04 Explorer EB- 4.6 l Multiple panel Lights on-ABS,4x4 high/low,a/c blows warm

[PBB]

Hello,

As the title states.....I have a 04 Explorer EB 4.6 l with 117,000 miles. I had a pair of tires changed on rear of the vehicle last week. I have not driven the car more than 25 miles since. Yesterday, I noticed the ABS light came and stayed on and my A/C blew warm. I did not have a chance to look at it till this morning. Same issues going on plus the 4x4 high and low lights flashed 3 times then multiple lights came on. They include high temp/low oil and wrench came on.

No codes showed up. I cleared the computer and it made no difference. Before, I go the mechanic route, I thought I would give the Explorer Forum Collective a shot!

Any thoughts???

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[drdoom]

My thought is that you can't change just two tires on a 4x4, all four must match EXACTLY or the sensors will detect a disparity in tire revolutions. Another thought is maybe you have a bad hub or sensor.

 

[imp]

My thought is that you can't change just two tires on a 4x4, all four must match EXACTLY or the sensors will detect a disparity in tire revolutions. Another thought is maybe you have a bad hub or sensor.

Good points. I experimented with my '04, not an AWD, by putting on one tire (rear) which was worn almost bald, the other three near-new. Drove around awhile, no adverse event happened. Drove probably 50 miles. I don't like having differing sizes as it "exercises" the differential gears a bit too much!

I concluded Ford has a "tolerance" factor in the programming to account for the fact that no two tires will ever be exactly the same rolling diameter. imp

 

[shadowless127]

I'm going with dying alternator. My 01's instrument cluster looked like it was haunted right before my alternator died.

 

[drdoom]

Imp I'm just curious, does your '04 have 3 or 4 channel ABS?

 

[imp]

Imp I'm just curious, does your '04 have 3 or 4 channel ABS?

3-channel. The bracket mounting the pump/module assembly has 4 holes in it for brake line outlets, one hole unused. So I gather maybe some had 4 channel, CA, maybe?

I can tell you, the module on this thing is like nothing I've seen. I'm not able to figure out exactly how it works, but it's a totally different approach from my '95 and '99. They had a series of complicated "dump valves" incorporated, the '04 has what looks like 5 solenoid coils molded into the module; they have a center hole which goes over metal posts which are a part of the pump block. At first, I thought the posts had movable plungers in them, sealed against fluid pressure. The plungers would actuate by the solenoid coils, to open and close appropriate ports for fluid flow. More I think about it, the crazier it looks! Description says pump forces fluid under high pressure back up against Master Cyl. piston, preventing foot pedal force from moving it, thus taking braking control away from the driver. It then directs fluid pressure alternately to the faster of the turning wheels, those needing more braking effort.

It's NUTS! If you can tell me how to successfully disable the ABS, or at least get rid of the ABS light ON continuously, I would be very grateful! imp

 

[imp]

I'm going with dying alternator. My 01's instrument cluster looked like it was haunted right before my alternator died.

Interesting! I don't get the connection: warn driver of low voltage? As alt. failed, battery would feed the power needed, until voltage was too low to satisfy the PCM.

Maybe. imp

 

[PBB]

I took it up to my mechanic yesterday afternoon. His original thought was that maybe the battery had a bad cell. I purchased the car last year and it has a Interstate Battery. Apparently, Interstate does not have as good of a reputation as their advertising. We tested the core and it was alright. The "preliminary" diagnosis is the ABS Control Module is gone or on the way out. We have had 34/35 days above 90 degrees here in Atlanta and it causing a lot of problems with the modules. Especially, with GM models for some reason. So, he is going to pull the module today and have it rebuilt (if it is capable of being rebuilt). I thought I would be without the car for 4-5 days but I can drive it without the module. I just won't have ABS available. If figure I survived without them in my old MGB,LOL. Regarding the A/C blowing warm, he believes it is a separate issue and we will check that out at the same time.

My mechanic likes a customer who doesn't mind turning a wrench themselves. He cohosts a radio show with Sam Memmolo and appears on a TV Show with him on Velocity channel both called Sam's Garage. The TV show is on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. It isn't one of those crazy reality type shows. It reminds me of This Old House.

Here is a link to their radio show and they podcast the show on ITunes and Android.

http://www.samsgarage.com/wp/index.php/sams-garage-live-radio-shows/

 

[imp]

" I thought I would be without the car for 4-5 days but I can drive it without the module"

PBB: Beware. When I drove my 04 with the ABS Module disconnected, pulled the feeder fuse, after about 4 or 5 miles, the car went into "Limp Mode", "Forced Limited Power", barely drivable. DTC P2106. I deleted the code, put the fuse back, same deal. Got code P1342 "ABS Module Malfunction". Sent Module to rebuild place, came back not rebuildable, "main chip shot". Bought a used module, installed it, ABS light is on constantly, throwing "VIN Mismatch". But the car runs OK so far. A replacement module must be "configured" with the vehicle's information matching that installed in the factory in it's PCM. The only way to configure it is by use of a specialized diagnostic machine, one is called "Worldwide Diagnostics System" called out in Ford Shop Manual. Almost no repair shops have one that I've found. imp

 

[PBB]

I dropped it off this morning and the put it on the diagnostic machine and it looks like a bad PCM. Looking for someone who can do transfer the the old info to a new/used PCM or it is a trip to the dealer.

