2004 Tbird ABS and Traction Dash Lights

[Thunderstruck2004]

On my drive home tonight, I noticed the ABS light illuminated on the dash, which had not been on previously. I'm not sure if it had stayed on from the time the ignition turned over, or if it came on between then and a few minutes later when I noticed it. On the drive home I also noticed the traction control light came on, as well (it was blocked from my view by the steering wheel... I'm not sure if that one was on the whole time, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't). Have you all seen this before, and should I take the bird in to have her checked, or is this a "no big deal" kind of problem? It was raining a little when I started it and on the drive home, but I haven't seen it do this in the rain before. I've owned it for 9 years, and this is the first time I've seen these lights, so I know mine doesn't usually do this in the rain.

Thanks!!
Steph

This page contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated. As an eBay Partner, and Amazon Associate I may be compensated if you make a purchase at no cost to you.

 

[pblach]

I had both the ABS and traction control lights come on in my 2002 Bird in February. Since I was afraid to have anything wrong with the brakes, I took it to my Ford dealer right away. They replaced the ABS control, which took over a week to locate one. The bill was $1.084 (!), but the lights have stayed off since. I am not sure if I was "played" or not. 🙁

 

[Jamie]

Hello everyone , I have a question on my 2003 bird with 107, on it , it runs great until today I got in started up and first noticed the parking bracket light wouldn’t go off than I see in middle of cluster the traction control light on and it also off at the switch , and the abs light is also on and the power steering is harder to turn as if it’s not working fully ?? So I started to drive it less than 1000 feet and a e code came on and than a wrench symbol came up so I stop and came back home
Just had it serviced and all was fine.
Do you guys think it could be the FCM. ?? That I read a lot about
Anybody else had these set set of symptoms ? This car has been very reliable !!

 

[Injun neck]

Hello everyone , I have a question on my 2003 bird with 107, on it , it runs great until today I got in started up and first noticed the parking bracket light wouldn’t go off than I see in middle of cluster the traction control light on and it also off at the switch , and the abs light is also on and the power steering is harder to turn as if it’s not working fully ?? So I started to drive it less than 1000 feet and a e code came on and than a wrench symbol came up so I stop and came back home
Just had it serviced and all was fine.
Do you guys think it could be the FCM. ?? That I read a lot about
Anybody else had these set set of symptoms ? This car has been very reliable !!

It’s the abs module I just had mine replaced on my 05

 

[Jamie]

Thanks for info , but did your power steering also stop working ? It’s weird

 

[Pcrpete]

I've had the same issue with my 2004
ABS and traction lights would come on, but no issues noticed while driving
Sometimes just restarting cleared them, sometimes no lights when I start it the next day
Codes never gave clear indication of a specific problem
Had all codes cleared, so far lights have not come back on, and to date no issues driving.
So remains a mystery...
Following to see if anyone has a solution
Thanks

 

[Injun neck]

On my drive home tonight, I noticed the ABS light illuminated on the dash, which had not been on previously. I'm not sure if it had stayed on from the time the ignition turned over, or if it came on between then and a few minutes later when I noticed it. On the drive home I also noticed the traction control light came on, as well (it was blocked from my view by the steering wheel... I'm not sure if that one was on the whole time, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't). Have you all seen this before, and should I take the bird in to have her checked, or is this a "no big deal" kind of problem? It was raining a little when I started it and on the drive home, but I haven't seen it do this in the rain before. I've owned it for 9 years, and this is the first time I've seen these lights, so I know mine doesn't usually do this in the rain.

Thanks!!
Steph

It could be the ABS module

 

[Jamie]

Try disconnecting the battery for 30 minutes. Sometimes you get lucky with a 'computer reboot'.

Yes thanks all , I’ll look into things and report back

Oh and any idea about stuff steering ? Wired how this is happening at same time. That why I thought it could be FCM but no other symptoms

Oh and any idea about stuff steering ? Wired how this is happening at same time. That why I thought it could be FCM but no other symptoms

So injun was right , I removed the abs module really simple !! and bought a 04 ls Lincoln had all same numbers numbers off eBay for 70 bucks. Put it in and car worked great !! Only thing abs light would not go off my mechanic here in Charlotte who is very good told me it needs flashing and he can do for 180 , which is fine but instead I sent my original to module masters and for 250 + shipping both ways they repaired and gave 5 year guarantee for original owner , total all together 330. Put in works great no lights !
And I have a spare just in case ,,

 

[Jeffer]

Hi All, My wife has a garage queen 2003 and yesterday while driving it the gauges went out, engine light, limp home light, emergency brake light, ABS, and traction control lights all came on. She made it home and I detached the battery. After reconnecting it has the ABS, Traction Control and Emergency Brake lights still on, the other faults cleared. I have pecked through this board and have not been able to put anything together definitive.

