AlaskanX...... This has been driving me MAD. I too have the same problem. I replaced the rear sensor and still have the light and speedo problem. All I have to do is disconnect the battery for 10 min.? That resets it? I'm going to try it!
Thanks
Dave

 

that worked for me! it killed me for about a month.

 

O.K. do you thing its the cold? I'm goin Nuckin Futs with this ABS light and speedo drop engine miss. I replaced the rear sensor. no fix. Pulled the battery cable for 1/2 hour, ran great for 2 days about 40 miles. Now its back. When I pulled the old one there was crap on it. Metal chuncks and gunk. Should I change rear lube? Dont know if it ever was. I have 123,000 on it now I bought it with 119,000 ran perfect til now. Any ideas? Its got to be in the rear sensor cause why did it run good for 2 days after new one?

 

yeah, from what i understand the gear oil will build up condensation over time. so if its never been done it should be. i'm only at 104k miles and i had this issue. so i'd have the diff fluid changed. pull the sensor, clean it, disconnect the battery and try again. best idea i can give.

 

Ok guys, I'm having a similar issue and Ive tried alot. Let me bring you up to speed on what Ive done/been through so far:

So last week i was driving home and noticed i was REALLY low on fuel. Ive owned my Ex for about 3 years now, and never had it that low yet. So I pulled over at a gas station I had never used before (I just moved to Woodstock, GA so Im new to the area) and put $75 of gas in. Then i drove home. no worries. This was 8 days ago, on Sunday.

During the week, I began to notice a little engine stumbling. It only happened occasionally, and only when I was barely accelerating. Like crusing with traffic and hitting a hill would cause it, as i gave it just a little gas to compensate.

This happened for 2 days, then on Thursday the ABS and Speedometer wonkieness started, and the engine stumbling got worse.

So I read my trusty forums here, watched the video, and recognized the symptoms for the same as mine. Saturday morning i went and bought a new abs sensor. Then I went to the local mechanic and had:

Oil change/Filter
Air Filter
Fuel Filter
full Transmission service
differential service/new fluid

They brought me the drain plug for the differential and showed me how bad it looked. They also brought me the old abs sensor. i saw it, and told them look, i have this new one, i planned on putting it in when i got home, can you go ahead and put this in and save me a couple mins under the truck.

No worries. I left the plaza and the Ex purred like a kitten. My next move was to the next-door race-track, where i added 3/4 tank of premium gas. I figured if the issue had anything at all to do with bad gas, a bunch of premium should raise the overall octane to an acceptable level.

I then went home, unhooked the negative cable, and went inside and took a nap. 2 hours it was unhooked for, over all.

Then i hopped in the truck for my trip. The same symptoms persisted for the first 10 or so miles, then it seemed to even out. The lights stopped flashing and the speedo stopped waving at me, and the stumbling decreased. Then i put on the cruise control and went for a good 40-50 minutes with no issues.

Suddenly, i was losing speed. I immediately freaked, as the speedometer began to freak along with the abs light. I hit the gas, and it responded. Seemed the abs issue came back, and knocked me out of cruise control.

so i pulled over at the next rest area, and let it set for a bit. Then I pulled the 60a fuse (for the abs) from the fusebox and set out again.

No difference.

I got where i needed to be and spent the rest of Sat and Sun with just a few small trips in the truck. The stumbling was ever persistent, and the abs/speedo issue was intermittent. Yes, I plugged back in the fuse when i got no positive response from removing it.

So before i left to come back, i had my daughter crawl underneath and unplug the sensor. We tied it up out of the way, and set off for home.

Th stumbling was as bad as ever, and the abs light stayed on the whole time. No speedo weirdness. No, i did not disconnect the battery after unplugging the abs sensor.

So thats pretty much where i am. Here's a few more bits of info:

1: I originally thought the issue was gas, so i had also added some water remover at the VERY beginning of this cycle. Following the bad-gas route, i also replaced the fuel filter and added 3/4 tank of premium gas. No change.

2: Replacing the back abs sensor seemed to fix the issue for about an hour of driving. Then it came back, intermittently.

