ABS Light has been on for 2 months.

[Pepse]

I have an '03 Explorer XLT and ever since the last snow storm in May the ABS light is on. In my opinion everything is okay. My wife says the brake pedal goes down farther than it use to. Not sure because it acts the same as my '03 Sable, but without the brake light on. I did disconnect the battery to reset the computer but it made no difference.

Is it anything to worry about?

Pepse.

 

[thorney_5]

Safety

You really should worry about this. With the ABS light on, the system will not function until it has been repaired. Proper functioning could mean the difference between life and death.

As for actually fixing it, a 'special' code reader is necessary to pull ABS codes. Disconnecting the battery will have no affect on the light, as the system does a self diagnostic on every key-on cycle. Your most likely cause is a bad or contaminated sensor. Inspect all the connections, and unplug, inspect, then replug them back in. Look for corroded pins, water contamination, and the like. Just last week I had the ABS light on in my 5.0 and found a rat had chewed through both wires on the rear ABS sensor. These are all things to check for. If you don't come up with anything, have a professional look at it ASAP. The repair bill is petty and meaningless compared to someones life.

EDIT: I believe on the 3rd gens there is a sensor for each rear wheel, as opposed to one on top of the rear differential. You can also try pulling the sensors off and cleaning any metal shavings off. (They are magnetic)

 

[Pepse]

I will look in to the sensors this weekend or at least call a local Ford dealer and have them check it out. I have an extended warranty on this SUV and I am positive it covers anything related to the brakes, i.e. ABS. I am aware it is serious but it's just that since I've had this truck it has weird things happen, like sometimes the right front door locks with the remote or either button inside and sometimes I gotta lock it manually. I recently had a weird episode with the factory passive alarm system and so on and so on. So, I didn't take this too serious as other things tell me it might be nothing. Almost like, as my wife says, it is possessed.

I will post back as soon as I have it solved.

Pepse.

 

[03 Explorer XLT]

The ABS light is also a common symptom of a failing wheel bearing.

 

[Pepse]

Okay, I took it to a Ford Dealer today and the prognosis is a bad HCU. It is a $1400 part but my Extended Warranty will cover the part. So, when the part comes in next week it will be taken care of. In the meantime the mechanic said it is okay to drive it. The ABS is out but it is still stopping with regular braking power. So, I thank all those that got me to have it checked out. Now my wife will feel better. Gotta keep 'em happy.

Later. Pepse.

 

[03 Explorer XLT]

ABS failures are dangerous. Once the ABS light comes on the system is disabled, meaning you have good old fashioned brakes. When the system is sort of working, the system can interpret a skidding wheel when it isn't and turn the brakes loose to stop the skid.

When I got my 2003, the rear sensor was going out. As I would slow down, the brakes would just go away. I only had it happen at low speeds and little braking effort, but it gets your attention. The system would catch the fault and disable the ABS. Then a little later the light would go out and it would happen again.

 

[ponkotsu]

Loss of ABS by itself is no more dangerous than driving a car that never had ABS. Except, it could indicate some other mechanical failure. Wheel bearing, air in system, bad master cylinder, etc. You should fix it ASAP.

You say it went out in a snow storm. That would point to a wheel bearing. The tire skidded, which activated the ABS. If the wheel bearing is loose, the pulsating ABS knocks the ABS pulse wheel into the sensor and damages it. There's a very small clearance between the sensor and hub. Exactly same thing happened to me. Relatively cheap and easy fix. Jack up the front wheels and see if there is any wheel bearing play. If so, it's 90% chance that's your problem.

 

[Pepse]

So, ponkotsu, you are saying that I probably have a bad wheel bearing besides the bad HCU?

Pepse.

 

[thorney_5]

Hcu

I'm no whiz with third gens but a wheel bearing does sound more likely. Have you asked the dealer what codes were stored in the module? Were they even able to pull codes? Sometimes dealers throw parts at problems in an effort to save time- the pitfalls of the flat rate system. Try to find out why they diagnosed the HCU as bad, so you're not taking the car back in a week for the same problem.

Good Luck!

 

[ponkotsu]

So, ponkotsu, you are saying that I probably have a bad wheel bearing besides the bad HCU?

Pepse.

Not uncommon for the dealer to misdiagnose. They get paid either way. But as long as your warranty is buying you a new HCU take it.

 

[Pepse]

thorney 5, I will call the dealer Monday ask ask a few questions. It would make sense to ask a few more questions and if they didn't check that then maybe they will do more diagnosing and make sure everything related to the ABS light coming on is just because of the HCU. It would save me another trip in the probable near future of returning for more work when it could all be done this time. Definitely worth checking in to.

I will let all know probably by mid to late week.

Pepse.