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ABS& Brake lights on the dash


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My speedo still works so am guessing the rear sensor is still good, not a fuse prob., so I am going to take the sensors off the front of my ,wrecked 2000 3500 with auto, parts truck for me, and try them on my truck. Does anyone fore see a problem? Thanks

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during our yearly snow storm my truck did something very similar. My ABS light came on after I pulled someone up a hill in the snow but soon went back off. Worried me enough that I will be taking everything apart and cleaning it up really well, but it hasn't been back on since. Could it be possible that the e-brake isn't fully releasing even after its unfrozen and causing problems with the ABS sensor?

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Not like that at all. My emergance brake cables are frozen. Not one but both the one on the left and right side. I got under neith the truck and at the part that connects the cable from the foot peddle to the middle of the truck was all right. I tryed that unhooked from the rest. The cables from the middle of the truck to the drums where locked up would not move. I took them out put one end in a vice and pulled on the other end and would not move. I guess I need new brake cables from the drums to the middle of the truck?

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  • Owner

during our yearly snow storm my truck did something very similar. My ABS light came on after I pulled someone up a hill in the snow but soon went back off. Worried me enough that I will be taking everything apart and cleaning it up really well, but it hasn't been back on since. Could it be possible that the e-brake isn't fully releasing even after its unfrozen and causing problems with the ABS sensor?

No... You could drive around all day with the e-brake set and never trip a ABS light. ABS light comes on because one or more speed sensor do not match each other. In other words if the front 2 speed sensor report 30 MPH and the rear sensor reports 50 MPH... There is a issue... ABS/BRAKE light tripped.

Not like that at all. My emergance brake cables are frozen. Not one but both the one on the left and right side. I got under neith the truck and at the part that connects the cable from the foot peddle to the middle of the truck was all right. I tryed that unhooked from the rest. The cables from the middle of the truck to the drums where locked up would not move. I took them out put one end in a vice and pulled on the other end and would not move. I guess I need new brake cables from the drums to the middle of the truck?

Yeah... Might be rusted, corroded, or something... Did you warm them up to room temp to be sure it not just ice hanging them up? Like mine released after I had my truck in the shop and got some heat to the cable and they released...
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Not like that at all. My emergance brake cables are frozen. Not one but both the one on the left and right side. I got under neith the truck and at the part that connects the cable from the foot peddle to the middle of the truck was all right. I tryed that unhooked from the rest. The cables from the middle of the truck to the drums where locked up would not move. I took them out put one end in a vice and pulled on the other end and would not move. I guess I need new brake cables from the drums to the middle of the truck?

They are not locked up. They will not apply.

--- Update to the previous post...

No... You could drive around all day with the e-brake set and never trip a ABS light. ABS light comes on because one or more speed sensor do not match each other. In other words if the front 2 speed sensor report 30 MPH and the rear sensor reports 50 MPH... There is a issue... ABS/BRAKE light tripped.

Yeah... Might be rusted, corroded, or something... Did you warm them up to room temp to be sure it not just ice hanging them up?

Like mine released after I had my truck in the shop and got some heat to the cable and they released...

Probley corroded up I guess. Will try the ones off my 2000 if they aren't fouled up. I just havent run into this problem before.
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  • Owner

Will a 1997 work on my 2001?

Yeah 94-02 is all 2nd Gen.

Falls in the 2nd gen right? Is the chassis diagnostic within the fsm?

No... ABS issues can only be handled with a Dodge DRBIII tool which cost about $6,000.00 bucks

I would need to re-program, right?

Yes... Because if you replace a ABS module you got to reset the tire revs and the VIN number.
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Mike, please clarify.When I took my truck in, drbIII found that ABS control module faulty(not the CAB that is in the dash). It is the controller that monitors the two front wheels. Does this one also need to be programmed or can I just replace? I found a replacement (2001).Do you think the sensors would go bad before the abs controller? Any feedback would be appreciated.

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Warning :doh: two dumb questions:?!What if one of the sensors has gone bad, therefore setting the fault that the DRBIII found pertaining to the ABS control module. Does anybody think that this may be the case? I have been told that the control modules(ABS&CAB) rarely go bad. There is a greater chance that the sensors go caput. If switching out the sensors only, does the system still need to be reprogrammed?

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  • Owner

Well if there is a DRBIII tool hooked up the tech will be able to see the speed sensor from all 3 positions (front left, front right, rear). As for guessing on which sensor it is... Last time I saw speed sensors they are roughly $200 a piece. So still the only way to check this all out correctly and right is get a dealer to plug in the DRBIII tool and he'll be able to see if the CAB module is bad, sensors are bad, etc... But I don't think a sensor will cause a CAB module to fail...Or if your going to poor boy it... If the speedometer is working correctly then it on of the front 2 sensors...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry to weigh in late on this.I bought my '99 last Nov. with the abs/brake light lit. It is 2wd with 4-wheel abs. Dealer was able to diagnose to the right front sensor with DRB III. Pulled the rotor/hub & found the sensor cracked & split open. Purchased a new one on-line from an OEM parts discounter; $167 IIRC. Plugged it in & light went out without moving the vehicle. ABS seemed to work as designed on our icy roads earlier this month. I was able to take a reading with my digital VOM on the new part prior to installation - something real low like 1.5 ohms. Could only get a reading using the diode check function though.There ought to be some answers in there somewhere.Joe in St Louis

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  • 3 months later...

Thank you Michael for the ABS wiring diagram. My buddy's 2001 with A/T has the ABS and Brake light on and his speedometer does not work. So is the rear sensor the problem? We pulled each of the connections apart to check for connectivity and have it until we get to the plug end that goes into the sensor at the differential. We even spliced in a fresh wire at the connection at the differential and guess what? No connectivity at the other end of the wire!:shrug::banghead: Is it time to just try a new sensor and see if that fixes the problem?

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Update!, so i installed an ABS control module which i will call "new" within thread. The module that is on the driver's side, which i got from a 2001 manufactured within a couple of months at the same facility that my truck came out of, small world at the junkyard. The lights remained on, so i decided to take it to the dealer. They hooked it up to the scanner and found an ABS control module failure. The dealer mentioned that the "new" module was from a 97 truck. The tech also mentioned that it was not recognizing the control module and asked if i had replaced the original one. Of course i told him that i had taken it into a shop and had it worked on, but i was still having problems. He told me that he reprogrammed the module with my VIN and wheel rev's, which resulted in the lights turning off at ignition, but once it was driven for about a block the lights would come on again. After three hours of them trying to re-program the "new" control module, the tech finally threw in the towel. They only charged me 60 bucks for hooking it up to the scanner. Does anyone think that the control module i purchased at the junk yard($15) could also have been damaged, due to the truck being in a traffic collision? If not, could this be a sign that maybe there is something else going on? Maybe PCM went out? Any feedback would be appreciated

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