Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 98 2.0 ABS & Traction warning lights staying on?

Honest John Back Room » Technical matters
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Sat 28 Jun 2008 18:13
98 2.0 ABS & Traction warning lights staying on? - cozmoss
I have a T reg Ford Focus 2.0 ghia and having only recently bought the car, I am not too familiar with this particular problem.ABS & Traction warning lights staying lit when driving although when I preasure washed the front brake caliper (just through the gaps In the alloys" they went off and the abs kicked In, but not for long, they came back on again! Is there some way of accessing the sensor for cleaning or replacement ? were exactly are these things? I can see the wire going into the wheel hub on the front, cant see no wire on the rear, in fact I replaced the rear pads and couldnt see any sighn of a sensor on there? Help Please :)

Edited by Pugugly on 24/01/2009 at 20:59

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Sat 28 Jun 2008 20:47
1998 2.0 Abs & Traction warning lights staying on? - Screwloose

They read off magnetic inserts in the wheelbearings. The best way to find the problem is to get a garage to plug it in and see what code is stored.
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Tue 20 Jan 2009 21:37
1998 2.0 Abs & Traction warning lights staying on? - Martin1981
My 2001 Focus TDCi has just developed the same problem, was just driving along yesterday at 30-40mph and the ABS and Traction Control lights came on. I stopped, did my site visit and then got back in the car 20 mins later, started the engine, pulled away and the lights went off, only to come on again less than 5 minutes later. This morning, exactly the same and have been on ever since.

I have booked it in for a plug in diagnostic test for this Friday. I am advised that if a sensor needs replacing, they are circa £100 each to buy (which seems rather expensive to me) and about an hours labour to fit, so circa £175 including the diagnostic test @ £26.

Fingers crossed it is no more than a loose wire or connection, otherwise January is turning out to be a flippin' expensive month for me, having had a full service carried out last week for £127.

Martin
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Sat 24 Jan 2009 20:54
1998 2.0 Abs & Traction warning lights staying on? - Martin1981
Driving home from work on Wednesday night and approximately 1/2 way between the office and the motorway, the lights went off and have remained off ever since, with the ABS and traction control now working normally again. Took it in for the diagnostic test on Friday which revealed no fault codes.

Weird how it suddenly seemed to fix itself. The garage said put it down to the ever changing weather and the fact that I'm doing 500 miles a week.

Fingers crossed.

Martin
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