Hi guys,

My wife just called me and said the ABS light is on in our 2005 Grand Caravan V6. We know that it does not hurt to drive it and she understands that she can't expect to just press the brake in an emergency stop. (She used to race one of our sports cars so she knows how to use a brake.)

I did a search and didn't see anything about what to look for to diagnose an ABS problem. Can some give me a few pointers so I don't chase my tail?

The van has about 130K highway miles and has been well taken care of.

Thanks in advance ---

 

The base brakes will work fine. If you are having bad weather,with abs you just keep the brake pedal down and hold. With you using the base brake for an emergency stop, you'll need to pump the brake brake pedal, so the wheels don't lock up and cause you to slide out of control.

 

90% chance of it being a rear wheel speed sensor but to find out for sure, you are going to need to get the codes from the module.

 

I'm bad, i forgot to say to ck for abs codes.Thanks tizzy

 

Thanks tizzy and master tech

Unfortunatly my code scanner does not read Chrysler ABS codes but I'll start by looking at the rear sensors.

I read that sometimes they just need a bit of cleaning - so if the wires are OK I'll try that. If all that doesen't work I'll start replacing sensors.

Just a quick question - if the problem is a sensor and I repair it, will the code reset itself?

 

Light will go out when the problem is fixed, the code will be stored for awhile.

 

Thanks -- That is what I needed to hear! The light going out will be the indicator that I fixed the problem.

 

Update -- All the wires looked OK so removed the rear sensors. They were not what I expected from the post about cleaning them that I read. They were attached with clips instead of bolts.

I pulled the first one and it was coated with a thin layer of grease but it looked clean. The second one had a bit of dirty grease. The O-ring had been pinched when it was installed at the factory, but it seemed OK. So I wiped it off re-installed it and went to my computer to see if I could purchase a new one.

The search didn't help much. I learned that there had been numerous ABS problems with the 2005 caravan and some people were compaining that coast them over $1,000 to fix their problem. When I tried to purchase a new rear sensor I found that some sites said that their sensor was not for the "Stow-and Go" option which we have.

Since I'm cheep and don't want to just swap parts until I find the bad one, I stopped working on the van and got a beer. After about an hour I began to wonder if the cleaning job did anything so I drove the van about a half block and the ABS light went out.

I'll let you know if it stays out.

 

The ABS light came back on after about 300 miles.

I did another parts search and ran into the problem where they some companies list different ones for the grand caravan with and without the stow and go seats and others say nothing about them being different.

Can I get the generic ones or do they have to get the ones listed for the "Stow and GO"?

 

Ok, first off, they are different with or without stow and go because they route different, the stow and go are longer. The sensors go bad because they get moisture on the sensor and it f's them up. That's why there is a coating of grease on them, just for condensation and the like. So the one that had the cut oring is the one I'd be going after first if I had to choose.