Abs light stays on

QuestionEdit

Afternoon Kevin:

Even though you are only listed as a Chrysler expert, I am pretty sure that the info on my questions applies to all MOPAR family vehicles:

My 1997 Plymouth Grand Caravan 3.8L got a stuck caliper and ruined the pad :oops: ..so I changed both front axel's brake pads, calipers, and roters. In the process, I (obviously) had to add new brake fluid and bleed the front two brake lines.

Following the repairs my ABS or Brake Light now stays ON when the engine is running. I made sure that the brake fluid was up to the full mark and performed multiple "turn on, turn off" key sequences in an attempt to have the light go off. When that did not furn off the ABS light, I went to my local car parts shop and used their generic "Code Reader" to "Clear All Codes."

Still the light remains on. :angry2:

So now I have a couple of questions:

Is it possible the generic "Code Reader" did not read and/or reset my ABS light due to the fact that the "Code Reader" is such a low end device? NOTE: When I asked the "Code Reader" to pull all codes, it did not show any entries for the ABS system at all.

If I can get my hands on a higher end "Code Reader" which will allow me to read the ABS codes, will it tell me with any specifity why the light is on?

Lastly, having never dealt with a modern ABS equipped vehicle, I have no idea if: the ABS code stays on until it is cleared by a "Code Reader;" or turns itself of once the error/problem condition corrects itself.

Any ideas on what and/or how to repair the vehicle so that ABS light goes off?

Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated!

Poor Paul

AnswerEdit

Hi Paul, I believe that a better code reader will get you stored fault codes from the ABS memory. They will only self-erase after remediation is successful when you have driven 3500 more miles post-repair. So you need good reader to erase such codes. The reader will tell you what the old codes are, as well as the current code that is causing the light to remain 'on'. Let me know what codes you find to be old and current and we'll go from there using the abs manual. So the bottom line is to read the system and clear the codes using a more sophisticated code reader. Also it is the case that to bleed a brake system with ABS properly you need the help of a sophisticated code reader. You first bleed conventially, then bleed with the code reader plugged in and instructed to do its thing while the abs system is then bled. I have to admit that I personally don't have experience with ABS systems, this info is from the '97 Chrysler/Dodge/Plumouth minivan manual which I own. Please 'rate' my answer (see below). Thanks, Roland PS Sorry for the delay but I just found your question in the 'pool' to which Kevin had referred it. Also, are you certain that the brakes are indeed no longer dragging. One other cause of the caliper dragging can be the internal fragmentation of the lumen of the brake hose that services the sticking caliper. So verify that is no longer the problem.