30 second alarm, CHECK BRAKE SYSTEM, SERVICE RSC SOON!!!

[Todd82TA]

Friends, family, strangers, and fellow Ford Explorer aficionados...

I am a pathetic excuse for a car guy. I've not really turned a wrench in almost a decade. When I was in my 20s and 30s, I was constantly swapping motors, rebuilding engines, converting cars from automatics to manuals... and I even cut the roof off a Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz. Now... I am a family man who spends all his time checking his stocks, doing home repairs, and going to his daughter's karate tournaments.

My classic bright orange OBD2 scanner has no hope of identifying the issues of my 2009 Ford Explorer Sport...

About 3 months ago (please... I mentioned I was busy) started giving me crazy warnings... the alarm would blare for about 30 seconds... with all the red lights on... TRAC, ABS, and the digital screen goes red (computer is mad at me). I drove like this for a while. It would drive perfectly normal... but then once I got over 40mph, no matter if I was driving like my grandmother, or a little old lady (note, my grandmother used to drive her Crown Victoria like she was in hot pursuit), the alarm would go off and I was preparing for a missile attack.

At some point I figured I'd throw some good ole' logic at it. Rather than Google the problem, I said to myself... I'm going to buy a whole new brake kit and change out everything, I'm sure that'll fix it.

I'm taking off the brake calipers... pads look like they're brand new... but what the hell, I've already got everything off. I swap out the factory rotors and pads with cross drilled and slotted rotors. I even remove the calipers, degrease them, and paint them dark blue... because this not only helps with heat dissipation, but it actually makes my car faster as well. Proud of myself... I start driving the car, confident that I've fixed the computer problem by replacing the brakes.

Sure enough, 40mph...

INCOMMING, INCOMMING, INCOMMING. and then IDF IMPACT! SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY, DON IBA IF AVAILABLE!

for 30 seconds... that damn alarm goes for 30 seconds, and then I get 4 minutes of peace, and then 30 seconds of alarm again for some bull-crap.


Can anyone tell me how I can identify what the problem is? I see a bunch of ring gears on the front and rear hubs. They're all intact, and my car is in spectacular shape. Is it just a sensor?

Thankfully, it just passed Texas inspection because they didn't have to drive over 40 miles an hour... hahah..

Any help would be really appreciated...

 

[Rcflyer330]

Need to hook up an obd2 scanner that can read abs codes. Once you have thease they can lead you to whats actually wrong The alarm and lights tell you nothing just thats its a abs tracton control problem. You may not be able to pull the codes until after the problem happens and before you shut the ignition off.

 

[Blackhawkxx]

Man that is a good looking Explorer. It appears brand new.

 

[Todd82TA]

Ok, that settles it then, I just need an OBD2 reader that can read ABS codes. I assumed that was something that wasn't common anymore... I'll get something off Summit or Jegs today (not buying from Amazon anymore).

Thanks guys!

Blackhawkxx... yeah... the car was babied by the previous owner, and I've been trying to take care of it as well as possible too... absolutely love it. I get comments every day, people can't believe it's two generations ago. The interior is as mint as the outside. I put seat covers on the front seats though just to protect the fabric... just one of those things... when do you take them off, and what's the point if you're always going to keep them covered? Lol... but I do love this car. I miss my 2002... but this car is spectacular.

 

[Todd82TA]

Thanks guys, just bought this bad boy from Summit: Innova 3130F Innova OBD2 ScanTools with FixAssist and ABS Color Screen | Summit Racing

Does ABS codes as well as everything else.

It will be replacing my old ACTRON.

 

[Blackhawkxx]

Let us know how the reader works and what you find out with it.

 

[Todd82TA]

Let us know how the reader works and what you find out with it.

Absolutely, will do! Thanks!

FYI, total tangent... I just started up my Crown Victoria tonight. I literally had not started it in over 8 months. Started right up. Drove to the gas station and put some fresh gas in it... ran awesome. Brakes were scraping... lol... but the car has tons of power.

 

[Todd82TA]

OK! So I just scanned the car (OBD2 codes first) and it returned nothing. I then scanned separately the ABS codes, and it gave me a B-1342 code... which says ECU suspect. So... ? Any thoughts?

Thanks guys!

 

[Todd82TA]

So, I'm thinking it's my front wheel hub... at least one of them. Thinking I may just replace both.

