• Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and Register for our forum. Even if you don't want to post, you can still 'Like' and react to posts.

97 Ranger Brake Light and ABS Light On


benm697

New Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2015
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Vehicle Year
1997
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
4cyl
Transmission
Manual
Hi everyone,

I have a 97 Ranger 2wd, 4cyl, and the abs and brake lights have been on for the past two days. I recently got the rear brakes done, lines replaced, and I just checked, my front brakes/lines are in good shape as well.

I really don't want to take the truck to the dealership to get the codes pulled as I just put a good amount of money in this truck and don't want to spend anymore at the moment.

I have read online that it could be a sensor or something like that, which confuses me as I just got that sensor replaced 2 years ago..

Any ideas? Anyone know of a place where I can get the code pulled for free?
 


Denisefwd93

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 20, 2015
Messages
2,261
Reaction score
74
Points
48
Location
South East PA
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
stock, may get leveling springs in front "somday"
Tire Size
235
You might go back to the rocket scientist that just did your brakes, I mean like duh?

I don't know if your truck has rabs or abs but you can pull the codes yourself.

Some of the Forum experts will be along when they see this post. good luck!
 

benm697

New Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2015
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Vehicle Year
1997
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
4cyl
Transmission
Manual
Yeah, that sounds obvious, but when I said recent I meant like over a month ago. So I doubt my mechanic caused the issue. When you say pull the codes yourself what do you mean? I don't have an obd scanner so is there another way?

Thanks
 

Denisefwd93

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 20, 2015
Messages
2,261
Reaction score
74
Points
48
Location
South East PA
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
stock, may get leveling springs in front "somday"
Tire Size
235
I'm pretty sure you have rear anti-lock brakes "RABS" one of the most useless and badly functional things Rangers have.

You don't need a scanner. it is a blink code all you do is short out the sensor.
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6267

there is a brake fluid level sensor on your master cylinder if he did the brakes there's a good chance it's that, because they hang up. I have mine disconnected until we replace the master cylinder in the near future.

Here is a good video and how to pull the codes I did it on my truck

https://youtu.be/JgMjB-r6vVA


There is lots and lots of discussion about it all over the internet and here. you shouldn't have any trouble finding that you can also look up the codes search words "rabs codes"
I'm on my second Ranger and I had bypassed it in both because I like to stop when I use the brakes.
 

cstarbard

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2017
Messages
225
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Age
30
Location
Oakham, MA
Vehicle Year
1996
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
2.3
Transmission
Manual
My credo
It do like it be
I used to have a 94 Ranger 4 cyl with RABS and it had this light on off and on.

Here's what I learned.

First, the light on the dash is an idiot light that is thrown on by a number of issues, some of which are: brake fluid level, a problem in the ABS system. Look at a fuse box diagram and make sure you have fuses plugged in for ABS and that they are not blown.

As mentioned above, there is a fluid level sensor in the master cylinder. You will see the plug coming off the side of the plastic brake fluid reservoir. Is it connected? Try disconnecting the connector and cleaning the contacts with electronics cleaner, putting in di electric grease in there, and reconnecting.

Is the brake fluid topped off? Try that. Either of those two things may work.

If you have enough fluid and the connector and sensor seem good, then there are several other things to look at:

There is a sensor bolted into the top of the rear differential. Is it properly bolted in and is the electrical connector connected? Try cleaning that and reconnecting. This sensor is a magnetic pickup, basically, that reads a tone ring (toothed ring that looks like a gear) on the ring gear of the rear axle. It is trying to look for discrepancies between vehicle speed and the speed of the ring gear (i.e., brakes locked, vehicle sliding)

Next: As far as I know ALL RABS rangers up to 97 have one ABS hydraulic control unit on the drivers side frame rail, not far from where the fuel filter mounts (it is a brass machined block with two cylinders on top of it). It is possible for this unit to leak externally, which can cause a slow loss of fluid and or braking pressure and that threw on the ABS idiot light for me.

If this unit is leaking, it is usually pretty wet and obvious. A replacement is around $130 as I recall. The only way to bleed the new ABS unit would be to install it, then get a spare electrical connector for it, find power wire and ground wire from the new connector, and energize it from a spare battery with fluid in the master cyl reservoir, it would pump the valve unit and should purge air bubbles out to behind the new hydraulic unit, then you would have to bleed rear brakes as normal to bleed that air out of the system completely. There is a very expensive OBS ford tool to do this, some advanced scanners may be able to do it (Not a regular OBD2 scanner) but in theory the method I described would do it just fine.

