2006 Ford F-150 4.6L - ABS and Brake Light On
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General Information:
Customer came in with a complaint that the ABS light and the Brake light was on in their 2006 Ford F-150 4.6L.
There are no drivability issues. They just wanted the light to be off.
Scan Tool Test:
After plugging in my scan tool (Snap-On Zeus), I found the code C1297. This code states” Right Front Wheel Speed Sensor Input Signal Fault”.
After identify the code, the next step was to look at the live data on the scan tool.
Note: A speed sensor is only shows activity while driving.
Note: Performing a driving test should only be done by trained professionals. Any distraction from the road can cause serious harm or death.
Note: These photos showing data were taken after the road test and when the vehicle was stopped. A screen capture tool was used to collect the data for viewing purposes after the test.
Of course, we can see that there is something wrong with the signal coming from the speed sensor. It’s going in and out unlike the other three sensors which are staying constant with the speed.
Common problems for this are:
Faulty Sensor
Faulty or corroded wiring/ connector
Missing teeth from the ring (What the sensor reads)
Our next step is to check these components.
Visual Inspection Test:
As you can see from the picture above that there is something off with the speed sensor. It looks like a giant chunk has been taken out of it. This could be attributing to the strange signals.
With further visual inspection, I noticed the connector was fine and intact and there we no teeth missing out of the ABS ring.
Some mechanics would stop there and call it a speed sensor. But they would be wrong. There is another factor in this problem that is not that common.
The answer is the ABS ring was broken off of the rotor and causing a faulty reading. It broke the sensor also. Notice how I positioned the ABS ring (in the picture below) closer to the hub assembly at the top of the picture and further from the hub assembly at the bottom of the picture.
What would fix this?
For this vehicle, it would need a new speed sensor (because it was chipped) AND a new rotor because the ABS ring is connected to it on this model.
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