2002 Ford Windstar 2002 Windstar ABS Control Module Failure

Hi FullThrottle64. Welcome to the forum. I don't think brake fluid is the culprit unless you actually see it running out. Modules under the hood are so well sealed, otherwise rain water would get in. The burning looks like a typical failure which is common on a lot of computer modules on a lot of brands of cars.

The most common failure is a shorted "reverse polarity protection diode". It's job is to turn on and conduct a real heavy current and cause a fuse to blow if the battery is connected backwards. Blowing the fuse saves the module. Those diodes are used in computer modules, car radios, and lots of other devices that would be damaged by reverse polarity. Unfortunately, those diodes cause as much trouble as they prevent. Even if brake fluid did get onto the circuit board, it isn't electrically conductive. I've seen the same failure on a Mitsubishi Eclipse Engine Computer, a Chevy Blazer ABS computer, and a few others that I don't recall the specifics. Adding to the misery is the fact that these computers run a number of high-current solenoids in the hydraulic controller. That high current is hard on the pins in the connector and can lead to degraded solder connections where the pins attach to the circuit board.

I've had limited success in cleaning off the carbon and soldering in wires to replace the burned traces. Usually there are other things wrong internally.

As a side note, check all the fuses under the hood and inside for your instrument cluster problem. The signals may be shared by various modules but I believe you don't HAVE to have the ABS module to have gauges. I could be wrong on that, but on most vehicles, the ABS is an option. If it isn't on the vehicle, the rest of the components are the same.

Caradiodoc

Thanks for adding another dimension to my beedy little mind. I have another story about the capillary effect of which you speak, but I wasn't aware it was that common on another model or even about the recall. Seems someone had a wet floor on a fwd GM product about ten years ago. It was blamed on a leaking heater core. The problem continued after it was replaced. After numerous repair attempts, the conscientious mechanic was worried about the liquid damaging the engine computer which lives behind the right kick panel by the door so he covered it with a plastic bag. No more wet floor for a couple of months until one day when the car stopped running. Imagine their surprise when they headed for that computer and found the bag full of coolant! Upon further investigation, they found coolant in the connector of the coolant temperature sensor. So I definitely understand what you're describing. Apparently there was no other connector between the computer and sensor to stop the flow of coolant. I just never dreamed I'd ever hear of that happening again. Thank you.

I can't get my access to AllData to work, but as luck would have it, I have a bunch of Ford dvds. I think I found the diagrams you want. Even though electrical is one of my specialties, Fords and stability control systems are not. I'm familiar with the Chrysler system where speed sensor data is transferred between modules on the data buss and doesn't have to go through one module to get to another, but that may have changed for them too.

I've never worked with a yaw sensor, steering wheel position sensor, or power booster sensor so I can't help you there. I've been to schools where we talked about them but that isn't the same as actually working on them. From what I can tell from the diagrams, it appears, as you said, ABS is standard, but stability control might be optional.

I don't think I can copy and paste the diagrams here so I'm going to e-mail them directly to you. Besides, a lot of stuff I see pasted is way too small to read. I don't see any reference to the speed sensor signal so it must come in on a data buss. If that's the case, you should be able to just unplug the module without affecting anything else. Most ABS systems don't even use a vehicle speed signal. They work on the four wheel speed sensors which are not the same as the one used for the engine, transmission, and instrument cluster. That said, the system diagram, part three does show the instrument cluster, engine computer, and ABS computer all tied together with two wires that appear to be a data buss. It goes to the diagnostic connector too so you know all vehicle information related to computers will be there. I know there are some cars that use an ABS wheel speed sensor for the speedometer but I found a diagram in the transmission section that shows an input shaft, (crankshaft) speed sensor and an output shaft, (half shaft) speed sensor. That's what Chrysler uses too so the ABS should be a whole separate system. If your ABS module is shorting out the data buss, my understanding is the engine won't even start and run due to loss of sensor information, but it is possible that the ABS computer interprets the speed information before sending a different signal to the instrument cluster. I can only guess they would do that to force you get the vehicle repaired for an inoperative speedometer / odometer. There are a lot of people who would just keep driving without knowing what the ABS warning light was for if everything else worked normally. Forcing them to get the speedometer fixed would result in the ABS working again which would eliminate a potential liability issue.

Caradiodoc