Dash Light Issue

BLKsteeda · Jan 11, 2010

First off, for a while now my ABS light has been occasionally coming on and off...the other morning I went to start the car and it was struggling to turn over. At one point while trying to get the car to turn over, I removed the key and noticed the the "service engine soon" and "ABS" light were still on and my mileage indicator was displaying a bunch of dashes. I did get the car started after about 5 minutes. After that incident to get the car to turn over, my ABS light stays on ALL the time now. The next day I took the car out and it was all still fine (except for the ABS light being on) till I got home and shut the car off and the same lights stayed illuminated. At one point of turning the key on and off the "check gas cap" light came on but the cap was fine. That light went out after starting the car and shutting it off again. What could possibly be causing this?

wmburns · Jan 11, 2010

Check battery and charging system.

Car having a hard time turning over to me sounds like a battery problem. Check the terminals. Are the clean and tight? Is the top of the battery clean? Is the battery good?

Consider taking to an autoparts store for a test.

Note, today's cars will not run right without a strong battery and stable voltage. Before spending any time working on the other issues, suggest to ensure battey and charging system is in good working order.

However, be prepared for the ABS problem being real. Most of the time, ABS light being on indicates no signal from a wheel sensor. Start by cleaning all of the wheel sensors.

Remember, the cold is hard on the battery. What's the saying, the battery dies during summer but is buried during winter.

BLKsteeda · Jan 11, 2010

wmburns said:
Car having a hard time turning over to me sounds like a battery problem. Check the terminals. Are the clean and tight? Is the top of the battery clean? Is the battery good?

Consider taking to an autoparts store for a test.

Note, today's cars will not run right without a strong battery and stable voltage. Before spending any time working on the other issues, suggest ensure battey and charging system is in good working order.

However, be prepared for the ABS problem being real.

Remember, the cold is hard on the battery. What's the saying, the battery dies during summer but is buryied during winter.

The ABS light as been an issue for a month now...sometimes it would only come on when I pressed the brakes, other times it would just come on for a few seconds then go off and others it would come on when I start the car and stay on till I shut it off. Everytime the ABS light is on the Traction Control gets overridden and turns off. I will check the battery as I have not been under my hood in a while. I'm in South Florida and have to go into Steeda so I'll see if they can pull a code for the ABS light.

patman0911 · Jan 11, 2010

Yeah, sounds like two or three separate issues to me.

1st, Get those codes pulled on the ABS and see what's going on there, that's unlikely to be related to the other stuff.

Some warning lights staying on while you crank and after a no-start is normal, I wouldn't read too much into that. It shouldn't normally take 5 minutes to get started though.

Was it cranking slow or was it cranking at normal speeds? Did it sound like it was trying to catch?

Is it really cold where you are? I'm don't know what all mods you've done but at 300+ RWHP, your setup may be just beyond what the PCM's cold start strategies can cope with in the record lows a lot of the country is enjoying.

Had the weather changed dramatically when the gas cap light started coming on? Big swings in temps and pressure can fool the Evaporative Emissions System sometimes.

BLKsteeda · Jan 11, 2010

patman0911 said:
Yeah, sounds like two or three separate issues to me.

1st, Get those codes pulled on the ABS and see what's going on there, that's unlikely to be related to the other stuff.

Some warning lights staying on while you crank and after a no-start is normal, I wouldn't read too much into that. It shouldn't normally take 5 minutes to get started though.

Was it cranking slow or was it cranking at normal speeds? Did it sound like it was trying to catch?

Is it really cold where you are? I'm don't know what all mods you've done but at 300+ RWHP, your setup may be just beyond what the PCM's cold start strategies can cope with in the record lows a lot of the country is enjoying.

Had the weather changed dramatically when the gas cap light started coming on? Big swings in temps and pressure can fool the Evaporative Emissions System sometimes.

I'm aware of the warning lights staying on while cranking is normal but not when the engine is off and the key is removed from the ignition. The car was cranking at normal speeds...and this only happened once on Saturday morning which was the first time the dash lights and the odometer stayed on after removing the key. I have not had another starting issue after that or prior to that incident. It has been very cold down here in south florida for the last week...30's, 40's and even occasionally in the 20's. The gas light was a completely random thing last night. when I got home and shut the car off only the ABS, Check Engine Light and the "dashes' on the odometer were illuminated. I started the car again and shut it off trying to get the lights to go away and that is when the fuel cap light came on. I checked it and it was shut fine. I restarted the car and off again and the fuel light disappeared and only the three original lights remained on.

bkaul · Jan 11, 2010

The cranking, etc. sounds like a battery/charging system issue.

The ABS light could be a wheel sensor, but the intermittency sounds a lot like what happened when my ABS computer went out.

Go to an auto parts store and have 'em check the codes.

wmburns · Jan 11, 2010

I suspect that the Ignition switch contact A3 (RD/BK) is worn and making contact when it should not. This is causing the cluster to receive power while the rest of the circuits are not.

With regards to the battery issue. I have seen it on more than one occasion an engine turn over what appears to be plenty fast enough to start but does not. Attach jumper cables (or swap the battery), car starts immediately up. The PCM needs stable voltage to work.

From your original post, I thought it was too early to dive deeper until the battery was confirmed good.

With regards to you ABS issue. Most of the time dirty wheel sensors are the cause of ABS problems. There is a procedure to get the ABS codes on certain model years (older models). Maybe someone can post again (I suspect it will not apply to your late model Mustang).

BLKsteeda · Jan 11, 2010

I plan on having Steeda pull the code on Friday

bkaul · Jan 11, 2010

wmburns said:
With regards to you ABS issue. Most of the time dirty wheel sensors are the cause of ABS problems. There is a procedure to get the ABS codes on certain model years (older models). Maybe someone can post again (I suspect it will not apply to your late model Mustang).

On the '01, you'll need an ABS code reader to read the codes. It plugs into the OBD-II diagnostic port. There are two data networks in the car, both of which are accessible via that connector: one is used by the ECU; the ABS controller is on the other one. So an OBD-II engine code scanner won't generally be able to read ABS codes unless you have a really high-end one. Should be able to find a Acctron 9449 or equivalent ABS scanner for around $110-$120 if you need one.

BLKsteeda · Jan 11, 2010

bkaul said:
On the '01, you'll need an ABS code reader to read the codes. It plugs into the OBD-II diagnostic port. There are two data networks in the car, both of which are accessible via that connector: one is used by the ECU; the ABS controller is on the other one. So an OBD-II engine code scanner won't generally be able to read ABS codes unless you have a really high-end one. Should be able to find a Acctron 9449 or equivalent ABS scanner for around $110-$120 if you need one.

Thanks, Steeda said they can read it...if there are any issues I have a friend that works in a Tires Plus who definitely said he can.

BLKsteeda · Jan 15, 2010

I finally got the code pulled at Steeda...the front right sensor was completely shot and replaced and the right rear was intermittent but could not find a local sensor in time to fix it today...the rear is just outside of the "normal" range. Also, and I'm not sure I'm explaining this quite right but I believe he said he did a "pin test" and long story short it failed the test which said that the module needed to be replaced. Now I can go the route and have the intermittent sensor changed and see if that is truly what is triggering the light or just leave it alone for I am not going to replace the module...THEY ARE EXPENSIVE! Steeda looked into the two module parts and said $1800!!!! This car is 9 years old and I'm not dropping that cash on this module.

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