Driving down the interstate when suddenly my brake and ABS light came on. Got home and checked my reservior and it's 40-50% full. I plan to top it off an see if that fixes it. But it could also be one of the two sensors on the master cylinder are bad. Anyone know which one of the two may be responsible for this? Or could it be either one of the two?

I have brakes still and it stops in a dime.

 

the sensor on the top front of the master cylinder is for the cruise. has no effect on the light

 

Check the RABS sensor on the rear diff for the ABS light.
Adjust your rear brakes tighter.
Lift your parking brake pedal to make sure it's not tripping the brake light.
It should not be necessary to add fluid to the master cylinder unless you have a leak and should have no effect on the lights. We don't have a low fluid warning light.
If you think it's too low you may need new front pads......drum brakes won't change the level enough to matter.

 

ok let me check it over this evening and i'll report what I find.

I just replaced my rear brakes 5-600 miles ago so I don't suspect them being the issue (maybe there is something there but it sure stops well for being too loose). I'll take a look at my front pad wear, but that would only affect my fulid level and not the lights right?

If the RABS sensor is out wouldn't that only trip my ABS light?

What are the odds that the sensor went bad? If it's bad would that explain why I'm getting both the ABS and brake lights?

 

Thought about running a scan to narrow my search. Would this come up on a scan?

What fuse numbers can I check?

Thanks.

 

Well i got the lights to stay off by adding more brake fluid. Didn't expect it to fix it, but added some just because it needed it. And wha la.

My front pads have life left, but will need to be changed by the end of the year.

 

On ALL ford trucks with ABS if both lights come on sudden;y then it is telling you that you have low brake fluid. There is no other reason. It's designed like this to get your attention.
It's got nothing to do with the speed sensor or anything else. It's low fluid. Could be a bad sensor telling it that but still. It's telling you low fluid level.

 

Well thats good to know RRranch. It works well at grabbing your atttention.

 

RRanch - that is a good looking slide in camper. What kind is it?

 

It's an 02 model fleetwood. We've been using it a lot lately too since all the kids left home. It's so nice to be empty nesters! It's got everything but air conditioning on it but I have to fix that this year for my wife. She can't take the humidity at the places we've been camping too well.

 

Got to have air RRanch, these campers are just hot boxes! Where have you been?

 

Hmm had the same problem open up the reservoir and I'm bone dry or close to...now to find out why I don't have any fluid left ...

 

If it's empty, then you have a leak somewhere. Brake fluid doesn't just "burn up" overnight..

 

ONE non-leak possibility is that the front pads are worn WAAAY down. But a leak is much more likely, and in either case, the truck is NOT safe to drive.

 

Will the rear drums being out of adjustment cause the same problem as well?