my emergency brake light and abs warning lights have been on forever and apparantly no one at Ford Service department or anywhere else knows what to do about this. The light has been on ever since I bought the truck back in 1997. Its a 1994 2.3L Splash Std Cab. Before I bought the truck I made sure the salesman said that they would fix this problem as I noticed it before buying it. Well I obviosly bought it but now its 2002 and as you can tell the Ford dealership never fixed it and I'm looking to see if any of you have had this similar problem. I took the truck to the Ford dealership where I bought probably 6 times. I'm convinced that they just pulled the warning codes to clear them out of memory and then returned the truck directly back to me when they called me to let me know it was ready and fixed, because everytime after i picked it up I didn't have to go a mile down the road and where there was no emergency lights and no abs warning lights after pumping the brakes or using the brakes with force the lights would come back on the dash panel. I couldn't mess with the Ford guys anymore as I actually work for a living and needed my truck to get to work. So I've been driving with both those annoying lights on my truck pretty much ever since i bought it, again that was in 1997. Well this year I go to get my truck inspected and they tell me that it wont pass because the emergency brake light is on. They told me that they didn't care about the abs light, but that if the emergency brake light is on then that means that there is a serious problem with your brakes. My inspection is out of date and I just got a ticket for expired inspection so i'm in a pickle. I don't know what to do, if the Ford guys were so stumped (and they are supposed to know a Ford better than anyone right???) who will be able to fix this little truck so that I can clear up this ticket???

its possible for you to take out the lights on the cluster but that would probably just get by the test. now i think you should go back to them and tell them to get it fixed. tell them that they did not fix it the first time. hopefully you have a record of it. i emagine it is something to do with the brakes and abs.

luis

I would just pull the code myself, it's very easy to do. Before you start pulling the code always checks the fluid level, the MC float is not sticking, the RABS valve and sensor connectors is not corroded and the back brakes are adjusted correctly.The RABS light must be on to obtain the DTC and the key can not be turned off or the DTC will be lost. Attach a jumper wire to the diagnostic connector (blk/org) which is under the drivers dash and ground it , when the ground is broken the RABS light will begin to flash the DTC. If you have a red wire connected to the blk/org you need to use a slightly different procedure. You will have a DTC between 2 and 15. The code consists of a number of short flashes and ends with a long flash. Count the short flashes and include the following long flash in the count to obtain the code number. For example, three short flashes followed by one long flash indicates DTC 4. When you get the code we get give you the pinpoint tests to run and this will determine the cause and you can fix it. Might even be able to get the dealer to do it or at least get the part for free.

Hey I called to ask some people about how to pull the codes that my truck might be storing. I found a code puller for around $30, I think you said I could do it with some wires too but I called the manufacture of the code puller and he said that I wouldn't be able to get abs codes with his device. Do you think i could still get abs codes your way with the "jumperwire"? If so where do i get a jumperwire? I heard I could also use a paperclip??? what do i do with the paperclip to get the codes I found the diagnostic port but thats in the engine bay, not where i might see lights flash on the dash. I appreciate any help. Thanks Ray:confused:

by the way my diagnostic port in in the engine bay, not under the dash. Are you talking about something different?

I just posted these instructions for someone a couple of days ago. The wire Ken refers to is most definitely under the dash. A "jumper wire" can basically be any piece of metal that will allow you to ground out the diagnostic wire (the black/orange one). There's a post on the General Discussion board that has all the instructions AND the codes, post is titled "Anti-Lock Breaks".

The code puller you refer to is for the Check Engine light (which, incidentally, can ALSO be diagnosed with a jumper wire :E )

Here's the thread I'm talking about - http://www.rangerpowersports.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21300

One more question. You keep talking about the RABS Diagnostic port (black/orange wire). I've all under my dash below the instrument panel and do not see what you are talking about. I see a bunch of wires that I believe are associated with my alarm. But not this RABS port. What does it look like? Am i just supposed to look through all these wires or is there some type of port like the obd1 port in the engine bay but in this case under the dash? Do I have to remove the panel below the steering wheel to find it? I'm just lost looking for it. It sounds pretty easy once its found. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

Ok. I finally found the wire deal ya'll told me about. And I performed the test. Here are the results: I got 3 short flashes and 1 long which is a total of 4 flashes. Now according to the corresponding code for 4 this means: "ABS valve switch closed (BRAKE indicator also is on)". Thats great but I already knew that :) Now that I have confirmed that my BRAKE indicator is also on along with my ABS indicator any suggestions on what I can do to turn these indicators off? Is there a way to clear the codes off? Please don't think that I don't appreciate the help, I just thought it was funny that a Car computer system would have a code for something that is obvious to a human without going to the hassel of searching under the dash for little wires when I can plainly see on the dashboard that both my BRAKE indicator and my ABS indicators are on. Does this make a difference (When I turn on my car the BRAKE indicator and the ABS lights come on instantly (I think they are supposed to do that to check that everything is working right) but then the ABS light goes off for maybe a couple seconds but the BRAKE indicator is constantly on (keep in mind my emergency brake is not depressed and by that I don't mean that my brake has had its doseage of Prozac today but that its in its upright position and not to the floor).

Ok its possible that the floot in the brake cylinder oil is sticking causing it to light the hand brake light. have you checked the level of fluid? for abs i would not know.

luis

Yes I've checked the level of the fluid and its fine. I had a brake job done where I believe they replaced my master cylinder the front calipers along with new pads and shoes. So I pretty sure that it probably has new fluid, and I know these guys would have performed whatever was necessary as far as bleeding the brakes when installing the new calipers and the master cylinder.

This brake job I can only assume was not related to my BRAKE indicator and abs indicators. I don't remember how the technician explained how it might have happened but I was driving around and noticed resistance and loss of power. Some how my front right caliper had gotten stuck gripping the rotor. The rotor was bright orange (glowing because it was soo hot) But they checked the rotor and said that it was ok and turned the rotors and drums then replaced the front calipers and master cylinder. They mentioned looking at the BRAKE indicator and ABS indicator but they said it wasn't related and I told them how much trouble Ford had diagnossing so I told them to ignore it.

By the way where is the float in the brake cylinder? Are you talking about the master cylinder when you say brake cylinder?

yes their should be a electrical wire connected to it. maybe they did not plug it in or something. basically it tells when the fluid is low and such.

luis

Measure restance between valve connector switch pin and valve body with hydraulic pressure applied for at least 30 seconds. Resistance greater than 10K next test, less than 10K replace valve.

Check resistance between ground pin of harness connector and chassie ground. Less than 1 next test, more repair wiring.

Disconnect battery. Disconnect the connector from the module, check resistance between pin 4 & 6. 18-26K replace module, other repair wiring.

I've seen this problem before. on several Rangers and a lot of Aerostars. The fix on almost all of them was to replace the brakefluid reservoir. The test was to jump the two wires that are plugged into the side of the reservoir for the float. After jumping them start the engine and check for the lights to come back on. If the lights stay off replace the reservoir. Of course all this would after you've verified that there are'nt any mechanical brake problems. Hope this helps, 97 4x4