says their shop has used several front LH sensors ... but not a one for the other three wheels. This is for '99 model.

A bit of anecdotal information concerning the ABS wheel speed sensors: My Ford dealership says their shop has used several front LH sensors ... but not a one for the other three wheels. This is for '99 model.

If your light is on ABS, and turns off after a key cycle, Its tellin you something. That everything has passed the quicktest. If it then comes back on while driving a few miles, sounds like a Wheel pickup or wiring broken on a wheel sensor thats not visable. You can get codes outta the puter to help you pinpoint things.. but need a abs scanner..

Yeah, it's just that there must be some weakness in the sensor/pigtail setup on that one particular wheel if most/all of the shop replacements are done only on the front LH wheel. They have all the diagnostic tools to help them make those replacement choices.

Yeah...when I first started having this issue that was one of the first things I checked. Brake fluids were slightly low...but not out of range. Filled to the top mark but the lights still kept coming on. Thanks for the suggestion though.
This may be worth a try. I had both the ABS and Brake lights come on together sporadically on my 95 Winny. Everything checked out ok, but still came on. I couldn't figure out why the two lights would come on together. I said what the heck, I've got nothing to loose, to my utter amazement, the lights stopped coming on after I topped off the already full brake fluid reservoir!?!:headbang:
First, I would never have guessed that low fluid would make both lights come on. The manual lists what each light comes on for, but not the ABS for low fluid!?! It really bothered me that I had to fill it that high, because after a brake job I had overfilled the reservoir and caused the brakes to drag and overheat due to thermal expansion of the brake fluid. Draining some off fixed it.

Wow...at least I'm not alone on this one. Sounds like we have noticed the same thing. Seems like no one specific thing causes it to happen (bumps, touch brakes, acceleration, etc). One thing I have noticed is that is was happening a lot less often in the winter so maybe something could be overheating. In the summer it would come on much more often...but then again I did a lot of different things to the brakes since then. If this starts up again once it begins to warm up more (I live in Michigan) I will let you guys know. Thanks for the info!
I have a 2001 Windstar LX with the same problem. It was happening prior to replacing my front pads and rotors. Problem remained afterwards. My brake pressure switch is good. I filled the resorvoir to the top. Problem still exists. I posted this problem and was told some control module may be on its way out, and it is an expensive fix. I can get the lights to go off by turning the van off, then restarting. They stay off for a while, then come back on. Sometimes right away, sometimes after many miles. I cleaned the ABS sensors on all wheels with no luck. I know that the ABS and Trac Control do not function when the lights come on as it happened during a snowstorm and I spun the tires without the Trac Control activating. No rhyme or reason when the lights come on. I tried to see if it was when I was braking, or going over bumps, etc... It happens when it happens. I do not have the autostart feature. When weather and time permits, I will try some of the diagnostics in this post.

A bit of anecdotal information concerning the ABS wheel speed sensors: My Ford dealership says their shop has used several front LH sensors ... but not a one for the other three wheels. This is for '99 model.Your right 12ounce... My 96 had similar problems. In fact it started with dirty sensors,then it became a loose rear wheel bearing, then I got a faulty front LH sensor. The bottom line with these abs problems we all are going to get them. My sensor was a bear getting out, and the plug on top of the sensor broke off causing more problems,not to mention the bolt that held the unit in the cvs axale.

Thanks for all of the suggestions Tartersauce and 12ounce. Looks like my best bet is to take it to a dealer and have them read the codes for the brake system. I've had a lot of problems with the brakes on this after driving it about 20000 miles. My brakes would intermittedly go out when I came up to a light...began to brake (very slightly)...and if I hit a small crack in the road (could even be like hitting a tiny rock) the ABS would kick on and I would only have about 20% stopping power. I fought with Ford like crazy of this issue and they could have cared less. Twice I slide out into an intersection a good 4 or 5 feet before getting it to stop. Dealer couldn't get it to happen...and I could get it to happen on command...so they wouldn't touch it.

I wrote letters...called Ford HQ...even got a response back from an executive...but they all said they weren't going to throw parts at it unless they could reproduce it themselves. My word, my wife's word, and friends words didn't mean a thing to them. I told them I couldn't afford to park the car so when I slid through a stop sign and killed someone on the crosswalk I would take them down with me! I saved every correspondence I had with them.

Want to know the pitiful thing. I had my shock/struts replaced at about 40,000 and I have NEVER had this happen again...NEVER! Someone speculated that it could have been a lose wheel sensor (even though the dealership swore they checked them) that may have inadvertantly been fixed when they replaced the struts.

Yeah, it's just that there must be some weakness in the sensor/pigtail setup on that one particular wheel if most/all of the shop replacements are done only on the front LH wheel. They have all the diagnostic tools to help them make those replacement choices.

I have a 2001 Windstar LX with the same problem. It was happening prior to replacing my front pads and rotors. Problem remained afterwards. My brake pressure switch is good. I filled the resorvoir to the top. Problem still exists. I posted this problem and was told some control module may be on its way out, and it is an expensive fix. I can get the lights to go off by turning the van off, then restarting. They stay off for a while, then come back on. Sometimes right away, sometimes after many miles. I cleaned the ABS sensors on all wheels with no luck. I know that the ABS and Trac Control do not function when the lights come on as it happened during a snowstorm and I spun the tires without the Trac Control activating. No rhyme or reason when the lights come on. I tried to see if it was when I was braking, or going over bumps, etc... It happens when it happens. I do not have the autostart feature. When weather and time permits, I will try some of the diagnostics in this post.

My 2001 has just started exhibiting this same problem. Front pads were replaced about 10K miles ago. Haven't checked some of the other stuff mentioned above, but plan to in the near future.

One thing that I've also heard about this issue is the possibility of the ABS module going bad. If that is the case, I've also heard that I would be better off to get a reman module rather than buying a new one from the dealership. Does any of you know of a good place that remans ABS modules for Fords and if so, have you had any experience with them - good or bad?

2001 Ford Windstar LX, 3.8l w/100,00 miles. OK, go figure. The lights have been on, and off, for some time now. Checked resistance to all wheel cylinders and found nothing abnormal just before driving to Florida last week. On the ride down, it was cool, defroster was on with temp set warm. Lights were on the whole ride. Get to warmer weather, turn the A/C on. The idiot lights did not come on once. Open windows, turn A/C off, lights come on. Can anyone explain that one. Is the control module somewhere under the dash and it needs to be cooled? Puzzled!

Another question I have is there any (easy) way to by-pass the ABS module until I can find time to get it replaced?

Disconnect the fuse to it or the electrical connector to it.

Disconnect the fuse to it or the electrical connector to it.
Thanks Tripletdaddy (from a twin daddy!) :lol:

This may sound like a dumb question, but is it possible to utilize a "jumper" across the electrical connection to fool the system into thinking that the ABS module is working OK? The jumper I was thinking about using is a resistor, which I think is the same "jumper" that has been mentioned on this forum for Windstar owners that were getting the "windshield washer fluid is low" warning message when in actuality it wasn't. It basically fooled the on-board computer to thinking that the washer fluid level sensor is OK, and saved the expense of buying a new sensor. It would seem like this would possibly work on the ABS electrical connection as well until I can get it fixed. Anyone?

I have the same issue Trac Abs and brake lights come on preiodically. Today I noticed that the lamps light when I get up to normal operating temp. before it always seemed irratic. After reading the other posts I'm going to check the LF sensor. thanks for the clue. 137K miles