ABS Troubles

From: rich_gambino@VNET.IBM.COM
Date: Mon Dec 01 1997 - 15:45:19 EST


>
>My '94 Dakota V6 4wd is acting up -- the ABS and brake failure warning
>lights have come on. Braking is normal although the ABS isn't working; the
>fluid in the front half of the master cylinder was down slightly. The
>emergency brake isn't on; when it is engaged, the brake light gets
>brighter. Is there a self - diagnosis feature on the '94 that will deal
>with ABS faults, or is this a dealer job?
>
>BTW the fuse and powerblock locations shown in the owner's handbook bear no
>relation to what is in the truck -- eg. the ABS fuse is shown as #4 but
>there is no fuse, not even any terminals, in that fuse location. No help
>there!
>
My ABS warning light also came on one day a few months ago. I have the
service manual so I started to diagnose it. I don't remember everything,
but there is a way to pull codes for the abs. I did that, and it
pointed to a few potential "problem areas", one of them being the control
module. Well, I couldn't figure out how to get at that module (mounted
somewhere hidden in the right kick panel under the cowl??). So I
thought I would just pull the fuse to see if it "resets" itself. I have
the std rear ABS, and there IS a fuse in the fuse box under the dash.
It serves a few other items (tail lights?) and it's not in the abs
location, which must be only for 4-wheel abs. I pulled it for a few
minutes then put it back in and it worked! The warning light went off,
and the ABS check out OK (panic stop test on a rainy day).

Hope it's that simple for you. If you need more details, I'll check
my shop manual to refresh my memory.

Rich
'96 V8 4X4 CC auto



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