ABS Light *on* - '97 Ranger - advice needed

Hi - I have a 1997 standard-cab short-bed Ford Ranger with a 2.4 Liter 4
cylinder engine and a 5 speed automatic transmission. The truck has 127,000
miles on it.

About 2 weeks ago, during a torrential rain storm here in Central Florida,
the ABS light on the dashboard came on.

The ABS light now turns on and off regularly. Sometimes it stays off for
about 60 miles, so I assume the ABS sensor/switch has a short in it or is
simply worn out.

On the 1997 models, I believe only the rear drum brakes are controlled by
the ABS.

Otherwise, the brakes work great. Stopping power is excellent and the
brakes do not pull to one side or the other at all. I had new brakes put on
all four wheels about 7 months ago.

Question: Is replacing the ABS sensor/switch a major repair or is it
something I can replace?

Thanks

Joe

On Sun, 23 Sep 2007 23:24:15 -0400, Joe727 rearranged some electrons to
say:

> Hi - I have a 1997 standard-cab short-bed Ford Ranger with a 2.4 Liter 4
> cylinder engine and a 5 speed automatic transmission. The truck has
> 127,000 miles on it.
>
> About 2 weeks ago, during a torrential rain storm here in Central
> Florida, the ABS light on the dashboard came on.
>
> The ABS light now turns on and off regularly. Sometimes it stays off
> for about 60 miles, so I assume the ABS sensor/switch has a short in it
> or is simply worn out.
>
> On the 1997 models, I believe only the rear drum brakes are controlled
> by the ABS.
>
> Otherwise, the brakes work great. Stopping power is excellent and the
> brakes do not pull to one side or the other at all. I had new brakes
> put on all four wheels about 7 months ago.
>
> Question: Is replacing the ABS sensor/switch a major repair or is it
> something I can replace?
>
> Thanks
>
> Joe

First, you have to know what to replace. Like the PCM, the ABS computer
can tell you what's wrong, you just have to know where to look. There is
a procedure to obtain trouble codes from the ABS, it varies by model but
involves shorting a wire to ground and counting flashes of the ABS light.
If you use Google you should be able to find the procedure for the 97
Ranger.