ABS Light After Relay Replacement

Hi Folks - I had a problem with the ABS on the SC I got recently from my dad - he had previously had Ford replace he main brake components (master/acumulator) when the pedal went hard a couple of years ago. He recently had the same problem & asked me if these parts can be rebuilt knowing Ford no longer supplies them. I went here & looked into things for him & recommended he replace the ABS pump relay, well he decided to sell the car instead & I ended up with it. I bought the relay from Ford & had it here for when the pedal went hard again, with thee hot weather it didnt take long! I had both the ABS & brake lights go on this AM & a mile or 2 down the road the pedal went hard. When I got home I opened the hood & tapped the relay with a screwdriver & the pump kicked on confirming the relay was sticking. After I replaced the relay I started the car & everything feels & sounds normal EXCEPT the yellow ABS light is stuck on. Previously when the car was cold the lights would come on as normal when starting the go off after the pump pressurized. Any ideas? I checked fluid level & its OK. Anyone else have this happen after relay replacement?
Thanks For Your Time!
Arnold In The Smokies

Is the light on, but you have brake assist? If so do you notice if the pump keeps running and doesn't stop, or does it stop?

There is likely a bad sender somewhere if everything works, but still ABS light. It takes a special diagnostic tester to pull codes out of it.

Hi Mike - Yeah it has assist now (it always did when cold - I havent driven it enough to get hot which is when it failed before - both lights on). I can hear the pump cycle on & off - sounds "normal" to me but since Ive never driven the car much I cant be 100% sure. The weird thing is when it was first started before the lights would do their normal thing till the pump pressurized then both go off - it seems the yellow light being on when first started is a new problem after relay replacement. Im wondering if the other power relay coincidently failed. Im really concerned that I screwed up the ABS "computer" by not disconnecting the battery prior to replacing the relay, I figured it would be OK since there was no power to it with the key off but I also had to disconnect a couple of connectors to get to the relay easily so who knows:-( I have a OBD l code scanner (not anything exotic) is that what is used or is it a specific scanner for the ABS?
Thanks!
Arnold In The Smokies

The specific scanner is the Star something or other that Ford techs used and was from Rotunda. Some high end OTC or Snap-On scanner may be able to pull such codes as well.

You can verify the pump turns on and off by opening the hood, get in the car and pump the brakes 20 times. Get a buddy to turn the key just to On (don't start the car) while you have your hand on the accumulator ball. you should be able to feel the vibration of the motor running, and you should feel it stop as well.

If that works.. then that pretty much eliminates the relay, motor, or pressure switch.

Now if the motor feels like it is struggling to run, or it runs for a long time before it stops, that could mean that the system is timing out, either because the pressure is not building or the pressure switch has failed and is not providing the high pressure feedback to the system so that it knows to stop the motor.

Thanks Mike - Oh I can heard the pump running for sure & it sounds "happy" - upon key on it runs for about 10-15 seconds or so & I can watch the fluid level dropping in the master cyl. reservoir down to the arrow mark. I think I need to drive it some & at least make sure the hard pedal doesnt rear its head then address this light issue.
Arnold In The Smokies