Archived Wife called and the ABS light came on

[Hemiless]

I'm currently out of town for work but my wife just called me and said the trucks ABS light came on and now she cannot go over 18+ mph. I won't be home for another week and my brother-n-law is on his way to pick the wife and kids up and see if he can get the truck working. Any Ideas please.



She was slowing for a stop light when the light came on she never came to a complete stop as the light turned green she is in 4x4 and it is about 16 degrees outside and ice roads.



Any help would be great.

 

[klaybus]

ABS Light

When my ABS light came on I also had the brake light on the dash come on. It was the rear wheel speed sensor. Cost was about $38 at the dealer. Also, the speedo was slow to react when starting after coming to a stop. Hope this helps. BTW, the speed sensor is on top of the rear differential. Easy access if you remove the spare tire from underneath. Good luck.



Clay

 

[Hemiless]

got it home

My brother-n-law just called and said he was able to get it home. He said the truck ran fine other then the ABS light and figures the low speed issue was accredited to my wife's nerves once she saw the light come on. Got to Love a woman that watches the gauges.



I'm guessing that it probably is the speed sensor that went out but it will be a little while before I get home to check it out.



How are ABS codes read on a 2002? with a scanner or can I activate them with the ignition key?

 

[klaybus]

You can cycle the key three times & read the odometer window...



Clay

 

[DavidC]

If I read this post right It is not your rear sensor. When that one goes out you get the ABS and red Brake light, your speedo also does not work till you get somewhere around 20mph. If your truck has front sensors there will be one on each wheel. I would start looking there. They should ohm at about 600 each. There could also be a wiring issue to those sensors.



Dave

 

[Hemiless]

Thank you all for your help I will explore all of these possibilities once I get home.



Again thank you for the advice.

 

[klaybus]

If I read this post right It is not your rear sensor. When that one goes out you get the ABS and red Brake light, your speedo also does not work till you get somewhere around 20mph. If your truck has front sensors there will be one on each wheel. I would start looking there. They should ohm at about 600 each. There could also be a wiring issue to those sensors.



Dave

Good info Dave! As I posted I had both ABS & brake light come on.....



Clay

 

[DavidC]

Clay,

Palm Desert?. Back to the ABS, another symptom is ABS and red brake but speedo works ok. Unplug factory trailer hitch plug, replug and everything is ok. Haven't quite figured this one out unless it has to do with trailer brake controller. Looks like you folks are having quite the weather, have you checked on the latest Noah's ark with the Cummins.



Dave

 

[jmy]

How are ABS codes read on a 2002? with a scanner or can I activate them with the ignition key?

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You can't read ABS codes using the key cycle procedure and dash display.



ABS codes are stored in the ABS control unit and require a scanner capable of accessing the ABS controller. Dodge dealer use the DRB type scanner to access the codes.



Some repair shops also have OEM scanners capable of accessing the ABS codes but not all ABS capable OEM scanners work correctly on the dodge ABS controller interface.



The DRB scanner (same as used by your local dodge dealer) works best for accessing the ABS controller and reading ABS codes on these trucks.

 

[Melbo]

A bad wheel bearing will also eventually trip the ABS sensor as well. My rig is so noisy I can't always hear that bearing going... .

 

[Andersonville]

Here's another idea: What do they put on the roads up there for ice ? That liquid stuff eats electrical connections and gets into them as easy as WD40. Might it be the liquid stuff they spray on the roads?

 

[Hemiless]

Lots of great info here thank you. I talked to the wife today and she informed me that the brake light did indeed come on with the ABS light. Now whether or not the speedo was working under 18 mph she has no reelection.



As for a chemical that they might spray on the road? Not in my town we tend to do things the old fashion way we let the snow and ice come then we let the body shops get backed up with fender-benders then the sanding trucks come out. :-laf As far as I know mainly sand and I'm sure some salt.



Will the abs codes clear themselves with by disconnecting the battery or when the problem is corrected or do I need to go to a dealer or local garage that has a scanner that can read the dodges ABS codes?



Again thank you all for your input.

 

[DavidC]

The lights will go out when the problem is fixed. They usually reset when the ignition key is cycled. You could have the wife start it up but not move the truck. The lights will probably go out until the truck moves if I remember right. Bt the way the rear sensor ohms at around 1800 or 1. 8k depending on the meter.



Dave

 

[Nate]

Dunno about Kenai, but in Anchorage they use some sort of glycol and sand. They don't really use salt because it attracts all the animals... like moose.

Here's another idea: What do they put on the roads up there for ice ? That liquid stuff eats electrical connections and gets into them as easy as WD40. Might it be the liquid stuff they spray on the roads?

 

[DavidC]

Forgot to add. If the lights go out and relight around 40 mph and you have the factory hitch unplug the brake controller or unplug the trailer receptacle at the hitch. Mine has done this one to me twice. A sure sign of this one is everything is fine,speedo,abs and red brake until about 40 mph. Then the lights come on and speedo continues to operate normally. If you stop and cycle the ignition the sequence repeats.



Dave

 

[Hemiless]

I home now

Well I finally made it home and have the truck in thawing out in my shop. I tested the resistance on all three speed sensors and found that the front ones were 950 0hms at the connectors mounted on the inner fender wells and the rear differential speed sensor measured 1675 ohms. I was told the rear sensor should read around 1800 ohms and wasn't sure if 1675 was enough difference to trigger an ABS fault? I went through all of the abs connections and checked them for moisture and corrosion. Found nothing. I don't have a factory brake controller or any brake controller for that matter just the factory trailer hitch plug. Should I still unplug it from the harness?



The ABS light and brake light are on but the speedo works fine. Most of the 2nd generation post I've read on ABS issues states that the speedo will act up as well. So I'm not sure what to think here.



Any more Ideas would be helpful.

 

[Darrenf]

Hi Nathan,



I've got similiar issues on my truck, you can review the post I submitted about the codes with relevance to the ABS motor/control unit.



http://turbodieselregister.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170423



I've not had it fixed yet but the thread shows some ideas on what you might try.



With the rear wheel sensor being reading kinda low it might be a cheap place to start by replacing the rear wheel sensor.



Good Luck.



Darren

 

[DavidC]

Nathan,

I would unplug the factory harness anyway, strange things happen. Your sensors do not appear to be to far off to cause your problem. Front wheel bearings ok?. Wiring to front sensors appear ok?, no chafing etc. Does the abs and brake light go out when you start the truck or are they on all the time?.



Dave

 

[DavidC]

Well I finally made it home and have the truck in thawing out in my shop. I tested the resistance on all three speed sensors and found that the front ones were 950 0hms at the connectors mounted on the inner fender wells and the rear differential speed sensor measured 1675 ohms. I was told the rear sensor should read around 1800 ohms and wasn't sure if 1675 was enough difference to trigger an ABS fault? I went through all of the abs connections and checked them for moisture and corrosion. Found nothing. I don't have a factory brake controller or any brake controller for that matter just the factory trailer hitch plug. Should I still unplug it from the harness?



The ABS light and brake light are on but the speedo works fine. Most of the 2nd generation post I've read on ABS issues states that the speedo will act up as well. So I'm not sure what to think here.



Any more Ideas would be helpful.

Did you get it fixed?.



Dave