BRAKE and ABS warning lights

[gbraden]

My '03 Dodge has about 100,000 miles. Today while driving on a rough road all of a sudden the BRAKE and the ABS warning lights came on and stayed on. I turned the engine off and restarted it. Both lights are on whenever the ignition key is turned to ON. I checked the brake fluid level in the reservoir and it is full. Also, the brakes still work fine.

I just wonder if the rough road has something to do with the warning lights coming on.

Any ideas?

Is this a serious situation or is there an instrument error?

Glenn

 

[jelag]

This could be nothing more than one of the ABS sensors loosing the signal from the wheel in the hub... there is a toothed wheel that the sensor reads and sends a signal the the ABS computer... if one of these senors looses the connection (air gap excessive) or the cable breaks, etc...

 

[Matt400]

Is this a serious situation or is there an instrument error?

Glenn

Hi Glenn, your condition is like a "check engine lamp" but for the ABS system. It means the ABS function may not work in a panic stop so it should get checked out. Your regular service brakes will continue to work as an older Dodge did before ABS was available.



Your regular shop will run a scan of the system to narrow the trouble by evaluating the fault code associated with the warning lamp and just like jelag said, it may be a sensor that has failed.

 

[Bochuck]

I had the same error after a trip to my local "trusted" #@$%! dealership for new front brake pads installation. On the way home the ABS light came on so I took it right back. They said the sensor had moved, they repositioned it, then sent me on my way. 10 miles later it came back on so I went back the next day rather irate. They now told me I had a defective sensor and it needed to be replaced. They gave me a rental car because they had to order the part. Two days later I picked up the truck. All was fine for 20 miles then the ABS light came on again. This time I took it to the dealership where we bought my wife's Jeep and let them look at it. The guy took me into the shop and showed me that even with a new sensor installed, the ABS computer couldn't read it properly. They believe that the previous dealer may have shorted out the computer during their repair but couldn't prove it. Sadly I had them order and install new ABS computer. After my wallet was emptied of several hundred dollars, I had a truck that worked again. It's been 30K miles with no problems. I went back to the original dealer and spoke with the manager about what transpired. He pretty much smiled and said in a political way that I was screwed. I told him I would never be back and would ensure everyone I knew would know what they did and how they treated me. I know for a fact that due to my sharing of my bad experience that the dealership lost 4 car sales over the past 2 years from friends of mine. I wish I could do more, but sadly we're at their mercy sometimes.

 

[BIGNASTY]

same thing on my 04.5

I had the same thing on my truck only difference was when I got into rain or went threw some water. Found that when I change brake pads a week before I must have hit the abs sensor when looking around and open a gap for water to get in. Mine would go out as soon as it dried. Made sure wire for abs was in good shape and no problem to this time. Cant think of the post but a fellow TDR member told me about it (pass it on info is great )

 

[abrankod]

Use the search function of the forums... This issue occurs occasionally on the 3rd gen trucks when braking on very rough surfaces or braking very hard... I wish dodge would address it because it seems like a safety concern... Your ABS system is inactive as long as the lamp is lit... However, in a few drive cycles, the code should clear itself. Mine did after a work day of turning on/off my truck.

-Dan