2001 windstar speedometer and abs light prob

[carruzo444]

I have a 2003 3.8 liter. all these lights came on so I applied a OBD II scanner which gave me code PO720 VSS ( vehicle speed sensor ) this regulates transmission speed with drive axle, motor speed and the odometer. I spent several weeks without doing anything until the drive axle broke. leaving the transmission in what is called neutral "non functional". I change speed sensor and installed new drive axle. windstar is now working great.
A OBD II scan is the best option when having problems with any Ford 1996 and later.

[tacomabobd]

Guys I am at a loss. What is the O/D light and where is it?

Bob

[mtsav8or]

The O/D light is on your instrument cluster. If you've got a button in your shift arm, when you press it to take the transmission out of overdrive for hauling heavy loads, the O/D light off comes on the dash to alert you.

When there are problems with the transmission not making enough line pressure or too much as well as some electronic issues, the O/D light will flash and then stay on. It happened on mine after it was rebuilt causing several trips to the tranny shop. After removing it 3 times, and having the computer flashed twice, they got it resolved. 6 months later it started pumping fluid out the front tranny seal and had to be taken out again, and the seal and torque converter were replaced. The light flashed then too. Only a transmission shop or the dealer can really analyze what's going on though. My OBDII scanner was worthless when this happened.

[Hognewbie]

Originally Posted by mtsav8or

The O/D light is on your instrument cluster. If you've got a button in your shift arm, when you press it to take the transmission out of overdrive for hauling heavy loads, the O/D light off comes on the dash to alert you.

When there are problems with the transmission not making enough line pressure or too much as well as some electronic issues, the O/D light will flash and then stay on. It happened on mine after it was rebuilt causing several trips to the tranny shop. After removing it 3 times, and having the computer flashed twice, they got it resolved. 6 months later it started pumping fluid out the front tranny seal and had to be taken out again, and the seal and torque converter were replaced. The light flashed then too. Only a transmission shop or the dealer can really analyze what's going on though. My OBDII scanner was worthless when this happened.

I had the same sort of issue. After I bought a 2001 Windstar the abs/brake lights started coming on occasionly then about a month later the tranny went out.

Took it to AAmco they replaced both the tranny and torque converter. Now I started having the OD off light coming on. Think has been going on for over a year. Every time I take it back they run the codes and it comes back as a torque converter clutch error. They have already replaced the tranny and torque converter twice and still can't find the issue.

Did you ever get yours resolved?

[mtsav8or]

Yes, it's been resolved for 2 years now. They ended up putting a shift kit in it and they also had to flash the computer twice too.

Mine still shifted fine, TQ locked up fine, it just had a blinking light. I think other shops probably would have given me the run around but they stuck with it until it was fixed. I'm not in love with the way the transmission shifts and it hunts around when going up the hill and making throttle changes. I'm not sure if that's due to the shift kit or the computer but it's different from stock and not to my liking.

I've got about 80K on the tranny rebuild now so knock on wood, I've been pretty lucky.

[Windstartled]

Originally Posted by tomj76

It makes sense that the ABS computer would take VSS information, but when I checked my '96 service manual, I could not find a direct connection from the VSS.

Thanks to a recent repair I have done I think I may have inadvertently discovered how this ABS/VSS interaction works, and only then did it begin to make sense to me.

For the last year or so my ABS light had been on, O/D light flashed every time I used the vehicle (but stopped flashing once tranny oil got warmed up), I had the VSS code, CEL on, rough shifting, and my speedometer only displayed a value that was exactly half my actual speed.

I kept postponing replacing the VSS because it's a very frustrating process and wasn't looking forward to it. But yesterday I bought new brake drums and figured that I may as well replace the rear ABS sensors while rear wheels were off the car so I bought one ABS sensor (they only had one left) and ordered three more. I did not know which sensor was causing the ABS light so my intent is to replace all four. At least that's easy, nothing like the VSS.

So yesterday I replaced the driver side rear wheel sensor along with the drum. Started the engine with a very faint hope that the ABS light would not come on and wow, it did not come on. I wasn't expecting much improvement from this, after all it's just a friggin' wheel sensor, not a lofty VSS. ABS sensors don't do much do they.

I was wrong. As soon as I took the van for a ride something did not seem right. It was shifting too smoothly, engine was too quiet and yet, too powerful. I grew suspicious, looked around to make sure this was really my van. And only then did I notice the instrument cluster: Not only ABS light was gone but CEL was gone too and no, I had not disconnected the battery so it wasn't a reset. Drove all day and is still not back. Only warning light left is door ajar but no human can fix that.

WTF?!


Here is my theory. Vehicle speed data travels from the ABS sensors to the VSS and not the other way around. Actually "VSS" may be a a bit of a misnomer because this device by itself cannot directly "sense" the vehicle's speed, only the rear ABS sensors are in a position to read this value with reasonable accuracy, and then forward it to the VSS which uses it to manage the transmission. Reason VSS is linked to speedometer is simply to pass on the values it gets from rear ABS sensors. I use the plural because it's quite likely that the values obtained from both sensors are summed up to produce the speedometer reading. I had one blown sensor, so the value sent to the speedometer was the sum of the reading from the good sensor, plus zero.

As for the VSS code I guess the computer had somehow detected the VSS was not being fed valid data from the bad sensor, and thrown a code which caused the CEL to come on.

I could be wrong of course, but it seems to make sense. Lesson learned: repair the little stuff first, might spare you dealing with big stuff and big bills.

[94LebConv3La604]

Check your rear hatch door sensors to see if that clears up your door ajar light. I ended up disconnecting mine w/o replacing them. No more door ajar. When I close my hatch I know it's closed and I don't need a silly little sensor to tell me.

[Windstartled]

Originally Posted by 94LebConv3La604

Check your rear hatch door sensors to see if that clears up your door ajar light. I ended up disconnecting mine w/o replacing them. No more door ajar. When I close my hatch I know it's closed and I don't need a silly little sensor to tell me.

Thanks for the tip but I already know in my case it's the driver door that causes the door ajar issue because it's the only door that doesn't beep when I open it with engine running. I tested the sensor by swapping it with the passenger door but the problem remained, and the sensor works when installed on the passenger door. Thinking the wiring was at fault I bought a brand new harness for the driver door, problem still there.

Looks like it's either a wiring issue buried deep within the guts of the van or some esoteric computer problem, which is more likely. Interestingly this does not cause the interior lights to remain lit when driver door is closed, but they don't come on when the door is opened either, even though the light knob (dimmer) is set to automatic and other doors cause the lights to come on and off normally.

Another weird issue that arose over the winter is that the beeper that normally comes on when you open the door with keys still in the ignition now rings continuously whenever the ignition is turned off even without any key being present. So it dings 24/7 whenever the van is not used, only stops with ignition to the "On" position. This is not only annoying but also drains the battery when van is not used for a few days. Unplugging the battery whenever the vehicle is not to be driven for a while works but is not a very practical solution. I suspect this may be linked to whatever causes the door ajar bug, or that the gunk used by Ford to hold a bare wire against the ignition cylinder to control this chime has failed. The headlights on reminder chime does not work either.

[MARZBX157]

Look into the FEM and REM units in the vehicle, this could be the cause of your problems. Others here in this forum who have dealt with this problem might be of better help. Good luck.