1999 Ranger 2WD 3.0 Automatic - Started having trouble with ABS error light and erratic ABS operation at slow speeds. Later I noticed the speedometer would jump randomly. Following suggestions I changed the ABS speed sensor on top of the differential. This sensor is also known as the Vehicle Speed Sensor or VSS. Apparently on the 2WD 1999 there is no second speed sensor on the transmission. There seems to be quite a bit of confusion about this. Changing the sensor made no difference. I struggled for months. Recently the transmission shifts became erratic. At start up from a stop it would sometime rev up rpms before engaging with a bang and would randomly downshift at high speed, causing a dangerous situation. Other than the ABS/VSS sensor the Forum threads lead to replacing the Power Control Module. Not a desired action. On the Forum there was a mention of connectors. There are two square connectors for the sensor on the under chassis in the vicinity of the driver. One of the connectors is for the ABS/VSS sensor. In my case a little corrosion on the contacts lead to the erratic signal from the sensor. In one shot, speedometer was normal, ABS functioned with no error light, and transmission shifts were normal. I hope this might be helpful to others

 

Welcome to the forum

Yes, good call and info for the fix