I have had an unusual sequence of events happen recently. They might not be related but I'll give you the scoop to see if you can help me

1999 Ranger
2WD
3.0 V6, 5 spd manual

I left my Ranger parked a couple days at my Aunt's house. Went to pick it up and it wouldn't start. Would turn over (very strong, no battery issue) but it was like it wasn't getting any fuel/spark. It was starting to rain so I left it over night and drove one of her vehicles home. Next afternoon, weather clear, it started up and ran no issues. My Dad followed me home just to be sure. Upon arriving he said, hey, you have no brake lights. I checked the bulbs, they were fine. Tail lights worked when headlights turned on. So I checked the fuses. All looked fine. So I assumed it must be the brake light switch. I replaced it along with the 3rd brake light bulb (on the cab) which was blown. This fixed the brake light problem.

Got in the Ranger the next day. Pulled down the driveway, everything fine until I got on the road. Once I got going the ABS light came on and stayed on. When I got where I was going and got back in the truck, I was hoping it was a quirk. I started it up and once again the light was out. But once I got on the street and started moving it came back on and stayed on. It does the same thing every time. I checked what the owners manual said were the 2 fuses for the ABS and they look fine.

MY OBDII device isn't working. Haven't used it in a while. So I went by Advance Auto to get them to check it for codes. The guy said unless the "Check Engine" light is on it won't give a code. So I got no where with that.

Any suggestions what to check next? I saw on here where there is a sensor on the rear brake drum and one on the differential housing. Should I replace one of those? I hate to go buying a bunch of parts without knowing what I'm doing.

Thanks,

MC

 

Welcome to the forum

I assume speedometer is working or you would have mentioned its not working?

The wiring diagram below is for 1998 Ranger but its the same for 1998-2000
Assuming Rear ABS(RABS) not 4-wheel ABS(4WABS)?

The brake light switch has 2 parts inside, one for the brake bulbs and one for the sensor, sensor is grounded when brake pedal is up, and it has 12v when brake pedal is pushed down

There is also a sensor/switch on the E-brake pedal, it will turn on the Brake Light indicator on the dash when e-brake pedal is down, even a little, and that would cause ABS light to come on when driving, so make sure e-brake light comes on when you push down e-brake pedal, so you know bulb is not burned out, and e-brake switch is not bad causing ABS light

 

Yes, the speedometer is working fine. No issues with it. The parking brake light comes on when the pedal is pushed. When I release it, the light goes out properly.

The ABS light only comes on after I get to 5 or 10 mph.

Thanks for the reply. I have ordered a Motorcraft DY1123 sensor. Just wondering if anything else I need to check before I tackle that.

 

Update:

I replaced the speed/abs sensor on the differential. It did NOT fix the problem. Speedometer works fine. Parking brake is not on. ABS light comes back on once I get up to bout 10 miles an hour.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

I would then say the new brake light switch is not correct, it has 2 switches inside, one for the brake lights and one used as a sensor, tells computer and ABS when brakes are applied

 

OK, I'll exchange it and see if that does it. Thanks so much for your help. I'll post back if it works or doesn't. I sure dread getting my 6'4" frame under that dash again, lol. I have to be a contortionist to get under there! I read somewhere that there is a switch in the master cylinder that could cause this issue. Also do 2WD Rangers have the ABS sensor in the drum brakes on the rear like the 4WD ones do?

Thanks,

MC

 

The switch on the master is for fluid level, it will turn on the ABS light AND the red Brake light, same as the e-brake pedal
You can unplug it, to test if ABS turns off, if not then that switch is not the problem

The sensor part of the brake light switch has a ground and a 12v(fuse 15) wire , and then a signal wire, so 3 wire for that part, if signal wire is a ground then brake pedal is UP, if signal wire is 12v then brake pedal is DOWN
If there is no ground signal ABS light would come on, or no 12v after a few minutes of driving, so check fuse 15 in cab fuse box, 5amp

The rear axle sensor is the same on RearABS or 4Wheel ABS, 4WABS just has the 2 front wheel sensors, so 3 speed sensors not 4 on a 1999 with 4WABS

 

Ok, thanks for the info.

 

Update:

It was the brake light switch. I swapped it for another one and it works. Goes to show you that you can get a bad new part.

Thanks for the assistance. I learned a lot from this.

Problem solved.

MC

 

Good work

Yes, "new" used to mean "tested and working"

New now means "YOU test it and we will replace it if it doesn't work"