Brake light, abs, traction control light

[Chrisplorer]

Couple months ago my 13 explorer would intermittently throw up the abs, traction control, and brake lights on the dash, for the past month all those lights now pop up as soon as you start the vehicle. I've checked fuses, battery connections, grounds to frame, and the wheel speed sensors look good. Any ideas other than an 1100 dollar abs module???

 

[J_C]

How did you check the wheel speed sensors? I'd hook up a scan tool capable of pulling ford-specific ABS codes (not just an OBD2-only type scanner which can't).

You could also try the diagnostic procedure in the 2014 workshop manual, here:

2014 Ford Explorer Workshop Manual + Wiring Diagrams | PDFs Free Online

Find the best 2014 Ford Explorer Workshop Manual + Wiring Diagrams

cardiagn.com

I know it looks dodgy but I got it a few years back from there, seems fine.

Considering Ford "might" have used same ABS module all the way through 2019, which aren't very old vehicles yet, I'd consider seeking a used pull ABS module from a junkyard if it came to that.

 

[Fmeza025]

Couple months ago my 13 explorer would intermittently throw up the abs, traction control, and brake lights on the dash, for the past month all those lights now pop up as soon as you start the vehicle. I've checked fuses, battery connections, grounds to frame, and the wheel speed sensors look good. Any ideas other than an 1100 dollar abs module???

View attachment 425347

Did you ever find a solution

 

[peterk9]

Did you ever find a solution

Welcome to the Forum.
I don't know if the member you quoted is still active here. That was his first and only post and hasn't been seen since January 18th.
Hopefully, another member with knowledge will see this now and perhaps be able to help. Good luck.

Peter

 

[J_C]

If you're getting dash lights it is time to pull the trouble codes with a scan tool.

 

[mguy13sport]

Since you said the warning lights all come on at the same time and it is intermittent I suspect you have a malfunctioning battery. Before spending anything have the battery tested and or replaced. The battery terminals are exposed and also prone to calcium build up that needs to be cleaned off. Some dielectric grease goes a long way.

Scanning for codes is always a good idea too but if the battery is suspect then I don't expect you will find any DTC history

 

[J_C]

^ Maybe but when my electrical system voltage dropped too low, I had far more lights and codes than that. The dash lit up like a Christmas tree. It seems far more likely to be brake/ABS/4WD system related.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

^ Maybe but when my electrical system voltage dropped too low, I had far more lights and codes than that. The dash lit up like a Christmas tree. It seems far more likely to be brake/ABS/4WD system related.

or some combo ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i mean its easy enough to test voltage read in the vehicle, but i do agree its more likely to be abs related

 

[peterk9]

It could be a faulty wheel speed sensor that is causing the issue and not battery related at all.

Peter

 

[Odrapnew]

One crazy thought, check brake fluid level.

Not same vehicle, but my wife's old CX9 was low on brake fluid and she would get similar lights when she'd turn one direction and they'd go off the other...eventually staying on full time. Topped off brake fluid and lights went off and never came back.

 

[J_C]

Once the code scanner has read the DTCs, there is a 2014 Workship Manual linked in my sig, that will show what to do with those codes.

 

[mmartinez0525]

ok I have had the same issue changed out 1rear wheel sensor that was faulty $90 at the Ford dealership parts counter now I have the emergency brake light sensor and traction control needs service light also on. I bought an obd2scanner that can read the ABS codes but still no luck

 

[J_C]

The scanner has to be able to read Ford specific codes which are not necessarily part of the OBD2 code set. If you have lights continuously on, there is a code set.

 

[mguy13sport]

Get an OBDLink MX bluetooth adapter ($100) and download ForScan to your phone from app store ($5). It can scan your entire car in about 30 seconds right from your phone

 

[seville009]

Found this thread a few months ago when I was searching for an explanation of errors on my dash and other things.

