fitzydog

Hello Everyone, I can't figure this out you guys' help would be greatly appreciated.
Background-
About a week ago the abs came on after slamming on my brakes on Highway 59 in Sugarland,tx. Anyway, it has been coming on periodically the past week. At start up it may or may not come on just sparatic. Monday I go to use the Cruise and it is not working as well. So yesterday I got on TDR and someone had said that it happened to them(abs light and loss of CC). So, Today I went to the dealership and got the ABS sensor #050186542AA not exactly but it was something like this, this is what they displayed in their computer. The numbers are different from the others on TDR so I don't know. I started the truck up to go to work just 30 minutes ago and the ABS Light, brake light are both on as well as the Cruise Control not functioning either. Man.. If you guys have and experience with this I would appreciate any feedback because this is the first problem with the truck and I want to keep my high maintenance. God Bless and have a wonderful day. Aaron

mishkaya

Well I don't know about the cruise control part, but when I had that problem (brake light and ABS light) it was the rear wheel speed sensor that was bad. I have been told that nine times out of ten that is the problem. However if you have four wheel ABS you might need to check the front wheel speed sensors as well as they may have a problem as well. And I don't want to insult your intelligence, but did you make sure to check the fluid level in the reservoir???
Mishkaya

dodgeram

just had a problem with both the abs & brake light coming on after I hit my first bump ......... on a rough road the speedo would ocassionally drop off too

I bought a new rear whell sensor and put it in, no change, upon further inspection I found that one of the harness wires was broken inside the insulation right at the plug

so after I fixed the broken wire all is fine again

J BODY

I would really suggest taking it in and getting it scanned. There are two systems that can be on your truck, RWAL (rear wheel), or 4WAL (4 wheel antilock).

redruM Hauler

same problem here started a month ago.... my situation is a little differant in that:

no speedometer untill i hit 25 mph
brake light on
ABS light on

have been told it is the VSS (vehicle speed sensor) but i have not changed it yet

cruise control works fine

bill white

I had the brake light & ABS light come up last tuesday.
Also the ABS pump was on and would not go off.
I had to find the fuse for the ABS and remove it.
I had to take it to the dealer on tuesday morning and they did not get it fixed until saturday. They said the ABS module was bad and they had to order one. The truck only has 2500 miles on it.
I hope I don't any more problems with it.

m.rehme

Check out my post of yesterday and today sounds like we have the same problem.
Mark

Dizzle

Have the same problem. ABS and brake light came on; cruise control doesn't work anymore. It went away and then came back. Now it won't go away.

Marine

I found one at the junk yard and put it on the truck and it fixed the brake light / ABS light issue. I couldn't really tell from the truck but it may have been a 1/2 ton. I still need to check the speed with a GPS to see if it is accurate.
I plan to send my original one to modulemasters to get fixed, so bringing the new used one to the dealer to get re-flashed is a moot point for me. It is however, from an '01 as well so I am sure I am on borrowed time with it anyways.

VADSLRAM

There is a similar thread in the engine and drivetrain forum.
My answer
Those were my exact symptoms for a long time before I figured out it was the brake light switch. At least on my '99 it isn't a 2 wire switch. There are 6 or 8 leads to it (I forget now, it's been a while since I fixed it) One pair is for the brake lights and the rest are for But they do link to the computer and the abs. As I was told if the connection isn't made then the computer thinks the brake pedal is always being pushed and make it throw the error turning on the brake and ABS lights while also disabling the cruise control.
I know I messed up my switch when I was under the dash one day. The switch of course isn't a simple affair. It is a self setting thing that can get out of adjustment if you remove it or just like I did push on it to hard.
The switch isn't expensive but be careful when you install it. It comes packed with the plunger held in with a clip..LEAVE IT ON until the last step. Mount the switch on the bracket, plug it into the harness, make sure the brake pedal is all the way up against the rest stop THEN pull out the transport clip. The plunger will spring out to contact the brake pedal stem and that is how it sets the proper distance. If you try and do it any other way you will go absolutely insane tracing bad connections...I know.
http://www.carparts.com/details/Dodg...0-8a6b42c98070



Good Luck.

Marine

I think if one of your symptoms is no cruise, the brake switch or the speed sensor is the culprit. However if your cruise still works with the ABS indicator light and the brake indicator light on, I believe it is the control module or a wheel sensor.

In my case, I had the ABS indicator light and the brake indicator light on and replacing the module fixed it.

Marine

Update on my situation; ABS and Brake light came back on. Speedo works.
I sent my original ABS Module to circuitboard medics and they said nothing is wrong with it so they are sending it back.
I'm stumped....

rotohead

Lately I've struggled with this too. 12 years ago I replaced the rear axle sensor and it fixed the problem. Last month the problem came back. The two lights but seems the brakes including abs, cruise work normally. I still went ahead and replaced the rear axle sensor again. Then when the truck was cold and I started it the lights were still on but I could shut it off, start again and the lights would go out. Everything seems to work properly. Still the lights on that first start bugged me so I disconnected both batteries, let the truck sit overnite and then connected it again. As with many electrical gremlins in these trucks that did the trick...so far. I'm going on a long road trip soon and that will be the big test. Just a thought.

Marine

Thanks. I tried the restarting previously and that didn't work. I'll try removing the battery cables over night and see what that does. I'll update with what I find out.

rotohead

Should also add that anytime you completely disconnect the batteries for any reason you must re-calibrate the apps (gas pedal) to the ECU. Simple process of turning key on w/o starting, slowly press the gas pedal to the floor and slowly letting it return to zero, turn off key. Do that a total of three times and your good to go.