Well, I installed the new sensor and it worked! My ABS light is now out (finally) and my ABS is working! Just wanted to let yall know!

 

Good deal - hate looking at those darn lights burning at night!!!

 

Amen... It was really getting on my nerves!

 

Daddydcs: couple o' quick questions. Have you serviced the brakes in the last few thousand miles? Did your anti-lock ever "act up" just before the light came on? Thx!

 

I just purchased the truck about 5 weeks ago. The ABS light was on then. I had a leaking wheel cylinder on the rear which I replaced. The previous owner told me the brakes were less than a year old, and after inspecting the rear drums I believe he was telling the truth... everything else looked good (the fluid hadn't contaminated the shoes yet), so I just replaced the cylinder and cleaned everything else up. During the short period that I've had it the ABS has not acted up. My father also has an '87 that has had the ABS light on for several years now. No problems, just that dang little light! I plan to pull his codes the next time he is up here. What kind of problems are you having, CRJFlyer? Have you pulled your codes yet?

 

I've owned mine since Dec 97. Some time in mid-98 is when the light started to come on sporadically, many times right after the anti-lock seemed to be letting one corner loose under braking. Odd feeling, but still stopped in plenty of time. Many times, if the light was on when I started the truck, shutting off and restarting would make it go away. Over the years, the light stayed on more and more.

I had all 4 corners checked and fixed last year, but the light stays on. I haven't pulled the codes because, to be honest, it's been so dang long since I worked on my own stuff I can't remember how. Now that it's only 120 inside the garage (the sun went down), think I'll crawl under and look around. Thanks for the help and interest.

 

Glad to help! What year is your Bronco? Ford had several different systems that they used. I would recommend pulling your codes first, since that should tell you why your light keep coming on. If yours is like mine, then pulling the codes is easy (you just temporarily ground a wire out to start the test). Let us know and we'll go from there!

 

Well I'm glad I never took this to a shop for investigation. About 2 weeks ago, I braved the 140 degree temp of my garage and crawled underneath. While looking around the rear bumper, I found the wiring harness for the original bumper, which was not-so-graciously cut away from its prior mount. I tucked this neatly into the current bumper, and have had no ABS light since. Gotta love the free fixes.

 

That's great man! Sometimes things just work out!

 

hi all

first time posting here, i have a 90 f150 2wheel drive supercab
and my rear abs light stays on all the time, i just purchased the
truck 2 weeks ago, i ran new lines from the porshning (typo )valve
back to the spliter then new lines across both sides of the rearend,
then installed 2 new wheel cylinders. bled the brakes have a good pedal
but this abs light is really annoying. any help with pulling abs codes would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Great forum

 

Welcome to the forum Crazz! Was the ABS light on before you replaced your lines/cylinders? Your 90 model F150 has the RABS 1 antilock system (the same as my '87 Bronco). This is a rear wheel only ABS that reads from a sensor located in top of your rear differential. The sensor reads your ring gear and detects when you decelerate enough to allow slippage (loss of control) and compensates through the ABS proportioning (spelling?) valve. If the light is on then your ABS is not functioning (this is a safety feature). The codes are only stored until you turn you ignition switch off, then they are erased. Therefore, in order to check your codes, you need to turn the switch on and wait for the light to go out (start-up test) and then come back on (indicating that a code is stored). It is really easy to do... Leave the switch in the run position (it doesn't have to be cranked). Now locate the black connector under the steering column (by the brake pedal) that has a black-orange wire going into it. My book says sometimes there is a mating half that will have a different color wire; if yours does then disconnect the two halves and focus only on the black-orange wire. Mine only had the connector with the black-orange wire. Now take a jumper wire and momentarily ground the black/orange wire to the chassis (or other suitable ground) for 1-2 seconds. Once you do this the ABS light will start flashing. The codes are indicated by a series of short flashes followed by one long flash... you count all of these flashes as the code. For example, if you had three short flashes and one long flash, then you have a code '4'. The code will repeat itself over and over constantly, so take your time and be sure you write down the correct code. Once you get your code, turn the ignition switch off and replug the connectors together if you disconnected them. Let us know your code and I can look it up for you in my manual... Sorry for the long post but I hope this helps!

 

ok got the code it was a code 9
was reading and seen where a few people
had broken teeth and such in the rear end
i hope this aint my case. im driving it 5 hours
to PA next week end, and hualing some furniture back
thanks for the help, and yes the abs light was on before i replaced
anything ;p now i gotta see how much a spring shackle is, my spring is
resting on my bed so guess i'll be doing some grinding and replacing
in the next few days

 

I had the same code! Code 9 represents an open circuit somewhere. There are three places to check: the two wires that go to the sensor and the sensor itself. Mine was the sensor. Just check the resisistance between the two terminals on the sensor (located on top of the rear diff)... it should be less than 2500 ohms (I believe mine was 20+ million). If it is more than 2500 ohms then your sensor is bad. When I pulled mine I found the sensor bottom to be broken (plastic!). I pulled the diff cover fearing the worse (broken teeth) but did not have any. The sensor plastic was brittle, so I guess it just finally broke. The resistance in each wire (from the front of the truck to the back should be less than 10,000 ohms in each case. I would start with checking the sensor... seems to be the most common problem. Ford sells them for about $20. Good luck on your ABS and your suspension! Keep us informed!

 

the rear abs is junk. doesnt help one bit in my opinion. I lost mine along time ago and now with my 9" rear it will never have it again. but like said above remove the sensor on top of the rear diff and clean it up good if this doesnt help drain your rear diff , inspect the tone ring for missing teeth . if there is none put back together and refill with proper fluid. if it has a limited slip in there you must also add a special lube that comes in a tube.
good luck

 

If the speed sensor is bad can it cause a soft pedal?