2008 4.6 Sport Trac. ABS light and anti-skid light comes on intermittently (on for a bit then off with varying times spans).

[Banjoman47]

Hello. Have a 2008 4.6 Sport Trac 70K miles. Problem: The ABS light will come on along with the anti skid light which activates the "wrench" light. Then, within seconds, sometimes minutes, the lights go off leaving only the wrench light activated. When I stop and turn off the ignition, everything appears to re-set. I've gone as long as a couple of months without this happening but now it is happening with great frequency (daily). What is causing this and is it something I can repair myself. I'm "wrench handy" and have recently replaced the master cylinder and rear brake drums, front pads, etc on my wife's Escape. Thanks!
PS Just took the ST out and once on the road the lights were "triggered" within one minute. They stayed on for about 30-40 seconds then went off only to come back on within a minute or two.

 

[bdmaash]

could be your wheel speed sensor, scan to see which one is intermittent.

FYI, I bought the torque app for android and a Bluetooth OBD dongle to get realtime guages
used it to figure out which wheel sensor was bad on my truck by monitoring all 4 wheel/abs sensors whilst driving
when a sensor is missing the traction control and abs are disabled because traction/brake corrections will be wrong.

pretty easy fix, sensor price varies by brand and wheel location, but I think it is only 1 bolt to remove the sensor.

other way - get scanned at parts store if the code is stored.

 

[Banjoman47]

HELP! Regarding my 2008 Sport Trac. While tracing a wire in the cabin, I lifted up the floor mat. The entire underside of the floor mat is soaking wet! Front and rear. The padding is soaked. Has anyone had this happen? Or any suggestions as to where this water is coming from? Also, how in the world will I get this dried out? I can't imagine having to pull all the seats out but I don't know if it's possible to "lift" the floor mat up far enough to get a blower to dry it out. Any thoughts, suggestions?

 

[RSM]

Hello. Have a 2008 4.6 Sport Trac 70K miles. Problem: The ABS light will come on along with the anti skid light which activates the "wrench" light. Then, within seconds, sometimes minutes, the lights go off leaving only the wrench light activated. When I stop and turn off the ignition, everything appears to re-set. I've gone as long as a couple of months without this happening but now it is happening with great frequency (daily). What is causing this and is it something I can repair myself. I'm "wrench handy" and have recently replaced the master cylinder and rear brake drums, front pads, etc on my wife's Escape. Thanks!
PS Just took the ST out and once on the road the lights were "triggered" within one minute. They stayed on for about 30-40 seconds then went off only to come back on within a minute or two.

I had exactly those lights come on,along with codes P0101 and ABS U1900. After much research, ended up at the MAF SENSOR....cleaned it with the proper spray first BUT eventually had to replace it with a new $50 MAF.
It is on the AIR-INTAKE PLENUM and brain-dead easy to replace. If you have those codes, along with the dash-lights you have stated...i'd bet that it is your problem.

 

[Paul Fithian]

Sorry, but you'll have to remove the seats and possibly console to get the mat up enough or take it out so it can dry out. It will never dry out without doing that, and will mildew and smell.

You need to find out where the water leak is coming from and fix it before you put it back to together. Likely a windshield or 3rd brake light leak.

See also 2007 Interior Restoration

 

[RSM]

I had exactly those lights come on,along with codes P0101 and ABS U1900. After much research, ended up at the MAF SENSOR....cleaned it with the proper spray first BUT eventually had to replace it with a new $50 MAF.
It is on the AIR-INTAKE PLENUM and brain-dead easy to replace. If you have those codes, along with the dash-lights you have stated...i'd bet that it is your problem.

Disregard the MAF bs....started it up today....TRACTION, WRENCH lights both on. Checked for codes...P101 and ABS 1900...ERASED BOTH.
Any body know what is going on?
Hey BDMAASH...WHAT DID YOU DO TO FIX IT?

 

[bdmaash]

Disregard the MAF bs....started it up today....TRACTION, WRENCH lights both on. Checked for codes...P101 and ABS 1900...ERASED BOTH.
Any body know what is going on?
Hey BDMAASH...WHAT DID YOU DO TO FIX IT?

Monitored all 4 ABS sensors while driving, one of them would randomly go to 0. Bought replacement , swapped, fixed.

As previously mentioned, I used an OBD app on my phone called torque with a bluetooth OBD dongle to monitor wheel speed of all 4 wheels independently.
If there is a problem with the sensor, the speed should drop to 0 at that wheel, ABS and traction control will light up.

For those that want to prove the theory just disconnect one of the sensors. If all 4 wheel speeds aren't reported ABS cannot make corrections properly, Traction control cannot make corrections properly so they are disabled.

I don't know of any other way to check the ABS sensor - check wiring to all 4 sensors, maybe the wiring is damaged.

 

[RSM]

Ok thanks...makes sense. Strange thing is...my lights came on just after startup, when just idling, not even in gear. I now have an OBD2 READER and plan to setup FORSCAN...hope that if the code is set, will be able to determine WHICH sensor is shot. If not, will take it to shop and get info from them. Will also check wiring today.

 

[bdmaash]

Ok thanks...makes sense. Strange thing is...my lights came on just after startup, when just idling, not even in gear. I now have an OBD2 READER and plan to setup FORSCAN...hope that if the code is set, will be able to determine WHICH sensor is shot. If not, will take it to shop and get info from them. Will also check wiring today.

That may point to an ABS system fault possibly then, unless the code is stored, and driving restores readings from all four wheels, and then the light goes out.
Traction control is dependent on the ABS system and it's inputs, so if anything is wrong with the ABS part Traction Control will disable.
Since this truck doesn't have active suspension all the traction control will manipulate is engine speed, and brake system to keep the truck settled.

Edit: see if you can do real time monitoring with ForScan of the ABS sensors when driving, and the trial licence (at minimum) may be required.

 

[RSM]

Never did have to change ABS sensors..after the MAF SENSOR change, i ended up changing PLUGS/COILS and have never had the ABS/WRENCH/CODE trouble again. Google passenger side coil problem on 8cyl Explorers and you will get plenty of info/advice on this....seems they have interference that cause them to break down on the passenger side. Ford Matuloco has a video on You Tube that explains it perfectly. Also...If you have a P0308 CODE come up...it is water leaking from the edge/lip of the hood-opening directly above that cylinder 8 into the coil/plug hole and eventually destroying that coil and causing that cylinder to MISS and become inoperative. Wonderful wacky world of Ford.