Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting constant ABS and TC lights: how does this action plan sound?

I've read several of the threads re: ABS/TC light and established a tentative to-do list to troubleshoot and/or make the lights go off. Any feedback on my plan is appreciated. I'm hoping no repairs are necessary but I suspect they are. Car is 95 SE, V6 MTX, 71k miles, Blizzak snow tires (pretty sure all 4 were bought at same time) have been on for 3 months but the rear two have less tread than the front 2 (not sure if the circumference difference is significant enough to throw off the car's computer). Both lights came on 3 days ago, 15 minutes into a drive home on dry paved roads. No other ABS/TC light problems on the car in my 18 months of ownership.

It appears the TC system is not functioning (put car on snow and TC did not kick in while front wheels were spinning). I haven't tried to activate the ABS. Lights are still on, constant, after 5-6 restarts.

Here's what I'm planning to do -

1. Check for burned-out brake lights - probably not the culprit for my situation.

2. Reset the appropriate fuse(s) - I've heard varying reports on which fuses are related to the ABS-- #3, 4, 7, 9, 11, etc. I also read that I should reset (?) relay" #11. I hope the owners manual explains which are which.

3. Disconnect/reconnect battery - should I do this after the fuse experiment is completed, or during?

4. Drive car for a few days and see if several engine starts/restarts are enough to make the lights turn off.

If none of these little checks reveal anything, I'll probably have to consider the possibility that something is actually wrong - wheel speed sensors and wiring harness (for what?) seem to be the likely suspects.

The ABS doesn't keep codes around when the cause is no longer detected like the PCM does (regulations make the PCM act differently than other modules). If the light is on, the module most likely still detects the problem. Thus, the various reset options aren't likely to have any effect. Also unlike the PCM, when the ABS or TC lights are lit, the system(s) is/are deactivated.

You really need to find somebody with a scan tool to pull the codes out of the module. Fortunately, the ABS/TC has nowhere near the code complexity of the PCM (only 17, last count), so once you have the code number(s), it usually isn't difficult to figure out what needs to be done.

"Somebody with a scan tool"

Is the 95 Contour pre-OBD-II? In other words, I need someone with a proprietary Ford scan tool or something? Other than a dealer, who would have such a tool?

The 95 PCM is OBD-I, but this has nothing to do with the ABS/TC module. The ABS/TC is on a different network (Ford ISO-9141) in these vehicles--different rules. No paper clip OBD-I method or dedicated ODB-II scan tool for this module. Fortunately, many OBD-II scan tools also support ABS/TC communications.

diodeboy, thanks very much for the info and clarifications. I will be very clear and make sure a shop has the right scan tool before I take the car there. Obviously I have no idea about how any of this stuff works.

The car is really starting to frustrate me-- problems have been more frequent than I feel are warranted on a car that's been driven softly and relatively well cared for.

Are you sure that the tires are all the same size (as in the number, not treadwear)? I had a problem when I put different size snow tires on the front of my car and left the regular tires on the rear.

The problem was Identical. The light2 would come on about 15 minutes into my drive.

I've since replaced all 4 tires and no longer have a problem.

- Zack

Yes, I'm sure that all 4 tires are Bridgestone Blizzaks, P195/60/15 size.

I am pretty sure that that is not the problem. I had the same problem with mine. The Abs/TC light will stay on for three or more days. The fix was sort of easy. See the problem only happened when it was wet out or just after a wash, so I figured that it was a sort somewhere. Sure enough it was an abs sensor on one of the hubs, I think. All that I did was slap some silicone gel on the wires and on the sensor and put some electrical tape over them. So far no problem. I hope that this helps!