EDIT: if you did not care about having RABS and your hydraulic unit is shot, then you can of course bypass it, would be as simple as fitting the inlet and outlet brake lines of thge ABS hydraulic unit to each other, and then bleeding the system again. If you do that, leave the electrical connector of the hydraulic unit connected or otherwise you will get the idiot light back. I did a bypass that way myself once, brakes worked great but could lock up since there was no ABS anymore, but the light did not come on since the unit was still plugged in.

I have 4 wheel ABS on my 96 Ranger and I absolutely love having it. When working, it is a wonderful safety feature and the truck stops great. The system really isn't that difficult to fix and is worth keeping if you want it. I have never had abs on a ford ranger cause an unsafe stopping condition... I have had gm ABS systems that felt like they wanted to kill me

Hopefully that covers it!! Update us with any progress
 
Last edited:

benm697

New Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2015
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Vehicle Year
1997
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
4cyl
Transmission
Manual
I used to have a 94 Ranger 4 cyl with RABS and it had this light on off and on.

Here's what I learned.

First, the light on the dash is an idiot light that is thrown on by a number of issues, some of which are: brake fluid level, a problem in the ABS system. Look at a fuse box diagram and make sure you have fuses plugged in for ABS and that they are not blown.

As mentioned above, there is a fluid level sensor in the master cylinder. You will see the plug coming off the side of the plastic brake fluid reservoir. Is it connected? Try disconnecting the connector and cleaning the contacts with electronics cleaner, putting in di electric grease in there, and reconnecting.

Is the brake fluid topped off? Try that. Either of those two things may work.

If you have enough fluid and the connector and sensor seem good, then there are several other things to look at:

There is a sensor bolted into the top of the rear differential. Is it properly bolted in and is the electrical connector connected? Try cleaning that and reconnecting. This sensor is a magnetic pickup, basically, that reads a tone ring (toothed ring that looks like a gear) on the ring gear of the rear axle. It is trying to look for discrepancies between vehicle speed and the speed of the ring gear (i.e., brakes locked, vehicle sliding)

Next: As far as I know ALL RABS rangers up to 97 have one ABS hydraulic control unit on the drivers side frame rail, not far from where the fuel filter mounts (it is a brass machined block with two cylinders on top of it). It is possible for this unit to leak externally, which can cause a slow loss of fluid and or braking pressure and that threw on the ABS idiot light for me.

If this unit is leaking, it is usually pretty wet and obvious. A replacement is around $130 as I recall. The only way to bleed the new ABS unit would be to install it, then get a spare electrical connector for it, find power wire and ground wire from the new connector, and energize it from a spare battery with fluid in the master cyl reservoir, it would pump the valve unit and should purge air bubbles out to behind the new hydraulic unit, then you would have to bleed rear brakes as normal to bleed that air out of the system completely. There is a very expensive OBS ford tool to do this, some advanced scanners may be able to do it (Not a regular OBD2 scanner) but in theory the method I described would do it just fine.

EDIT: if you did not care about having RABS and your hydraulic unit is shot, then you can of course bypass it, would be as simple as fitting the inlet and outlet brake lines of thge ABS hydraulic unit to each other, and then bleeding the system again. If you do that, leave the electrical connector of the hydraulic unit connected or otherwise you will get the idiot light back. I did a bypass that way myself once, brakes worked great but could lock up since there was no ABS anymore, but the light did not come on since the unit was still plugged in.

I have 4 wheel ABS on my 96 Ranger and I absolutely love having it. When working, it is a wonderful safety feature and the truck stops great. The system really isn't that difficult to fix and is worth keeping if you want it. I have never had abs on a ford ranger cause an unsafe stopping condition... I have had gm ABS systems that felt like they wanted to kill me

Hopefully that covers it!! Update us with any progress
This is a fantastic post, thank you for the effort you put into writing this.

So, the kinda good news is this, I went under the hood and found the cable that you mentioned, so I pulled it out and reinserted it. After, I went to the rear diff and simply wiggled the sensor. Guess what! The brake light went off! Unfortunately, the abs light is remaining on but I would consider this a good start.

