3 warning lights coming on

[MyTaurus8AChevy]

This is about a 2004 Taurus. Yesterday I started our car up to go to the store and noticed that 3 lights had come on in the dash. They are; the "Check Fuel Cap" light, the ABS light, and the Brake System warning light. So I immediately turned around and when I got home opened the hood and noticed that the brake fluid level was a tad low. Last year I replaced the brakes and I guess they've warn down enough to account for the lower brake fluid level. I checked for leaks but didn't notice any. I started up the car again and all 3 lights went away. I thought that was the end of it... but today when I started up the car the same 3 lights were on again. I popped the hood but this time the level was fine.

Assuming that it has something to do with the brakes, why would the Fuel Cap light be coming on? I started the car again and this time the 3 lights were off, so it appears to be intermittent. Where should we begin to look to diagnose this problem?

[shorod]

Since your 2004 will be OBD-II, check for diagnostic codes. Depending on your scan tool, you may not be able to pull the reason the ABS light is coming on, but you may get a clue to fuel cap light.

-Rod

[MyTaurus8AChevy]

I was thinking about taking the car up to the auto parts store so they could get the codes, but was worried about driving the car with the lights on. I'll drive it up there now even though the lights are off and see if any codes are generated, but my guess is that if the lights are off the scanner won't see anything

[shorod]

With an OBD-II system, if the light has come on recently and the codes haven't been cleared using a scan tool, they should still show up, either as history, pending, or current codes.

-Rod