'05 e-250 got ABS and check engine light on after 2 months of sitting - need advice
 

Hello folks. I am Mike.

I have a 2005 ford e-250. I bought it in spring of 2013 and it ran fine. It used to belong to the cable company. Still had cabinets inside with some connectors and such. Judging by the color of the fluids, condition of the air filter it was serviced regularly. Anyways I drove it home 600 miles and it ran like a champ.
During a summer of 2013 I cranked it several times and drove it around the block to get the fluids moving then after 4 months of sitting I started driving it and ABS light came on. It was weird how it came on because when I cranked it up it wasn't on. I mean it came on and right off as it always did.. but then when I applied brakes (pushed the brake pedal) the abs light came on and radio came on as if it was disconnected and reconnected again. The clock on the radio was showing 00:00 time so it felt as if it might have shortened somewhere or whatnot. That was my original thought.

So I disconnected the battery hoping to erase the code then reconnected it and the light remained on.
I drove it several times back and forth to work then let it sit for another 3 weeks or so until I decided to drive it to work again. Same thing happened. It cranked without the ABS staying on but as I applied the brake pedal that's when the radio came on and ABS light came on too. This time I drove it to o'rielly (autozone can't scan ABS) and they pulled the following codes from ABS :

c1145 - right front wheel sensor

c1148 - speed sensor input circuit error.

They weren't able to tell me anything beyond that such as what is speed sensor circuit or where is it located.

So before I buy the sensor I wanted to check with you experts out there. Is there any way to test the sensor? What is the speed sensor input circuit and where is it located?

I visually inspected the wires thinking maybe rodent chewed them up but I haven't seen any obvious evidence, no mice chit no nut shells no chewed wires.
Also the first time the ABS code came in I wasn't even driving the van. I just pushed the brake pedal. That's why I am wondering if it's an abs computer or what else could it be- sensor wasn't even "working" at the time that light came on...

Also the fuses aren't labeled - it just says "see owner manual" for the fuses. Could someone please tell me where is the ABS fuse or is there even a fuse for the ABS?

Another detail that might help come up with ideas... when I crank up the van I can hear for about 1 or 2 seconds a really light humming like an ABS motor would hum and as soon as hum would stop the abs light comes on. I mean ABS light comes on during cranking then goes away as I hear hum then as soon as humming stops the light comes back on.

Besides the ABS the check engine light came on tonight with P0442 code- small vacuum leak. I don't know if it is related or not but would like to attack ABS problem first.

Anybody got any ideas where I can start? I am handy with wrenches but lacking diagnostic skill.

Thank you for reading my story.

Hi Mike, Welcome to the site..

Wheel speed sensor failures are reasonably common. You can Ohm test the sensor but sometimes the signal drop out is intermittent. Resistance should be between 2160-2640 ohms for the front sensor/s across the connector pins. Good time to check for water intrusion or a connector issues as well. Usually not tho.

The ABS module is 'self-monitoring' meaning when the ignition switch is turned to the 'run' position, the ABS module will do a preliminary check.. When or if an unmatched speed sensor/circuit failure, in a lot of cases when the key is cycled off/on the ABS sometimes won't set a light until some drive time, even days or weeks..

Being it was a commercial service vehicle, you might have a look at and for anything they may have taken loose as far as power distribution for add on equipment.. Being the radio looses power, seems there is power drop out issue.

In my experience it has never been the sensor but always the wiring to the sensor that you are getting the code on. Check continuity on the wheel speed sensor wire first. To do that you check the connection between the sensor pins and the pcm or connector on the way to the pcm. If you want the pin numbers to check for the right wheel speed sensor, I'll need you to send me a pizza.... Kidding, but if you want them I can probably look it up, assuming it's the same as an 06

I took the connector off and checked resistance and it was 0 (open) so I suppose it's a sensor. I will replace it and will report back. Quick question, does anybody know what size star bit do I need to take the brake caliper off?

You don't. 21mm will pull the caliper bolts off. The star bolts just hold the caliper mount to the caliper, and the whole assembly will come off together. Again, assuming '05 is like '06.

BTW if you did end up needing to check the connection, I was in my wiring diagrams this evening, so here: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-D...231736_629.jpg

That's the connector that plugs into the ABS module. Bottom right pin is #1. I've had about 5 or more bad wiring / connector situations and maybe 1 bad sensor so I usually focus on wiring first. But the sensor is easy enough to check I guess. Zero resistance would be closed btw.

delgriffith

Thank you for the pinout.

I replaced the right abs sensor because it was faulty and light remained. So then I went for a drive and it went away. So the original issue with ABS light is solved.

Now I have the P0442 "small evaporative leak detected" error code issue still but from what I read it needs to be tested with vacuum tester by the dealership.
Unless anybody have any ideas on how to find that vacuum leak and where to look for it?

Thank you for help!

As long as it's running well, that would be repaired by a piece of electrical tape over the CEL. Oh what am I saying, the Lorax would be horrified, don't do that. Instead you can inspect and replace elements of the EVAP system until it goes away. If you can find a junkyard with your model in it, that would be an inexpensive way to shotgun parts at it. I believe I had a vapor canister vent solenoid go bad once. Can't recall the code but that could be something to try. And of course the fuel cap, that's an easy one to check and replace.

This may be about the time the fuel tank filler tube has rusted through and a pinhole leak developed that gets caught by the evap system checkout . Wouldn't hurt to look it over carefully and make sure it has not rusted through anywhere. Becoming a common problem.

Thank you for your help Hanky and Delgriffith.

I cleared the codes y removing the battery and it stayed off for a week or so then it came on again. I think I will build a smoke machine and smoke up the evap system. I will report back what I find.