Hello, my '96 F150, 4.9, E4OD basic model started with some new problems. My ABS light is coming on at times. Sometimes it stays on, sometimes not. I have a code reader but it would not let me read it. It seems to come on at colder temps. Anyone have this issue before? Also, twice in the last few weeks my O/D off light started flashing while I was driving and the truck would shift like crap, hard shifting. Both times I stopped the truck, shut it off, and started it again and it was fine, as if it reset itself. It's been cold in NC the last couple off weeks ( by NC standards), but I don't think it's weather related. Any ideas would be much appreciated.

 

When's the last time you changed you fluid / filter ?

 

x2 on trans fluid and filter change.

Check and clean the connectors for your ABS, road grime will cause havoc on electrical connectors, not to mention moisture freezing and expanding pushing the connector out just a hair, enough to send a code for intermittent low signal. Could also be a bad chassis ground, my air bag light has done this twice in the past 3 months, throws a code for intermittent ground that goes away next time the truck is started, it's just too cold to track anything that's not critical down right now.

 

If I remember this correctly, the flashing o.d light indicates an internal sensor in the trans is trying to tell you something. I believe related to pressure / heat. Heat isn't likely the problem this time of year, more likely pressure.
Which makes sense - cold fluid is thicker, would have more trouble getting through a dirty filter, reducing pressure. Low pressure will tear up the insides, because things don't fully lock up when it shifts.
No guarantee that's the problem, but fresh fluid and a clean filter is always a good thing if you want your transmission to last as long as possible. Unless you're looking for an excuse to put a rebuilt in, in which case ignore everything and drive it like you stole it.

 

This happens allot on ford trans. For the OD light.... The first thing we check on the ambulances is the computer and having the dealer flash the computer has solved this many times. A few cases have been a bad pin or wire. The harness was $200 installed before we found the issues and learned to fix the harnesses. We finally broke down and bought the handheld unit that our Ford dealer uses and reset them at the shop now. We have allot of trannys rebuilt too due to the constant beating we give the trucks. Sometimes they just replace the OD Module and that cures it. My local dealer wants $85 to flash the computer. Might be worth a try. Might also be worth tracing the harness for a bad pin or grounded section. The harness in the steering column can also get chafed and ground throwing a code and causing the OD light to blink or just go out period.

Edit, one issue that we found, bad trans shop experience, we had a trans rebuilt. We paid for the first overhaul. Overheated again. They paid for the second overhaul. Third time the trans died on the interstate and BLEW! The shop refused to even look at it. Suing would have cost more than a new trans so we filed a BBB complaint only to find over 100 other complaints on the shop. We had specifically asked about the radiator possibly being clogged on the trans side and was told that it was fine. Well, it wasn't! The radiator had become clogged from transmission debris and was not flowing. It made it 10 miles from the shop on the last trip when it blew up. If you find trans temp codes, definately disconnect the trans lines from the radiator and use low pressure air to blow in one line and make sure your getting good air flow and no debris. Do the cheap stuff first. It would have saved me big time had I known what to look for to start with.

 

I changed it 14k miles ago when I hit 300k. The transmission was replaced/rebuilt (not sure what they did) around 150k miles. When they did that I had them add a trans cooler. When I changed the fluid, everything was clean, nothing on the magnet. The weather has been cold and rainy here a lot. And I have been working on jobs with long gravel driveways and more mud then you can shake a stick at. But the two times it started flashing on me were on roads after driving 40 miles or so averaging 65mph. If it happens again, I'll drop the pan and take a look. If that's ok, then the dreaded tracing of the wires.