94 Ranger with ABS & parking brake light always on

I have a 94 Ford Ranger. The ABS and the parking brake light are always on. I have had the brakes done, mechanic says its an electrical problem. Then I take to an auto electriain and they say its the brakes. Several mechancics later, same story, still have these lights on all the time. I checked the parking brake switch myself and its fine. Any ideas out there, would appreciate the help. Just about ready to pull out some bulbs.

Truck, 94 Ranger, 2.3 L engine, 5 sp manual trans

Reply to
Bill
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On Tue, 04 May 2004 14:06:36 -0700, Bill rearranged some electrons to form:

Did you check to see if your brake fluid was low?

Reply to
David M

Brake fluid topped off. I just had the brakes done . I've had this problem for about 3-4 years. Tried of seeing red. Thanks

Reply to
Bill

Am I the only one who is wondering why none of these professionals can't track down the cause of a brake warning light?

Take it to a Ford dealership, they will be able to find the fault and fix it. To be honest, I wouldn't trust my car to someone who couldn't fix this.

Reply to
Mark Olson

No thanks, the local Ford dealer in Lancaster, CA would probably tell me my windshield is dirty. They are really bad. No the mechanics that worked on my truck are good guys. Just one of those weird things. I still suspect an electrical problem. Brakes are fine. New and all checked out. Parking brake sets and releases fine. The parking brake switch I checked works like its supposed to. It grounds out the wire leading to. I.e parking brake pedal depressed causes the switch to close thus grounding the single wire connected to it to ground out. If you look at the switch you can tell this is the way it was made.

The grounding out would then complete the circuit to the parking light bulb. I bet there is a short to ground on this wire??? When you put on the parking brake the light does get a little brighter.

I just thought maybe there was someone out there had a similar problem. Thanks for all the help.

Reply to
Bill

No, I didn't even ask. One thing I'll have to look into. Thanks

Reply to
Bill

| >> I have a 94 Ford Ranger. The ABS and the parking brake light are always | >> on. I have had the brakes done, mechanic says its an electrical problem. | >> Then I take to an auto electriain and they say its the brakes. Several | >> mechancics later, same story, still have these lights on all the time. I | >> checked the parking brake switch myself and its fine. Any ideas out there, | >> would appreciate the help. Just about ready to pull out some bulbs. | >>

| >> Truck, 94 Ranger, 2.3 L engine, 5 sp manual trans | >

| >Did you check to see if your brake fluid was low? | | Brake fluid topped off. I just had the brakes done . I've had this | problem for about 3-4 years. Tried of seeing red. | Thanks

There is a little float in the fill tube of the brake fluid reservoir. My lights will come on as soon as the float drops a bit even though when you look at the reservoir you can be close to the full line. Try topping up the fluid till the float rises to the top of the fill tube. My guess is that either you are that little bit low on fluid, or the sensor is off a bit. Is there any chance the float is stuck?

-- Roy DotSeaEh is .ca

Reply to
Roy Brown

Buy that man a beer. Well if I could I would buy you all a round. Thats seems to be the problem with the parking brake light. The float switch must be stuck. I filled up the master right up to the cap, past the MAX line, same thing. Disconect the wires leading to the master and the parking brake light works as supposed to. Set brake, light comes on, release brake, light goes off. I did try to tap it, cuss it, and jiggle the little float, same thing, float must be stuck. Oh well looks like that will get fixed right whenever I replace the master, since it seems to be part of it. Until then wire stays off.

BUT I still have the ABS light on all the time. I guess there are 2 separate issues. Did I read here that the "speed sensor" in/on the rear end can be the cause of the ABS light staying on? Check it with an OHM meter? What should be the resistance be? Thanks again Bill

Reply to
Bill

| >

| >| >> I have a 94 Ford Ranger. The ABS and the parking brake light are always | >| >> on. I have had the brakes done, mechanic says its an electrical | >problem. | >| >> Then I take to an auto electriain and they say its the brakes. Several | >| >> mechancics later, same story, still have these lights on all the time. | >I | >| >> checked the parking brake switch myself and its fine. Any ideas out | >there, | >| >> would appreciate the help. Just about ready to pull out some bulbs. | >| >>

| >| >> Truck, 94 Ranger, 2.3 L engine, 5 sp manual trans | >| >

| >| >Did you check to see if your brake fluid was low? | >| | >| Brake fluid topped off. I just had the brakes done . I've had this | >| problem for about 3-4 years. Tried of seeing red. | >| Thanks | >

| >There is a little float in the fill tube of the brake fluid reservoir. My | >lights will come on as soon as the float drops a bit even though when you | >look at the reservoir you can be close to the full line. Try topping up the | >fluid till the float rises to the top of the fill tube. My guess is that | >either you are that little bit low on fluid, or the sensor is off a bit. Is | >there any chance the float is stuck? | | Buy that man a beer. Well if I could I would buy you all a round. | Thats seems to be the problem with the parking brake light. The float | switch must be stuck. I filled up the master right up to the cap, past | the MAX line, same thing. Disconect the wires leading to the master | and the parking brake light works as supposed to. Set brake, light | comes on, release brake, light goes off. I did try to tap it, cuss it, | and jiggle the little float, same thing, float must be stuck. Oh well | looks like that will get fixed right whenever I replace the master, | since it seems to be part of it. Until then wire stays off. | | BUT I still have the ABS light on all the time. I guess there are 2 | separate issues. Did I read here that the "speed sensor" in/on the | rear end can be the cause of the ABS light staying on? Check it with | an OHM meter? What should be the resistance be? | Thanks again | Bill | |

Bill, I think the two lights are inter linked to the float. My ABS light comes on before the parking brake light. Topping up the fluid fixes them both. I am a little busy for the next few days, but if I can find anything in the service manuals I will let you know. I will settle for a coffee though. Roy

Reply to
Roy Brown

Fair enough Roy, coffee it shall be. Ok, obtained the flash code, I got error 4, ABS light flashes 4 times. According to my Chilton manual I just bought it says: " Yellow REAR ABS light flashes 4 times Red Brake Warning. Light illuminated RABS Valve Switch Closed" Which means, ??? Does that mean the RABS valve is defective? I would assume I'm just running around without the ABS system working after reading about ABS brakes. Muffler bearings perhaps? Any ideas? Appreciate the help everyone.

Reply to
Bill

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