1999 daodge ram 1500 abs lights came on and the speedo quit working under 25 mph all at the same time... Help?

Question

this is a vehicle i tow behind road tractors. i have to disconnect the battery when it is being towed. the other day i towed it from Boston to Youngstown, OH. when i reconnected the battery the ABS lights and brake lights on the dash where on and the speedo won't work under 25 MPH. once i hit 25 mph it works fine. what has happened. the cruise still works and brakes are fine. Is it possible that when i was towing in the rain and salt/ sand covered roads that something has gotten dirty causing this? i hope it's a easy fix. have already looked at getting new ABS sensors but they are $185 each and don't really want to spend that kinda money if that's not what's wrong. this is a 1999 dodge ram 1500 with a 5.9l. it has 136000 miles and runs great. i love this truck and i know alot of people will keep on driving it the way it is but i have this hang up about the idiot lights. when it's 2:00 am and you've been driving awhile those lights tend to make my mind wonder if i have a major problem.

Answer 1

you may have to give it time to re-set every so many times that the battery cable is disconnected it will set a trouble code in it,and after driving it so far the light should go off,but in some cases you may have to have it scanned and have it turned off,every so many times though it will do this,its like detecting the battery being disconnected every 50 times or so ,and it will make the lights come on,have auto zone scan it for you ,its free,and they can probably clear them,you shouldn't have any problems with it,if it had none to begin with,good luck with it.

Answer 2

Simple put, you need to replace the speed sensor in the top of the rear axle housing. The price of a new one is about $35- 60 and you can replace it you're self. First you have to remove the nut that holds the wire and brake line in place, then remove the bolt with a deep socket (13 mm I think ). Then pry and twist the old sensor out. Careful not to break it if its rusted very bad. Clean the hole out with a pocket knife, grease the new sensor, and install. The ABS light will go off when the ABS modules recognizes the circuit going Thur the new sensor.