ABS and brake light came on

[Lordsman]

Red brake light accompanied by yellow ABS light came on on the dash.
Any ideas what the problem could be? One suggestion I've heard was the ABS module needed to be rebuilt, but I've never heard of that. Is there a sensor above the rear differential like there was on 2nd gens?
Truck is a 2005 Cummins 3500.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Darkbloodmon]

 

[Darkbloodmon]

Sensors are cheaper than a new or reman ABS Control unit, no reason not to try them first. Even cheaper is to check and clean the sensors provided you don't have corrosive winter road conditions.

Front wheel hub sensors are independent and can ALB assist either wheel independently, the rear axle is tandem to the one sensor on top of the differential.

 

[Ozymandias]

Diagnostics, Diagnostics, Diagnostics - the Truck tells you were to start troubleshooting, you just need to ask him.
Don't use the parts gun here.

 

[Darkbloodmon]

Diagnostics, Diagnostics, Diagnostics - the Truck tells you were to start troubleshooting, you just need to ask him.
Don't use the parts gun here.

Gauge cluster should definitely have a code for it.

 

[CVR222NV]

I had the same parking brake and ABS lights on the cluster go on which was also accompanied by the electric shift on the transfer case not working. I asked my son-in-law to take a look at it so he hooked up the Auto Enginuity scanner to my truck which showed that the front wheel sensors were showing the wheels were spinning at 258 kph while the truck was standing still! No codes for the electric shift on the transfer case. The SIL wondered if the sensor codes were related to what was going on with the electric shift for the transfer case (wheels spinning too fast to allow the transfer case to safely shift) so he decided to run down the sensor issue first. We replaced all three wheel speed sensors (all three were original) and the parking brake and ABS lights were gone and the electric shift on the transfer case worked perfectly. What we originally thought were two discrete issues turned out to be related. Despite its greater up front cost the Auto Enginuity scanner has paid for itself many times over.

 

[bcbender]

My money is front wheel sensors.. my brother had the same issue and it was a bad connector on one wheel sensors.. MY o4 also did it intermittently but I never bothered to fix it and sold it, but I am sure it was a bad sensor or connection to one.

 

[Lordsman]

Well I bought this truck yesterday (05 3500 SRW). Got a $500 kickback from seller to deal with this. Seller did replace rear diff sensor from O'reillys but still has the problem. I'll go through it when it's home and look for codes. Lights come on intermittently and turn off after a stop and restart. Brakes feel good and no speedometer problem. Nice Truck though, but will need a steering box according to sellers alignment shop. I'll get into that on a separate posting.

 

[BigPapa]

I remember a thread on this where the fellow had water in the connector. It was in a place where water would run down the wire and the connector was oriented in such a way it would hold water.

 

[User113]

On my truck the connector in the wheel well wasn't holding well. I had to wrap it with a zip-tie to get the light to go out. I suppose I also could have replaced the connectors, but the zip-tie was much easier.

 

[Lordsman]

Going to do a tire rotation once the snow melts a little more. I'll check those connections then. Thanks for all the responses. It's an intermittent gremlin...

 

[Darryl Sexton]

I'm having a very similar issue. been battling for about 18 months when the brake light and ABS light come on and the chime - the head lights also come on and off additionally no steering wheel controls or steering column work. then out of nowhere Airbag will start flashing then the instrument cluster starts going haywire. and it has even shut down on occasion good thing i was in the right lane. any and all assistance will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Randomrunner12]

Check your batteries first. I had this same issue on my 2012 awhile ago and a few of the guys helped to lead me down a bath to the passenger battery being bad. Ended up being the cause of this exact issue for me. Plus, wont hurt to check before digging deeper into things if you haven't already.

 

[Darryl Sexton]

Check your batteries first. I had this same issue on my 2012 awhile ago and a few of the guys helped to lead me down a bath to the passenger battery being bad. Ended up being the cause of this exact issue for me. Plus, wont hurt to check before digging deeper into things if you haven't already.

B
Thanks Randomrunner1 - both Batteries replaced within the last year but will put a load test on them separately. i also changed the Alternator (OEM) recently. along with the Battery Cables both sides with military grade terminals. just replaced the ign switch as the blower motor stayed on after ing was turned off. i really feel this is under the dash somehow after blend doors and torque motors replace but can't be 100% sure.

 

[Darryl Sexton]

B
Thanks Randomrunner1 - both Batteries replaced within the last year but will put a load test on them separately. i also changed the Alternator (OEM) recently. along with the Battery Cables both sides with military grade terminals. just replaced the ign switch as the blower motor stayed on after ing was turned off. i really feel this is under the dash somehow after blend doors and torque motors replace but can't be 100% sure.

oh one additional note never NO CODES not even when the dash goes haywire,

 

[Topzide]

Without any codes coming up, sounds like a connector and or a pin in connector not making good contact. How are the grounds under the dash? Maybe something get jarred when the blend doors were done. These are the ones that make you want to bang your head on the bumper!

 

[CharlesHoward]

Mine just comes and goes randomly. SMARTY suggests its the rear wheels. Maybe I'll let the shop play with it someday...

 

[Ozymandias]

I had the same parking brake and ABS lights on the cluster go on which was also accompanied by the electric shift on the transfer case not working. I asked my son-in-law to take a look at it so he hooked up the Auto Enginuity scanner to my truck which showed that the front wheel sensors were showing the wheels were spinning at 258 kph while the truck was standing still! No codes for the electric shift on the transfer case. The SIL wondered if the sensor codes were related to what was going on with the electric shift for the transfer case (wheels spinning too fast to allow the transfer case to safely shift) so he decided to run down the sensor issue first. We replaced all three wheel speed sensors (all three were original) and the parking brake and ABS lights were gone and the electric shift on the transfer case worked perfectly. What we originally thought were two discrete issues turned out to be related. Despite its greater up front cost the Auto Enginuity scanner has paid for itself many times over.

Missed that one - all wheels must have a matching speed to allow a shift from 2x4 to 4x4 and slower then I think 5mph to shift HI>LO.