brake warning light and speedometer woes

[Black03Limited]

Ok, last couple of weeks i posted problems with the ABS and brake warning lights being on as well as speedometer not working and odometer not turning.

After changing rear differential fluid and cleaning old sensor and checking wires with no success, i ended up buying and installing a new speed sensor today.

Nothing. At least not at first. But when i started to drive on my way to work, the lights went off, i felt the brakes pulsate a little, and noticed the speedo working. Sort of. The speedo still fluctuates and does not read the correct speed most of the time, and then the brake lights came back on. Its like these things WANT to work, but just wont.

When i pulled the old sensor out, i noticed quite a few metalic flakes on the sensor. I didnt think anything of it. I wonder if there is a lot more metalic crud in the port where the sensor goes? I assume the metal flakes are what is making the sensor go haywire and not work right?

Oh, and now i have another big problem. On the way back from the dealer (closest one was about 50-55 miles away), the jeep stalled on me 2 or 3 times. It stalled once about a week ago too. I just threw it in neutral, restarted it, and put it back in drive. It was fine at first, but then as i got into my home town, it was stalling every few seconds and would continue to stall unless i was really laying on the gas. Its annoying because the power steering stops so its quite dangerous in turns when slowing down. Would this be related to the speed sensor not working? Or is it something else entirely? Its just now becoming a problem. But i had been driving the jeep the last week or so.

This is really making me angry. I just bought this thing a month ago, it has no warranty, and i need it 6 days a week for my second job, the job which pays for the jeep! I cant afford for this thing to keep breaking down. And i was relieved when i bought it because i was finally getting a 'reliable' vehicle. ha. Please! Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[nzoliver]

Hi,
Is your engine check light on at all?

Oliver

 

[tjkj2002]

Recheck the wires for that rear diff sensor,that's causing all your problems.Might need to check the wires in the connector itself for a break.

 

[Black03Limited]

Oliver: The check engine light was on, it has since gone off with the new sensor even though the brake warning lights are still on. The only code i got was 0500, speed sensor.

tjkj: When you say thats causing all of my problems, do you mean ALL of them? or just the brake warning lights and speedo/odometer? Could it be causing the stalling by any chance?

I ended up talking to a couple guys at a service station today and told them all what was happening and about the stalling and new sensor i put in. I dont have a lot of time to work on this thing. When im not working im running errands. Plus its freezing cold out and everything always seems to go wrong with cars in the dead of winter. They told me to bring it by first thing monday morning and they would take a look at it. I had a feeling the wires to the speed sensor may be kinked or something somewhere but i just couldn't for the life of me see where. I mentioned this to the garage as a possibility.

 

[nzoliver]

Hi,
Have you reset the computer at all? I would read again and see what it says. The brake warning could be as a result of low fluid or worn pads?

I understand your plight my Disco was off the road for a week with a hard to track vibration causing problems

 

[Black03Limited]

oliver: the day this all started happening i checked my brake fluid hoping it would be that simple. Fluid level is fine. Also my liberty has new pads and rotors all the way around. The dealer i bought it from installed them before i bought it.

The check engine light hasn't been on for a couple of days, but do you think that resetting it would make the lights stay out? Im kind of skeptical. My speedometer is still kind of flaky and not working 100%.

 

[nzoliver]

Hi!,

Well it can't hurt to read + clear any codes. I use a ScanGaugeII to do mine. The stalling could be a dodgy throttle pos sensor.

Have you an iffy park brake switch?

 

[Black03Limited]

what do you mean by 'dodgy' throttle position sensor? You mean, just not working correctly?

And what would a faulty parking brake switch do? Are you implying thats the reason for the brake warning lights? Come to think of it, since i bought the jeep, the parking brake doesn't work. It needs to be adjusted.

 

[nzoliver]

Sorry, It's our British English thing getting lost in translation - dodgy meaning failing etc.

As for the park brake switch....does the light flicker if you move the lever? I don't know if they make a 'NC' connection or if they make a 'NO' connection but a multimeter would tell you. Putting a test light accross it would be an option to see if that kills the dash light.

 

[Black03Limited]

Ah, i see

No, as i recall, the light stays on even when i work the parking brake lever.

Hopefully these guys at the shop are competent enough to fix this thing without throwing tons of other parts at it. This garage and another i didn't bother going to keep mentioning the speed sensor on the transmission, even though i told them i don't really think its that one. Oh well. Hopefully they will listen to me. Or at least check and test the wires on the rear speed sensor before trying to replace sensors randomly.

 

[tjkj2002]

The PCM needs that speedo sensor signal to control the idle when coming to a stop,so yes that speed sensor not working 100% will cause your stalling along with your speedo/ODO problems.