Ford Focus stability control light permanently on.

[briwire]

It's the symbol of a car with skid marks behind. It was off when I parked at work and on when I started up at home time and has been on ever since.

The manual says contact a Ford technician. I can't notice any difference in the handling and am hoping to get it to Fords next week.

Any idea if it is safe to drive or what the cause may be?

 

[Mickymoody]

As you don't state the vehicle history, I presume it's a newer vehicle? So to reset the ECU might reset the code? Pull the main fuse, or disconnect the battery negative terminal, to reset code?

 

[briwire]

Sorry, it is nearly 2 years old.

 

[Belle427]

wheel speed sensor may need cleaning or replacing, quite easy to clean.

 

[briwire]

Where is that?

Took the battery off for a few minutes but was still there.

 

[Mickymoody]

wheel speed sensor may need cleaning or replacing, quite easy to clean.

If the battery is disconnected, would the speed sensor problem still register, if the vehicle hadn't moved? I suppose if it was s/c?

The speed sensor is fitted to all 4 wheels, and detects when you lock up, to activate the ABS, so as a test, go somewhere with no traffic, and slam your brakes on, and see if ABS works.

The sensors are normally damaged when having a wheel changed, as the wire coming from the top of them is bent over. They use a disk, and optical sensor, like the rollers in a computer mouse, but 9/10 it's the wire to the sensor that breaks, and not the sensor itself, unless you have driven through a ploughed field recently, and the sensor is caked in mud?

It may be a false alert, and all Ford will do is reset the ABS computer, and charge you for the right! Keep a record of what they do, incase the problem returns.

But I'm not sure a warning light with skid marks, is the abs system?