Reading and Clearing Diagnostic Trouble Codes

NOTE: Ford DOES NOT provide procedures other than those described to retrieve or clear trouble codes.

Whenever the yellow Anti-Lock light comes on during normal operation, a flashout code may be obtained to aid in problem diagnosis. If the vehicle is shut off before the code is read, the code will be lost. In some cases the code may reappear when the vehicle is restarted. In other cases the vehicle may have to be driven to reproduce the problem and if the problem was associated with an intermittent condition, it may be difficult to reproduce. Therefore, whenever possible, it is recommended that the code be read before the vehicle is shut off.

WARNING: Place blocks behind the rear wheels and in front of the front wheels to prevent the vehicle from moving while the flashout code is being taken.

NOTE: If the red brake light is also on, due to a grounding of the fluid level circuit (perhaps low brake fluid), no flashout code will be flashed and the Anti-Lock light will remain on steadily. If there is more than one system fault, only the first recognized flashout code may be obtained.

To access flashout codes, proceed as follows:
1. Drive the vehicle to a level area, and place the shift lever in PARK for automatic transmissions and NEUTRAL for manual transmissions. Notice whether the red BRAKE light is on or not (for future reference) and then apply the parking brake.
2. Leave the ignition key in the ON position so that the code will not be lost.

Diagnostic Connector:

3. Attach a jumper wire to the diagnostic connector (with the black/orange wire). Momentarily ground it to the chassis. When the ground is made and then broken the Anti-Lock light should begin to flash.

NOTE: If the red BRAKE light was on (as noticed before the parking brake was applied) the problem may be with the low fluid level circuit, in this case no flashout code will be flashed and the light will remain on steadily.

4. Count the short flashes and include the long flash in the count to obtain the code number. For example, three short flashes followed by one long flash indicates Flashout Code Four. The code will continue to repeat itself until the key is turned OFF. It is recommended that the code be verified by reading it several times. In addition, the first code flashed may be too short because it may have been started in the middle. It should be ignored.
5. When a code has been obtained go to the Test indicated by the number of flashes. For example, if the flashout code is 2, go to Code 2 for the next step in diagnosing the problem.
6. After all flashout codes have been accessed and corrected, remove jumper wire from diagnostic connector.