I have a '99 Ford Windstar. Occasionally the ABS light will come on. Stopping the van, turning the engine off and restarting will have the light return to normal operation (sounds like it's running on Windows 95). I experience no performance issues, the brakes are in good shape, and fluid is up the max. Any ideas?
If the light is coming on, there is a fault code being set. The ABS system can be complex and, not that many people are competent to diagnose or repair it. Most small shops do not even have a way to accurately read the fault codes. You nee to have a well equipped independent shop or a dealer run a diagnostic scan for the codes relared to the ABS system. Only then can the system be intelligently diagnosed. You need to get this checked. You do not want to have a brake system that may be out to lunch when you need it most. I would rather have no ABS than an ABS system that I cannot rely on. Think about it.
All that said, the most problematic part of the system are the wheel sensors but, you will have no idea which one w/o a diagnostic code scan. There are several other components that will also cause problems like this.
Good luck
If I take it in, and the light is off, will they still be able to read the codes, or do I need to go when the light is on?
it will have a "keep alive" code stored in memory. So if the light was on recently they should be able to get the code. Do you have the experience to clean the wheels sensors? If so, try that first. Basically pull the wheels and clean the crap off of them.
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