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I have a 2000 explorer xlt with 131,000 miles. The abs light will come on at times and other times stays off . Also when coming to a stop I feel the brake pedal going soft . I haven't gotten to autozone to have the codes checked but thats my next step. I know with these vehicles its a common problem but would it be a bad sensor or a loose connection ?. Other than this vehicle runs good and brakes have no problems
Start simple and check you brake fluid level under the hood. Also examine as much of your lines as possible for any leaks. I recently had to replace the hard line on the rear axel, it had a pinhole and was spraying fluid. Thats the second brake line Ive had to replace on my Explorer. Its a 2000 with only 76,000.
I have the same problem with the ABS light on my 2002 Mountaineer. It seems to be temperature related. When it gets hotter outside the light may come on. All winter the light stays out. I posted this on here before and was told it is probably related to a faulty speed sensor. A Harbor Frieght code reader could not find any fault codes. I've been driving it this way for about two years with no problems. Brakes still feel and work fine. I have replaced from and rear brake pads. Fluid level is fine. Light still comes on when the weather is hot.
Probably a sensor going bad and most likely the one on the rear differential. When the sensor in mine went bad, ABS light went on-off for about 2 weeks, then just stayed on. Easy fix and rear sensor is only about $10. Sensor is on top of the rear differential toward the driver side and is held in by one bolt. It has an O-ring seal so you might have to twist it a little to get it out. You can check it with an ohm meter first if you want - no resistance or infinite resistance, the sensor is bad