ABS light coming on

I recently bought a 2002 Ford Windstar that has an intermittent problem. A "Check Traction Control" message appears in the message center, and at the same time the amber "ABS" and red "Brakes" warning lights illuminate on the instrument panel. The indicators appear to clear when I shut the engine off for 15 seconds or longer.

I took the van to a garage and had the computer scanned. Three codes appeared: C1404, C1410, and C1185.

Is this problem related to any of the Ford recalls related to the ABS and speed control issues? What corrective actions need to be taken?

9/10/2010

1999 Windstar base 3.0, auto, 2wd, cruise, rear window defroster, pwr steering & Brakes.
Mileage is 82,000.

Driving home from the store, the ABS light went on, the Odometer went to dashes & the speedometer quit working. The temperature was around 80 degrees. The orange ABS light was the only light on. Not knowing what was going on, I called the Ford dealer and was told $125 to run diagnostics & the repair could be between $800-2500.

After reading internet Ford problems, I found out that fuse 10 was blown. I replaced it & all was well for about 10 minutes, then the fuse blew again. More reading led to checking the deactivation sw on the master cylinder. It was fine and had been replaced by recall a year earlier. All wires under the master cyl appear to be fine.

More reading told me to pull fuse 101 & 102 (ABS 40amp fuses). The Orange ABS light went on. (I could live without ABS for a while), Well after the car got warm, fuse 10 blew again. Thinking that the new deactivation went bad, I totally disconnected it by removing the wire. Put in a new fuse 10 and started up the car. All was fine. It sat there idling for about 15 minutes & fuse 10 blew. Not one item was turned on. Anything related to what fuse 10 controls was off.

I pulled all connectors around the master cyl looking for brake fluid or corrosion. None was found, they all look pretty good, no brake fluid or corrosion.

While most problems deal with the deactivation sw, this one appears to be different.
Also some info deals with hot weather, which has not been the case since this problem started.

To date, I've done this three times, put in a new fuse 10, started the car COLD and let it idle with no equipment on. Fuse 10 blows after about 10-15 minutes. Fuse 101 & 102 are out & the deactivation wire is disconnected. After fuse 10 blows, putting in a new fuse blows immediately while the engine is hot.

Playing around some more, I noticed that when the car gets hot enough to activate the fans, fuse 10 blows. I first thought it might be the fans, but when trying again, the fuse blew about a minute before the fans went on.

For the most part, the car functions fine with the abs light on & fuse 10 blown. Wouldn't mind driving, but without speedometer, it is difficult.

Any help you can give will be appreciated. I will make a donation, and if you can solve the problem, I'll donate more.

If you need any other info, please let me know
Thanks

Tom Myer

What do you mean by check the power wires. Can you be a little more specific. If fuse 10 blows after the car gets hot, I would think that would point to something more than check all the power wires one by one.

Also all connections around the master cyl are pretty clean of any goo.

Since the fuse does not blow for 15 min after the car is started AND AT A IDLE (not moving) and today it went for almost 20 min just sitting there, I cannot see doing what your telling me to do. This problem is definetly heat related. If there was a problem behind the fuse panel, I would think it would blow immediately.
Again can you be more specific as to heat related problems.

If you don't think heat has any thing to with this, why would all be okay until the car gets hot.

Thanks

I have a 2002 Windstar, 92,975 miles, with the check engine light on. I had a diagnostic test ran on it today and it came back with codes 144 and 171. The car care center recommended replacing the intake manifold for $900.

Is there anything else that can be done to correct these codes?

My brake and ABS lights are also coming on intermittingly. I have recently had my brakes done and have had them checked 3 times and have been told they are fine. I was not gien the code the repair center retrieved, but they are researching their files to provide me with this. They did replace the ABS relay, but that did not work. I saw the thread on here that many people are having this issue, but did not see a solution. Has there been one?

Thank you in advnace for your assistance, and advise.

I hit something on the road and had to replace the abs module. After two tries I have no speedo and no odometer no outside temp. And the abs lights are on. Is there a fuse that may have been blown that is some where other than in the two fuse boxes. I fear that a short has occured in the wiring at the abs module. Hope you can help. Thanks for your time

Ok i'll get it scaned

I have a 2002 Ford Windstar with problems with ABS MIL and Brake MIL intermittently coming on. I have had this problem for over 2 years, it has been such a frustration that I NEVER want another one! Last weekend I repaired the check engine light that was triggered by bad isolator bolts inside the intake plenum. The driver's side window no longer opens and the side doors often don't automatically open any more. Anyway.

Has anyone heard of the speed sensors on the wheels cracking and causing the ABS MIL light problem? My brother has had this issue and I also have a ABS/Brake MIL issue and wonder if the speed sensor could be a cause. What do you guys think?

I own a 1998 windstar with 369,000km with a 6cyl and the ABS light goes on and off. I am aware I have to replace the front brake pads and rotors. Would this fix the abs light? I was advised by a backyard mech to get the rear brakes adjusted and have the abs wire unhooked but it is required to pass inspection. Please help! Thanks.

Hi justanold,

I have 1996 Ford windstar (180,000 km) 3.0 V6 and I have quite similar problem with TWAR931. The ABS light turns on right after few meters of driving and it remains lighted until the engine is turned off. I cleaned all the ABS sensors and measured the Impedance/Resistance(all ok at 2.6kohms -2.8kohms) but still kept showing up. Could this be an ABS module itself that cause this? Where is the ABS module located? Could DIY possible to replace it without any need of calibration or whatsoever? Thanks for your time.

Rbpij_68

Hi justanold,

I bought my car from the internet (second hand) last month and unfortunately, I don't have too much information about how and what has been done concerning breaking system. I cleaned all sensors and noticed that those rear sensors are too rusty so I used the steel brush to cleaned them but didn't solve the problem. I noticed also that front Disc/rotor?) Is a bit worn out but not sure if it affect the ABS. By the way, what is the indicator ring and where it is located? Thanks.

Rbpij_68

Hi justanold,

Thanks. I will try that end of this week.

Rbpij_68