3: My check engine light has NOT come on at all. My Scanguage II shows NO CODES. This makes me believe it is not something with the ignition system.

4: This seems to happen mostly during normal acceleration. Cruising at speed doesnt stumble. If it is stumbling, giving MORE gas and going into overdrive makes it even back out. It ONLY happens during normal acceleration.

5: Disconnecting the rear plug and then driving 2 hours made no change, except the abs was solid and i didnt notice any weird speedo stuff. Then again i wasnt staring at it for 2 hours either.

So, I'm stumped. The only thing I can think of now is needing to have my fuel system cleaned completely, as something in my tank might be lodged in the fuel line, or something. But that doesnt explain the intermittent abs light/speedo fun.

Oh, and the best part. I bought this truck at Carmax and had a 3 year/36000 mile warranty. Very good warranty, too. When this issue first started last week, i checked, and i was TWENTY MILES past my warranty. The date is fine until January, but the miles are done

So... HELP!

 

Codelizard;

I think someone in this thread or similar thread had issues like your explaining and I think they found one of their boots on the plugs arcing to the block sending all sorts of weird engine electricall issues.
You don't mention how many miles, so I would start at pulling the COPs on each plug and inspecting the boots. Also might be a good time to check the plugs if they have never been done.
The engine will not normally throw any codes for this, and you can pick it up with reading misses on separate cylinders if your code reader has the ability or you do it the other way by inspecting everything by hand by pulling apart stuff.

 

Wallz,

Thanks for the response. First, sorry, my Ex just passed 115k miles. I have had it for the last 36,000 miles and this JUST started happening out of nowhere within the last 8 days. I would actually say right around when i hit the 36k mark for the warranty is right about when it started softly. I know they couldnt be related, but the timing is uncanny.

I was thinking about having the plugs done, too, but didnt have another $350 to throw at it this weekend. yeah, thats thr quote the mechanic game me, but it included $20 plugs with a 30k mile guarantee on them. I hadnt seen the boot issue, and no, i dont think my Scanguage will check codes for each cylinder, though i will google it and see.

Should i take it to a mechanic who has such a reader for them to check cylinder codes?

 

I would start first by posting in the separate forums for where you are located and see if anyone has ab auto enginiuty scanner. Most of fte would be glad to help out a fello member.

The fords like to have the stock plugs, and you can read about that in the v-10 area. They are fairly easy to replace if you have a bit of mechanical ability, they just take a bit of time.
I would also look at the boots myself, one 8mm bolt holding the COP down and the boots are just under them. No need to have a mechanic try and sort it out as that is the majority of the cost of repairs, the labour.

 

yes i also had alot of coil issues, if they have not been done its def a great place to start.

 

I know this is an old thread...but great info!

Joe.

 

Hi Joe,

Well I finally got my issue figured by going to Ford. The issue, it turns out was, a bad spark plug.

Now, this sucks because I paid to have all of the plugs replaced, and the issue didnt go away. It appears that the shop that replaced my plugs either a) dropped one and broke it, or b) didnt replace all the plugs.

Either way, I drove away from the shop with the same issue I went in with, after paying to have it fixed. They refused to own up to it though when I went back, so I wont be using them again.

So, if your problem doesn't go away with the ABS sensor, check your plugs, and then the cops.

Rich

 

THANKS for the additional thoughts on the COPS and plugs...hopefully I don't have to go down that road.

Joe.

 

Doesnt sound EXACTLY like my problem, but I had the bobbing spedometer, and the truck ran REALLY rough. I hope the ABS fixes you, and you dont need to go any further.

Rich

 

That certainly looks familiar!

I had my truck regeard to 4.10 for my 35s February 2008. Around late 2009 to Spring 2010, I noticed shifts becoming sluggish and the truck taking it's time shifting. I figured it was either the OSS on the trans or the VSS on the diff. It couldn't possibly be the OSS since I have a magnefine filter that catches whatever fine particles, so it had to be the VSS. As soon as I pulled it, I saw what you did, wiped it off, and was good to go again.

I checked it again a few months later and found the same thing, but it wasn't as bad that time around.