Question though... all the hubs I see on Rock Auto have a splined inner ring... my car does not have 4 wheel drive. Do the non 4x4 cars also have a splined inner ring? If I wanted to replace both front hubs... what do I order?

2009 Ford Explorer Sport / 4.0 V6, Automatic / 2WD

Thanks!

 

[Rcflyer330]

Wheel bearings are the same for 4x4 and 2wd

If you have live data with the scantool check all 4 wheel speed sensors they should be the same if one is not then that is the problem wheel.

 

[Todd82TA]

Wheel bearings are the same for 4x4 and 2wd

If you have live data with the scantool check all 4 wheel speed sensors they should be the same if one is not then that is the problem wheel.

Roger... I'll do that on the way to work tomorrow. Thank you!

Also, thank you for the information on the wheel hubs.

 

[Blackhawkxx]

How do you like your new scanner? I was thinking of getting one some day.

 

[96eb96]

Roger... I'll do that on the way to work tomorrow. Thank you!

Also, thank you for the information on the wheel hubs.

Get forscan app (free) and an inexpensive OBD 2 bluetooth adapter. It is much better than what you bought. You can't read wheel sensor speeds with what you bought (doubt it).

 

[ThunderbirdSport]

That's a nice Explorer. You can also go to an oreilly or autohole, rent their scanner, and yank the ABS codes. May or may not be better than what you bought.

I second the forscan mention. Just got one myself and it is absolutely essential.
As an aside, you can even use the forscan to retrieve the keyless code, make spare keys, etc. Caveat here, must already have two existing keys that start the Explorer..

But carry on..let us know what you find out.

 

[Mbrooks420]

That's a nice Explorer. You can also go to an oreilly or autohole, rent their scanner, and yank the ABS codes. May or may not be better than what you bought.

I second the forscan mention. Just got one myself and it is absolutely essential.
As an aside, you can even use the forscan to retrieve the keyless code, make spare keys, etc. Caveat here, must already have two existing keys that start the Explorer..

But carry on..let us know what you find out.

If you have two keys you need nothing else to make new keys. With FORScan and some knowledge you can program keys when you have none.

 

[PotatoExplorer]

Very sharp looking explorer! When you bought yours, did yours come with the smoked headlights or did you buy them? I've been thinking about buying some replacement headlights for the last several years but I can only seem to find completely blacked-out ones for around $100 and the smoked ones are like $200.

Anyways, not saying this is your problem, but I had this same alarm popping up on my 2008 4.6L V8. It ended up being a bad Coil on Plug on Cylinder #4 (passenger side, last cylinder up against the firewall). It was throwing a bunch of electrical interference into the system and doing a whole bunch of weird stuff due to the location of all the wires running to the computer. Maybe try swapping Cylinder #4 COP with like cylinder #1 COP to see if that fixes anything before going down the rabbit hole.

 

[rayethan]

I've had the same problem with my 2008 Mounty. Unfortunately, I haven't found a fix. I've heard that the wiring connector near the emergency brake under the dash can be a source of trouble. I haven't checked mine yet. Too cold out and frankly, I don't drive that much anymore.
I've learned to live with it. Seems to go off every few months. Scares the bejesus out of you, then you realize everything is fine.
If you do figure it out, please let us know of the solution.

 

[AMattF]

When we had the same issue, we traced it to the ABS module up under the battery. Simple enough fix if you have the time. Hardest part is bleeding the brake lines once you get it swapped.

 

[96eb96]

Very sharp looking explorer! When you bought yours, did yours come with the smoked headlights or did you buy them? I've been thinking about buying some replacement headlights for the last several years but I can only seem to find completely blacked-out ones for around $100 and the smoked ones are like $200.

Anyways, not saying this is your problem, but I had this same alarm popping up on my 2008 4.6L V8. It ended up being a bad Coil on Plug on Cylinder #4 (passenger side, last cylinder up against the firewall). It was throwing a bunch of electrical interference into the system and doing a whole bunch of weird stuff due to the location of all the wires running to the computer. Maybe try swapping Cylinder #4 COP with like cylinder #1 COP to see if that fixes anything before going down the rabbit hole.

Cheap coils are very bad for these engines. One I looked at a lot was given up because of that reason, they installed all new Ford coils and all the problems went away.