I have a 2019 Explorer XLT 3.5l; about 180,000 miles on it.
Four months ago; the problems started:
ABS, traction control, hill assist lights would stay on. Would go off after a few minutes though. Eventually they stayed on for good.
While those lights were on, I discovered that using the cruise control would trigger a wrench light error (not a check engine). I seemed to lose overdrive when that happened.
Before it clicked in my brain that the issues were related, a check engine light did come up. Code was P06 16. Cleared the code.

Occasionally the “4wd turned off” message would pop up, and it would just be in fwd.

The red “brake system” light would pop up sometimes. I would lose power steering when the light was on.

The temperature display on my oem navigation screen was stuck at 21 degrees (I’m in the Northeast).
My cabin heat control would only work at 100% hot or 100% cold; I could set it to the other temperatures, but there would be no change.

Factory NAV system would display a car with a red dot on it when making selections. The navigation still worked though. Sometimes when the system was navigating me, it would display the “no gps” symbol, and the map would go wonky.

This was all fixed today (by a shop, not a dealer) by having the ABS sensors in the two front hubs (they were throwing a code; the rears were ok). They told me that one of the sensors was down to the wear line.

I’ve only driven it about ten miles, but the lights are all off, and everything seems to be working. Only time will tell, of course
I am extremely relieved; I was expecting that the ecm/pcm (or whatever) would have to be replaced by the dealer for many thousands of dollars. I was dreading that. Actual cost was under $800, but since it was a wear part, I would probably have had to replace them anyway at some point.

So that is all that this is - to post the solution (in my case at least) for others that may come across this thread
Replace the ABS sensor(s)

 

[J_C]

^ Something about your post does not add up. A faulty ABS sensor would not cause all those problems. Traction/stability control related, and possibly cruise control and a dash light, but not the rest like steering failure, temperature display, gps, wonky display, etc.

Plus the ABS sensors in the hubs are not a wear item. There is no wear line. They don't wear out, AFAIK unless some terrible design change was made.

A scan tool capable of ford specific, realtime data can show you if your wheel speed sensors are outputting the correct speed or anything at all. It should then also display a trouble code relative to which specific sensor. Even if something happened to one sensor like road debris damaged the wire, that doesn't make the other front wheel sensor go bad.

If you got all the listed things working again for $800 that was a good value, but it's very strange, like the shop wasn't telling you the whole story if any truth at all.

 

[seville009]

^ Something about your post does not add up. A faulty ABS sensor would not cause all those problems. Traction/stability control related, and possibly cruise control and a dash light, but not the rest like steering failure, temperature display, gps, wonky display, etc.

Plus the ABS sensors in the hubs are not a wear item. There is no wear line. They don't wear out, AFAIK unless some terrible design change was made.

A scan tool capable of ford specific, realtime data can show you if your wheel speed sensors are outputting the correct speed or anything at all. It should then also display a trouble code relative to which specific sensor. Even if something happened to one sensor like road debris damaged the wire, that doesn't make the other front wheel sensor go bad.

If you got all the listed things working again for $800 that was a good value, but it's very strange, like the shop wasn't telling you the whole story if any truth at all.

It is all strange.

I’m no mechanic, and was assuming that whatever computer that all this stuff was passing though was going bad.

I’ve only driven it home from the repair shop so far. All I can say is that everything was back to normal as soon as I started it, and all the way home.

Steering didn’t fail; just didn’t have power steering when the brake light came on.

I do courier work - about 10,000 miles a month - so I’ll find out pretty quickly how real it is.

The repair shop is legit; no worries there.

 

[peterk9]

Was it perhaps the wheel speed sensors that they replaced? Those have been known to cause some of the issues you listed.

Peter

 

[seville009]

Was it perhaps the wheel speed sensors that they replaced? Those have been known to cause some of the issues you listed.

Peter

ABS sensors are what was replaced per the invoice.

Drove it about 150 miles this morning; no issues at all. Everything works as it should now.