Windstar Brake, ABS, and Trac Off Warning Light

[tartersauce]

Originally Posted by 12Ounce

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..

[12Ounce]

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.

[zugzug21]

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.

Originally Posted by tripletdaddy

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.

[zugzug21]

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!

Originally Posted by pperrichetti

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.

[Rotorman]

Originally Posted by 12Ounce

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.

[zugzug21]

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.

Originally Posted by 12Ounce

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.

[Pot Hole]

Originally Posted by pperrichetti

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?

[pperrichetti]

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!

[Pot Hole]

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

[tripletdaddy]

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

[Pot Hole]

Originally Posted by tripletdaddy

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

Thanks Tripletdaddy (from a twin daddy!)

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?

[glmartin]

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