I have a 97 Grand Marquis where on rare occasions the ABS light will come on. Found that if I didn’t wait a few seconds after starting to put into gear (about 10seconds)the light might come on. If I stop car and turn off, and restart then all was okay. Last week I made 300 mile trip and stopped after 150 miles for break, upon restarting light came on. Stopped and restarted and the light went out, but came back on after a minute and didnt turn off for remainder of drive. On return trip later that day, light never came on at all, and hasn’t since. Brake pads are about 2 months old (all 4 wheels) and brakes work fine. Any thoughts?
You can get the “history” codes read and go from there.Make a visual inspection of ABS sensors at each wheel (open electrical connections look for corrosion)
The ABS system faults have nothing to do with brake pad condition. Plus, this is a fail-safe system, and should not affect normal brake operation, even if the system is disabled. The ABS light on means a fault has been detected, and the ABS system will not kick in to prevent wheel lock-up. Normal braking is not affected. The trouble codes will need to be extracted to determine the problem, and point to a solution.
On some cars this is a ‘normal’ condition. My '95 Dodge even mentions this case in the manufacturer’s literature. That is, the ABS will sometimes come on for no apparent reason but will not be on when the car is restarted. I consider this to be just one of the car’s little quirks, and many cars have something similar. I just ignore the whole business.
In fact, that is my advice to you. Take action only if the situation deteriorates.
It’s not “normal” for that particular car.
Have you ever flushed out the brake fluid and replaced with new fluid?