Is it the ABS sensors? Is that the most likely cause? Thanks in advance.

 

[Jamie]

Hi All, My wife has a garage queen 2003 and yesterday while driving it the gauges went out, engine light, limp home light, emergency brake light, ABS, and traction control lights all came on. She made it home and I detached the battery. After reconnecting it has the ABS, Traction Control and Emergency Brake lights still on, the other faults cleared. I have pecked through this board and have not been able to put anything together definitive.

Is it the ABS sensors? Is that the most likely cause? Thanks in advance.

Yeah jeffer , as I said above I had same issues that also included my power steering not working ! It was wired it turned to be abs module not sensor I sent it out to rebuild as stated in last post , all lights went off without clearing them , because it’s the same original part no need to flash ,, real easy to replace front pass side by washer fill bottle need a (e)socket #5 to remove module. You could check for code with scanner may be conclusive. Don’t think this car has a sensor for abs.

 

[Jeffer]

Yeah jeffer , as I said above I had same issues that also included my power steering not working ! It was wired it turned to be abs module not sensor I sent it out to rebuild as stated in last post , all lights went off without clearing them , because it’s the same original part no need to flash ,, real easy to replace front pass side by washer fill bottle need a (e)socket #5 to remove module. You could check for code with scanner may be conclusive. Don’t think this car has a sensor for abs.

Thank you, I guess that is what I meant. ABS Module. I didn't drive it myself in this condition but she told me it was not easy to drive so I took that as power steering was out as well I guess.

 

[Jamie]

Yeah jeffer , as I said above I had same issues that also included my power steering not working ! It was wired it turned to be abs module not sensor I sent it out to rebuild as stated in last post , all lights went off without clearing them , because it’s the same original part no need to flash ,, real easy to replace front pass side by washer fill bottle need a (e)socket #5 to remove module. You could check for code with scanner may be conclusive. Don’t think this car has a sensor for abs.

You might want to check fuse too ,, it in box front pass manual shows which #it is never know ,, good luck !

 

[Jeffer]

You might want to check fuse too ,, it in box front pass manual shows which #it is never know ,, good luck !

Thank you, where did you send yours to be repaired if you don't mind me asking?

 

[Jamie]

Thank you, where did you send yours to be repaired if you don't mind me asking?

Check out internet. Module masters in ID. It cost 250+ insured shipping total 330
They have a web site with a selection of units that you can choose from the one for our cars don’t say ford but look a like so I called to confirm the model can be done , they did ask for a code but the car did not show one and there are some things that can’t be repaired as I was told , but I took a chance any way and sent it because they said they would look ,,and they were able to repair , the solder joints get old and crack is what I was told they resolder , received a 5 year guarantee , if you buy a new one you have to have it reflashed and I’m told the cost would be 1200 or more I’m very happy with what I did. And only took 15 min to remove and replace no exaggeration !

 

[Sally]

Check engine, ABS light, brake light, wrench, come on intermittently. 2003 TBird, 40k miles. Had ABS sensors tested. They were ok.

 

[biddle]

Had ABS sensors tested. They were ok.

I assume they told you the ABS control module was probably the culprit after testing the sensors? You can still buy that part here

 

[biddle]

2002 2003 2004 2005 ABS Speed Sensor

Amazon Purchase Link

Ebay Purchase Link

 

[Blackbird2003]

My wife and I just bought a beautiful 2003 triple black deluxe convertible from a family friend who is moving into independent living. He has taken great care of the car and stored it all winters in IL. It has 41,000 miles and wasn’t driven the last two years. It just passed an emissions test. We have experienced an intermittent problem while driving at different speeds and temperatures. The speedometer goes to zero, the traction control light, ABS light, Brake Warning light, and wrench warning lights illuminate. We pull over, shut the car off and everything clears when we start it back up. We want to know what to expect before we begin spending a lot of money to fix this. I’ve been reading this is similar to issues with Lincoln LS and Jaguar S types, but haven’t seen anything conclusive. The codes point to ABS. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[Frankie the Fink]

first and foremost as always, run an OBDC diagnostic scan, buy a tool or have Autozone do it for free.
Secondly, make sure the battery is up to snuff and fully charged

 

[Blackbird2003]

I have taken the car to Autozone and the two codes that came up pointed to a bad battery pack or ABS problem. Hopefully it’s just time to replace the battery!