Tomorrow I will do a proper cleaning of the cables and sensor and see if that turns off the final light.

Also, I checked the RABS hydraulic unit and it is not leaking.....

I will provide an update after I properly clean everything.
 

cstarbard

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2017
Messages
225
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Age
30
Location
Oakham, MA
Vehicle Year
1996
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
2.3
Transmission
Manual
My credo
It do like it be
No problem! Glad it helped.

I guess I forgot that there are separate lights for ABS and the brake idiot light which I believe is the same one that comes on with e brake on, and also for fluid level etc. I thought my 94 had only one light but I must be remembering that wrong. I definitely am because I can see on my dash that my 96 has separate ABS and idiot lights.

So you must have some issue with your ABS system if the ABS light is on. When mine was on, it was simple as a missing fuse for some part of the ABS system. From my understanding, if there is a problem in the ABS system, it will throw the light on, and then basically not activate ABS until it recognizes that the problem has been resolved- just for what that's worth.

Just curious, are you positive you have 2 wheel (rear) ABS only and not 4 wheel ABS? I believe 4wABS was an option on 2WD trucks as well, though probably highly uncommon. The definitive way to know would be to look at the back sides of your rotors. If there is a tone ring on the rotors and a sensor on the knuckle with a smooth black wire running from it (which would be clipped to the brake hose), that would be 4wABS. There would also be a larger controller unit under the hood, near the underhood fuse box.

Chris
 

benm697

New Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2015
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Vehicle Year
1997
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
4cyl
Transmission
Manual
So, I went ahead and replaced the sensor since it was cheap enough. Alas, the brake light has remained off, but the abs light is still on.

Tomorrow I will follow the wire and see if it is torn broken anywhere, I doubt it but I want to make sure.

I properly cleaned all of the cables, checked brake fluid, and all of the fuses/relays and still cannot figure out how to get that light off.

I double checked, I only have RABS.

Is there anything else that could throw off the code?
 

Denisefwd93

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 20, 2015
Messages
2,261
Reaction score
74
Points
48
Location
South East PA
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
stock, may get leveling springs in front "somday"
Tire Size
235
So, I went ahead and replaced the sensor since it was cheap enough. Alas, the brake light has remained off, but the abs light is still on.

Tomorrow I will follow the wire and see if it is torn broken anywhere, I doubt it but I want to make sure.

I properly cleaned all of the cables, checked brake fluid, and all of the fuses/relays and still cannot figure out how to get that light off.

I double checked, I only have RABS.

Is there anything else that could throw off the code?
Did you initiate the flash so you can get the codes?

dimes to Donuts it's failed.
https://www.autozone.com/repairguides/Mazda-Trucks-1994-1998-Repair-Guide/REAR-ANTI-LOCK-BRAKE-SYSTEM-RABS/System-Self-Test/_/P-0900c1528008d665
 
Last edited:

benm697

New Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2015
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Vehicle Year
1997
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
4cyl
Transmission
Manual
Did you initiate the flash so I can get the codes?

dimes to Donuts it's failed.
Not yet, I couldn't find the diagnostic port underneath the dash, but I did read that it could be under the passenger side kick panel so I will check there tomorrow if I have to.

Also, what does this mean?

"For the 97 Ranger: Remove fuse #9 and ground the cold side where the fuse was that has NO voltage for a couple of seconds with the key on. This is the same as grounding the diagnostic connector. Works like a charm. "

What is the cold side? If this is also a way to get the code I would rather do this than take apart my dash.
 

ericbphoto

Overlander in development
TRS Event Staff
TRS Forum Moderator
Supporting Member
U.S. Military - Veteran
TRS 20th Anniversary
VAGABOND
TRS Event Participant
GMRS Radio License
Joined
Feb 7, 2016
Messages
15,200
Reaction score
16,339
Points
113
Age
59
Location
Wellford, SC
Vehicle Year
1993
Make / Model
Ford Ranger
Engine Type
3.0 V6
Engine Size
3.0L
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
6"
Tire Size
35"
My credo
In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are different.
When you remove the fuse, one side of the fuse holder should have 12 volts on it. That is the "hot" side. The side with 0 volts ( the load side) is the " cold" side.

When you ground the cold side ( with fuse removed) you are probably allowing a capacitor to discharge. That capacitor is what keeps a bit of voltage there to maintain the memory. Bleeding that voltage away clears the memory. If you want to read codes, do that first.

