Ford focus mk1 abs light ?

Destination_..._?

It's a ford focus ( 2003 ) reg car , the issue is its the abs light intermittaley coming on and off . The brakes continue to work as normall. It's been diagnosed by two different good garages no fault shown on the machines , car ramped up checked nothing found. I was told by someone it's a common fault with these cars they prone to water or dirt getting into the instrument cluster pack effecting the circuit board . All I need to do is take it out and use circuit board cleaner on it . I had a go removed the cover got to the cluster pack found it had a plastic cover on the back plus wires connected to it ..I'm hoping someone here has done It before or kindly give me correct guidance how to do it . Car belongs to my o/h .
Thankyou for any help.M

atrixblue.-MFR-.

you need to determin whether the light comes on with a peep, or it just flickers.

if it flickers i would agree with the clock cluster having somesort of wiring short.

if it comes on with a beep then the ECU is telling your OH there is a problem.

this is what determins clock fault to actual fault with the ABS somewhere.

this is where you check all ABS related articles.

look in the owners manual at the fuse locations and retrospective fitments your looking for ABS, check that the fuse is not overly corroded, if it has alu corrosion (white powdery residue on the contacts) then its best to replace the fuse, then move onto the engine bay fuses, and look for any ABS related fuses or relays, here, check again for rust on the contacts, clean them up with a sand paper or wire wool and refit.

if the problem persists, then the maybe a possability that an ABS sensor on the brake caliper is failing, you wont know for sure wich one it is untill it had fully failed they are not much to replace, at the same time, the ABS rings (to wich the sensor is reliant upon to sense rotation) needs to be free from any chips, obstructions and exsessive corrosion (again mostly aluminium but items around it are metal and as sich rust can stick to them as the same as brake pad dust road grime).

when these are all fine you then have to move onto the ABS unit itself wich can be a costly part to have replaced.

Destination_..._?

Thanks for your reply atrixblue .

There's no beep when abs light comes on . It just comes on stays for a bit then goes away keeps repeating this , for two days the abs light never came on . When the abs light does this repeatly on and Off ? ... Is the abs on or is it off are we now relying on normal brakes . Do fords have a separate ECU for the dashboard .
Regarding a failing Sensor in abs ... Garage found no fault codes on their machine for that .

atrixblue.-MFR-.

Destination_..._? wrote: »

Thanks for your reply atrixblue .

There's no beep when abs light comes on . It just comes on stays for a bit then goes away keeps repeating this , for two days the abs light never came on . When the abs light does this repeatly on and Off ? ... Is the abs on or is it off are we now relying on normal brakes . Do fords have a separate ECU for the dashboard .
Regarding a failing Sensor in abs ... Garage found no fault codes on their machine for that .

cannot just rely on the diagnosis ODB2 machines to point a mechanic to the route of the problem, if there is an intermittant fault with ABS and the light is on ABS is then de-activated so you really do have to bear this in mind when the light is on and treat the brakes as if they were non abs.

another thing is is the brakes sending feedback back through the pedals (like a warped disc) when the light is on, this can be light to extreme feedback, this will indicate not a problem with the clock being damp but a sensor fault.

in todays garage world too many mechanics are becoming reliant upon a machine to diagnose a part, i'm of the old skool where yes i would use a machine but even then its not concrete evidence of that part failing as only a proper ford diagnosis machine with the right software could tell you what the ECU is sensing and storing, even with a diagnosis from a machine i would then trouble shoot physically, going through all above.

Destination_..._?

took car for a short local drive the brakes are working as same as before . Didn't notice or feel the brakes behaving differently , even with the abs light on .
I didn't want to be rude to my local garage . I was desperate for them to spend more time on the car on the ramp checking for any chaffed wires or even dirt causing this , needing a good clean .
I wonder if its weak car battery caused this ? Came across a few previous focus owners same problem no fault codes found .. Problem traced to back to the cluster board.

s_b

atrixblue.-MFR-. wrote: »

cannot just rely on the diagnosis ODB2 machines to point a mechanic to the route of the problem, if there is an intermittant fault with ABS and the light is on ABS is then de-activated so you really do have to bear this in mind when the light is on and treat the brakes as if they were non abs.

another thing is is the brakes sending feedback back through the pedals (like a warped disc) when the light is on, this can be light to extreme feedback, this will indicate not a problem with the clock being damp but a sensor fault.

in todays garage world too many mechanics are becoming reliant upon a machine to diagnose a part, i'm of the old skool where yes i would use a machine but even then its not concrete evidence of that part failing as only a proper ford diagnosis machine with the right software could tell you what the ECU is sensing and storing, even with a diagnosis from a machine i would then trouble shoot physically, going through all above.

not correct im afraid
if we were talking much newer fair enough but an 03 focus could have any stored codes easily eread by most garages,OPsays garage checked for abs stored codes and non came back so i too am of the opinion its a cluster fault and on the right year for it too

atrixblue.-MFR-.

s_b wrote: »

not correct im afraid
if we were talking much newer fair enough but an 03 focus could have any stored codes easily eread by most garages,OPsays garage checked for abs stored codes and non came back so i too am of the opinion its a cluster fault and on the right year for it too

TBH, if it is the clocks, get a set from a 2004 model, the clocks affected by damp ingress is specific to 03 models.

the rear backing plate can be removed if you wish to service it yourself, you need time and patience.

the backing plate usually white or black will have gaps in it to get to the light bulbs, but the bits you want to see will be hidden by the plastic, the clips for the back plate are usually prised open with small flat head driver.

Destination_..._?

Reaction from the garage after finding no fault codes was confusion understandable. But later on I was thinking a garage like there's with proper trained technicians vast experience have they not come across or heard about cluster problem before with these cars ? I believe later new models suffer from same fate aswell ?
Thanks for your S B .

vax2002

Clean the ABS rings and sensors on the wheels behind the brake disks.

Destination_..._?

What happens if I fitted a new cluster pack will it continue from my current mileage which is on the old cluster pack ?

Or start from beginning no mileage on it .

Destination_..._?

Vax I've done that thanks .
Problem still there .