ABS/Wheel Speed Sensor

[The Finance Guy]

More electrical issues with my Ranger! 
 

ABS system fault now, ABS warning light and also stability control light is on (because it’s not got ABS I presume). 
 

I’m guessing it’s a wheel speed sensor, but my OBD scanner just shows U0418: “Invalid data received from brake system control module”. 

Is there any way to determine which sensor is causing the issue, so I don’t need to do all 4? Even if I could figure out if it’s front or rear, I don’t mind replacing 2 of them. 

Also, anyone know a good website to get things like wheel speed sensors? I’m yet to find a good reliable source of Ford parts, especially for the Ranger. 

[Tizer]

2 hours ago, The Finance Guy said:

Is there any way to determine which sensor is causing the issue, so I don’t need to do all 4? Even if I could figure out if it’s front or rear, I don’t mind replacing 2 of them. 

I don't know what PID's are supported by FORScan for the Ranger, but with any other car that I have tried you can monitor each wheel sensor at the same time while the car is moving. There is a lot of other useful information in FORScan.

[The Finance Guy]

3 minutes ago, Tizer said:

I don't know what PID's are supported by FORScan for the Ranger, but with any other car that I have tried you can monitor each wheel sensor at the same time while the car is moving. There is a lot of other useful information in FORScan.

Thanks Tizer. I would need to get a cable to use FORScan I think - although the software is free right?

[Tizer]

2 minutes ago, The Finance Guy said:

Thanks Tizer. I would need to get a cable to use FORScan I think - although the software is free right?

The Laptop Software is free and you would need an Adaptor that supports both HS and MS Can. Other people on this forum buy theirs from Tunnelrat Electronics and they seem to work ok. I would not buy one from the popular sales sites because a lot of them either do not work or are just too slow and keep losing communication.

In my opinion the paid for phone App in conjunction with a bluetooth or Wi-Fi adaptor is a lot more convenient especially if you are doing live monitoring, unless you get a long extension cable and someone to hold the Laptop while you are driving. You do need to check that the adaptor is compatible with your phone because I know that the expensive bluetooth one I have does not work with I Phones by design.

If you want to programme anything though you will need the Laptop version. 

[The Finance Guy]

Got a cable with HS and MS can, and downloaded FORScan, which told me front left wheel speed sensor. Good result. 
 

If it’s a bit dry tomorrow I will get underneath and take a look at the cables and see if I can find the issue. 
 

Although I’ve spent the day today thinking about getting rid of the truck and replacing it with a Transit. There’s an RSV transit for sale near me which looks amazing....

[The Finance Guy]

True to form with this ****** pickup - armed with the knowledge that its the front left that is the issue I got it jacked up and got the front left wheel off. The ABS warning light is off by this point, but I inspected all the wiring, and it all looks absolutely fine. Secured it all back up, drove it down to the office, no issues. 

I'm getting sick of this thing now. 

[JamesCollins]

Small hint for people finding this thread later and had same issue I had.

new to FORScan, had been trying to use it with a basic Wi-Fi elm327 unit. Got data from the unit and the generic error about the ABS , but could not find the data for checking the individual sensors on each wheel.  When I first used FORScan and scanned my truck, it sets up a “profile” of your vehicle, and asks if you want to reuse that profile every time you connect. Key point, that profile contains the discovered modules it can scan. So if you used a basic scanner, it’ll only likely have OBDII and PCN modules. When I ignored the profile (hit cancel) when scanning with a cabled unit with HS/MS switch, it rediscovered all modules and showed me the “ABS” module and a heap more, which is what you need. Add the front left, front right, rear left and rear right speed sensors to a graph and go for a drive. 1 of the lines won’t move with your speed, there’s your dead sensor.