New crisis.....ABS light on | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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New crisis.....ABS light on

so by the ABS sensor, you are all referring to the little sensor with thte rubber end that is on the top of your rear diff like the one i have pictured in this link http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=329092 (not the part in the bag)?

i was sold a 20 tooth gear in the bag by my ford dealer but when i got home i found out this part is not compatible with my truck. i have a 03 SPORT TRAC XLT and found out my ABS sensor and speedo are the same thing (which is the greasy piece in the picture on the link i left above).

my ABS light came on about a week after i slapped some 33"s on my rig. i noticed that my tranny was shifting a little late and my cruise control was acting funny too. i figured the bigger wheels were throwing off the speedo and later confirmed that by hitting the freeway and using the GPS on my smart phone. found out my speedo was off by about 3 MPH. so i went to my ford dealer to get my speedo problem fixed, and they sold me this little 20 tooth plastic speedo gear for about 5 bucks, and told me the ABS sensor was located on the rear calipers but it turns out this was all wrong. the little sensor i pulled from the top of my diff was both the ABS and the speedo sensor.

so my questions are:
by ABS sensor, you are referring to that little piece that is on the top of the diff that has the little rubber end on it (the one i have pictured in the link)?

if so, do i try to by a replacement ABS/speedo sensor first before i try to get someone to reprogram the speedo with an NGS?

will replacing the speedo sensor fix my speedo being off by 3 MPH?

thanks fellas.
 



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advance auto read my abs codes for me .i need a new left front wheel sensor .
call around your part stores and see who can read abs codes for free for you .
 






....by ABS sensor, you are referring to that little piece that is on the top of the diff that has the little rubber end on it (the one i have pictured in the link)?

Your photo shows an identical part to what I replaced this past weekend. I've seen it referred often as an "ABS Sensor" and a "Speed Sensor". I didn't think it was a "speedo gear" too, but I may be wrong. My understanding is that it measures speed data to feed back to the ABS system. When the sensor dies, your ABS system is shut down until it is replaced.

I saw no adverse impact on my speedo or odometer when my ABS light was on.
 






your speedo gear is in your transmission .
 






your speedo gear is in your transmission .

Are you sure about that? I don't know the answer, but have heard differently in the past.
 






Celly, this raises an interesting point. When I had my abs light on, and the issue was my rear speed sensor, my spedometer still worked fine.

This is something I should know, but dont. If I were to change tire sizes. How would I re-calibrate my spedometer? I don't see anyone taking about this. Is it in the computer tune? Bit of a hyjack, but not really. Sorry.
 






Celly, this raises an interesting point. When I had my abs light on, and the issue was my rear speed sensor, my spedometer still worked fine.

This is something I should know, but dont. If I were to change tire sizes. How would I re-calibrate my spedometer? I don't see anyone taking about this. Is it in the computer tune? Bit of a hyjack, but not really. Sorry.

From my understanding, you CANNOT recalibrate a speedo on a 2nd gen through a computer tune. It's a manual/analog process that can only be done by swapping out a speedo gear. It's supposedly easy to do. I use OEM wheels so not an issue with my truck.

Check out this link for more info. (Google is your friend).
 






i think my X is a 3rd gen (2003 sport trac), and i looked up the part number that was on that little sensor i pulled off the rear diff, and it was labeled as a speedometer/ABS sensor by multiple parts dealers that were selling it. it was going for about 20 bucks. my speedo still works, but its off by 3 mph and my ABS light has been tripped, but ive tested it out and it seems as if the ABS is still kicking in. im confused. should i spring 20 bucks for a new sensor and hope that fixes it, or should i just bite the bullet and try to have a mechanic reprogram it?
 






i think my X is a 3rd gen (2003 sport trac)

The 2001-2003 Sports and Sport Tracs are technically 2nd gen. The Sport Trac didn't get its transformation until 2004 (and the Sport was discontinued at end of 2003 model year). A lot of parts from 2nd gen Sport Tracs/Sports work on other 2nd gen Explorers.

2001 marked a major cosmetic overhaul of the 2 door Sport models, but they were still functionally similar to 98-00 Sports. The Sport Trac was introduced to the Explorer stable in '01 as well, but it wasn't mechanically much different than a Sport.
 






From my understanding, you CANNOT recalibrate a speedo on a 2nd gen through a computer tune. It's a manual/analog process that can only be done by swapping out a speedo gear. It's supposedly easy to do. I use OEM wheels so not an issue with my truck.

Check out this link for more info. (Google is your friend).


thanks for the link, but i think i have a different set up. this is what the guys at my dealership would help me fix my problem, but when i got home, i realized i had a different tranny set up. my mechanic told me he would give it a shot with his computer and see if he could recalibrate it. ill let you fellas know how it goes.
 






thanks for the link, but i think i have a different set up. this is what the guys at my dealership would help me fix my problem, but when i got home, i realized i had a different tranny set up. my mechanic told me he would give it a shot with his computer and see if he could recalibrate it. ill let you fellas know how it goes.

I'd be surprised if the calibration of a '03 Sport Trac is any different than other 2nd gens.

Now if you drove a '03 XLS/XLT/Limited/Eddie Bauer (i.e. traditional 4 door SUV, not the Sport Trac), I'm pretty sure you can program the speedo electronically.

That link I sent you looks like it was for a 1st gen, but the concepts are the same with a 2nd gen if I recall.
 






so if the 1st gen and 2nd gens are the same, and my sport trac is pretty much a 2nd gen, can you help me figure out where that little 20 tooth gear goes? does it fit somewhere on the transmission? im pretty sure it doesnt go anywhere near the differential. if i CAN use the 20 tooth gear on mine that would be great but i just dont know where it woud go. ive already read that link that someone posted earlier about changing this little gear but im still unclear about where to find this little speedo gear. please advise. i can take pictures of my tranny and diff and post if that helps, but if you think i can use this 20 tooth gear to manually readjust my speedo that would be great. thanks guys.
 






if you have a mechanical speedo(not digital)you need to just follow the speedo cable from the firewall to the transmission .the gear will mount behind the cable where it enters the transmission.
 












check the link in post number 27 ,theres a picture there you can click on and blow it up .shows the location of that gear .
 






I changed the ABS sensor on my explorer, the one on the rear diff. It didnt change a thing the ABS light turns on as it should when i start it up, but it comes on after driving it for like 10 seconds and stays on. What other problems are there and are they easy to fix on my own?
 






call around your local parts stores and see if any of them can read your abs codes for free. advance auto read mine for me on my 2000 ford van .
if replacing the rear sensor didnt work (i did the same thing..lol)then its one of the ones up front .
a abs code reader can tell you which one .
 






Rear sensor issue solved my ABS code. Pretty easy to replace too.
 






Yup, without having the codes read at this point you are going to be guessing with some expensive parts.

Odds are, the issue is one of the wheel bearings (abs sensors in the front are part of the wheel bearing). Which one? Get the code read and you won't be guessing.
 



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98-01 Ex's have no speedo gear. The speedometer uses the ABS/speed sensor in the diff. All speed related issues(i.e. speedo, ABS, shift points etc.) use that one sensor. If you check the t-case rear output you'll see the blank hole where the speedo gear used to be. Other than an aftermarket electronic re-calibrator a reprogram is your only option to fix the speedo when going with bigger tires.
 






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