This message composed solely of recycled electrons. Go green!
 

Denisefwd93

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 20, 2015
Messages
2,261
Reaction score
74
Points
48
Location
South East PA
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
stock, may get leveling springs in front "somday"
Tire Size
235
Not yet, I couldn't find the diagnostic port underneath the dash, but I did read that it could be under the passenger side kick panel so I will check there tomorrow if I have to.

Also, what does this mean?

"For the 97 Ranger: Remove fuse #9 and ground the cold side where the fuse was that has NO voltage for a couple of seconds with the key on. This is the same as grounding the diagnostic connector. Works like a charm. "

What is the cold side? If this is also a way to get the code I would rather do this than take apart my dash.
Doing everything but actually trying to get the codes... you need to get the codes and figure out how to read them on their older trucks it's not too difficult at all there's a round connector floor near the parking brake.

What is this about tearing your dash apart?
 

cstarbard

Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2017
Messages
225
Reaction score
4
Points
18
Age
30
Location
Oakham, MA
Vehicle Year
1996
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
2.3
Transmission
Manual
My credo
It do like it be
Found this in another thread: (referring to a 97 Ranger, so should apply to you)


"There is a big round connector on the firewall near the clutch, stuck on the wire haness is a little black connector about 2" long and a PITA to disconnect (I broke mine). Ground the orange/black wire with the key on and click it back together. The code will flash."

He is talking about a diagnostic port for ABS codes. I believe what will happen is that if you do what he said with the orange/black wire, the ABS light will blink in a sequence, say it blinked four times, then paused, then once, that would read as "code 41" then you just have to look up what that numerical code means. I've never had to pull codes for my ABS so I havent tried this method, but it seems like a lot of people are saying it works. I'll go look at my truck and see if I can find that connector and get you a pic

Airbag lights work the same way- when they have a problem they will blink in sequence at startup every time to give you that code. I don't know why ABS doesn't do the same thing, but it should blink out a code for you if you ground it as mentioned above

People on the internet are quite confused about the existence of diagnostic ports on 93-97 Rangers in general... People think there is an airbag system diagnostic port behind the radio bezel or with the airbag computer, neither exist (airbag computer is behind your passenger kick panel, btw- there's nothing ABS behind that cover that I know of), so hopefully there is in fact a diagnostic port for ABS
 
Last edited:

benm697

New Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2015
Messages
12
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Vehicle Year
1997
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
4cyl
Transmission
Manual
Doing everything but actually trying to get the codes... you need to get the codes and figure out how to read them on their older trucks it's not too difficult at all there's a round connector floor near the parking brake.

What is this about tearing your dash apart?
There is a lot of confusion on the internet about what Rangers have that port, and if they do where it is. I have searched for the port underneath the pedals and I could not find it. I will check again today just in case. I will also try that fuse method when I get the chance.

So yeah, I am doing every I can without having the codes. Its not like I'm avoiding getting the codes. I simply cannot find the diagnostic port.
 

Denisefwd93

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 20, 2015
Messages
2,261
Reaction score
74
Points
48
Location
South East PA
Vehicle Year
1994
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Type
4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
stock, may get leveling springs in front "somday"
Tire Size
235
seems like yours is behind the pass kick panel

2007 discusion here; http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7097

After having difficulties i used the Mitchell on Demand program(like alldata) at auto tech class and found that the connector was located behind my right kick panel. I grounded the wire which then told me there was a speed something issue. I took the bed off to do a sending unit so while i was at it i took out the differential speed sensor and cleaned it with brake clean. That appears to have solved the prroblem the light is now off.

On my 93 it was right where they said it was. near the pedal and parking brake. I even made a little vid of my "blinker" LOL

https://youtu.be/tafU3QkkElI
 
Last edited:

Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Staff online

Member & Vendor Upgrades

For a small yearly donation, you can support this forum and receive a 'Supporting Member' banner, or become a 'Supporting Vendor' and promote your products here. Click the banner to find out how.

Truck of The Month


Kirby N.
March Truck of The Month

Recently Featured

Want to see your truck here? Share your photos and details in the forum.

Follow TRS On Instagram

TRS Events

25th Anniversary Sponsors

Check Out The TRS Store


Sponsored Ad


Sponsored Ad

Sponsored Ad


Amazon Deals

Top