Abs issue

[215Expedition]

While driving to work today i kept hearing my abs kick in and out during normal braking and i can feel the pedal pulse at the same time i hear the noise, then my abs light came on steady and the problem went away for the rest of the ride. But when i turned it off and drove it later on the light was out and i had the same problem again. What should i look at first? Btw i can feel the truck pulling to the right also.

 

[gasouthernboy78]

I know how you feel. It can be quite scary on braking hard or on hills haha. Might be a couple of things. I had this problem recently, and replaced both of the front hubs w/ sensors and it helped a little, esp. in your case with the pulling. Unless you have a brake/ rotor problem. Another problem was the rear abs ring in the rear diff. Was broken. Waiting on the parts to fix to see whether or not that fixes the ABS problem I am having.

 

[FordandPolaris]

Well when the ABS light is on, the system is turned off. This happens when it detects a problem with itself. Turning the truck on and off resets this. As was said, the two front wheel sensors, as well as rear sensor. Have you done any work on the truck recently in these areas? In the meantime, if you do not want it to happen for safety reasons, pull the ABS fuse. The light will be permanently on, but at least it is not kicking in when you least expect it.

I have had mine unplugged for well over a year and a half, don't miss it at all. And we have two foot snow storms here.

 

[215Expedition]

do you have a lift kit on your truck?

 

[soylentgreen]

Wondering if there's been any resolution to the problem. I'm experiencing the same thing on my 98. I pulled the fuse a few weeks ago to shut down the system. But, I'd like to fix it if I can. I'm going to do a brake job this weekend. It'd be a convenient time to change any bad sensors or whatnot.

Thanks!

 

[215Expedition]

I PULLED the fuse but got sick of the light on the dash so I put it back in and so far no problems.

 

[soylentgreen]

Okay. Great! Best of luck! I replaced both front sensors and put the fuse back. All looks good so far too. BTW...they made a change to the design of the sensors from 98. There was a thin metal flange for the mounting bolt. The replacement parts have a plastic flange with a metal insert. It's much thicker than the old one, so if yours is as old as mine and you end up replacing the sensors, you'll need a longer screw to mount it. It's an M6 thread.

 

[215Expedition]

Well today it started doing the same thing so idk where to start

 

[gasouthernboy78]

I ended up fixing my problem by replacing the rear abs ring. It had completely disconnected and broken. By replacing that as well as my front hubs with sensors, everything is back to normal.

 

[Rosin]

I'm experiencing the same issue, but I think I know what I need to do to fix it. It started after I removed the front left wheel shroud to access the EGR tube so I could clean it out. When I removed the shroud, I think I damaged the cable for the wheel speed sensor. My hypothesis was supported by AutoZone's diagnostic computer; it said my front left wheel speed sensor was malfunctioning. When I have time and money I will replace the sensor. I recommend having someone check your ABS codes; that should at least tell you which wheel is causing the problem. Best of luck to you.

 

[215Expedition]

I have a code scanner but i do not think it reads abs or transmission codes.

 

[Rosin]

You might try it anyway. I took mine to AutoZone, and they said they couldn't read ABS codes. But later I went back because I had some engine codes, and they picked up the ABS code too.

 

[215Expedition]

I did it and only come up with a P0455.

 

[Rosin]

OK, you're right; that has nothing to do with your ABS. It's kind of lame that you have to buy a different machine to read ABS and transmission codes.

 

[kythri]

ABS and transmission aren't OBD-II codes, they're Ford "proprietary" codes. It's not so much that you need to buy a seperate/different scanner, you just need to buy the right scanner that does all of the work.

Given that a lot of auto parts places will give you a free code read with their generic OBD-II scanner, if you want your own scanner, you should save the money that would be spent on your own generic scanner and buy something better.

There's a variety out there, but they're going to be more expensive than most of the sub-$100 jobs.

The scanners can get pricey, but depending on how much work you're willing to do yourself, they can save you a ton of money.

I would steer clear of Bluetooth/Smartphone App combos, but that's me. I don't trust the app developers to maintain updates.

I bought AutoEnginuity for my laptop a few years ago, along with the enhanced domestic package (Ford, GM and Chrysler). It's $800 today for the package, and does require a PC or laptop, but I've saved far more than that in labor/diagnostic costs that I would have had to pay someone else to do.