 

[PBB]

Does anyone know a PCM rebuild service or company that sends a PCM that is flashed to your vin number with Keys?

 

[imp]

Does anyone know a PCM rebuild service or company that sends a PCM that is flashed to your vin number with Keys?

Yes. I suspected my PCM before the ABS Module, due to DTCs I was getting. Ordered a rebuilt one, $150 with no keys, $243 with two keys set up for it. http://www.fs1inc.com/catalogsearch...hardware=&other_part_number=&enginesize[]=201
Their rebuilt PCM was flashed to my vehicle by them. You HAVE to give them the EXACT ID off your old PCM; must remove from vehicle to get those numbers. The one they sent me matched perfectly.

If you go that route, listen carefully. Their instructions for use of the keys they sent I misinterpreted. Used one key to start the engine ran OK. Second key then would not work due to PATS refusal. Called them; they said I was stuck with one working key. You must follow the procedure they sent, same as in your Owners Manual, under "programming additional keys".

OR, you can send your old PCM to a guy who rebuilds all kinds of Modules. He sent back my ABS Module, said it is not repairable.
He's here: https://www.elseea.com/products/repair-service-ecm-ecu-pcm-ford-f150-all-years
I can't say if he's legit. Gotta decide for yourself. His site looks impressive. imp

 

[PBB]

Yes. I suspected my PCM before the ABS Module, due to DTCs I was getting. Ordered a rebuilt one, $150 with no keys, $243 with two keys set up for it. http://www.fs1inc.com/catalogsearch/advanced/result/?name=&description=&short_description=&sku=&price[from]=&price[to]=&partnumber=&model[]=66&make[]=96&year[]=137&hardware=&other_part_number=&enginesize[]=201
Their rebuilt PCM was flashed to my vehicle by them. You HAVE to give them the EXACT ID off your old PCM; must remove from vehicle to get those numbers. The one they sent me matched perfectly.

If you go that route, listen carefully. Their instructions for use of the keys they sent I misinterpreted. Used one key to start the engine ran OK. Second key then would not work due to PATS refusal. Called them; they said I was stuck with one working key. You must follow the procedure they sent, same as in your Owners Manual, under "programming additional keys".

OR, you can send your old PCM to a guy who rebuilds all kinds of Modules. He sent back my ABS Module, said it is not repairable.
He's here: https://www.elseea.com/products/repair-service-ecm-ecu-pcm-ford-f150-all-years
I can't say if he's legit. Gotta decide for yourself. His site looks impressive. imp

Great! Especially,that you had dealings with FS1! I spoke with them this afternoon. It is tough to buy used parts online. Sometimes I start to wonder if a website is a scam or not. I found them on EBay and they had a great rating there. It is nice to know someone has gone through the process. They have a PCM with 2 keys for $225. They would put my car vin number in the PCM update the software and ship it. This sounds better than a new one installed by dealer for $1,100. The dealer would take a used PCM upload the data from my existing and load it onto the new/used one $300. I would have to find a used one at a pullapart type place and still pay around $100.

At this point, the FS1 sounds like the way to go.......

 

[imp]

Great! Especially,that you had dealings with FS1! I spoke with them this afternoon. It is tough to buy used parts online. Sometimes I start to wonder if a website is a scam or not. I found them on EBay and they had a great rating there. It is nice to know someone has gone through the process. They have a PCM with 2 keys for $225. They would put my car vin number in the PCM update the software and ship it. This sounds better than a new one installed by dealer for $1,100. The dealer would take a used PCM upload the data from my existing and load it onto the new/used one $300. I would have to find a used one at a pullapart type place and still pay around $100.

At this point, the FS1 sounds like the way to go.......

Glad to be of help. I found FS1 to be pretty upfront. Really hope this solves your problem. Unfortunately, it did not solve mine. Still going roundy-round, misleading DTCs, etc. imp

 

[apenland01]

Good points. I experimented with my '04, not an AWD, by putting on one tire (rear) which was worn almost bald, the other three near-new. Drove around awhile, no adverse event happened. Drove probably 50 miles. I don't like having differing sizes as it "exercises" the differential gears a bit too much!

I concluded Ford has a "tolerance" factor in the programming to account for the fact that no two tires will ever be exactly the same rolling diameter. imp

I think the problem most usually happens when you have different tires from different makers, since the tire sizes are basically ratios and not true measurements. There can be pretty big differences between tire makers for the same 245/65/r17 for example. Mixed and matched tires aren't a good idea on these things.

It would have been interesting to see if you had put the bald tire on the front to see what would have happened. I think the front tires rotating faster causes this issue more often that the rear. There's a lot of physics at work and it seems like some people have had more trouble with the mismatched on the fronts.

When you combine RSC with auto 4x4, you get some very interesting things happening.......