Help! ABS or Traction Control Problem - 98 Trans Sport

Jan 27, 2006 4 Replies

I'm trying to diagnose a problem without getting the vehicle towed to the shop.



Here's what happened:



First, the battery went bad, making it hard to start. (Not enough power to crank hard.)



Did not drive the vehicle for about 1 week.



Started the engine again with difficulty (low battery.) Three dash lights stayed on: Brakes, ABS, and Traction Control. However, this did not seem to affect driving.



The next time I drove, no dash warning lights.



The next time I started it with the low battery (to go get a new battery,) the same three dash lights stayed on AND I noticed that the left front brake was dragging. Over a period of about one minute, the brake clamped down harder and harder to the point where I could no longer drive it.



Later that day, I started the engine saw the same three lights on the dash. I switched off Traction Control and all three lights went out. When I turned Trac Control back on, no Lights on dash. But the left front brake is still locked tight.



Ideas?



Brake light, Traction light and ABS light all on at once are all a sign of an alternator not generating enough output. This coupled with a bad battery makes me wonder.

Thanks, Curt. I already suspected that the battery may be the root cause. I plan to replace the faulty battery and see what happens. The trouble is: I can't get the bolt out that holds the bottom battery clamp down. I think it's stripped.

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