ABS light should not come ON when starting the Jeep....should only come ON once the Jeep starts moving forward.
Must be wire shorting somewhere, most likely at one of the wheel sensors where the wiring can scrape on the moving hub and go to ground.
I believe on the early KJs like yours that the ABS works by making use of the sensor on the Diff and ABS sensors on some of the wheels....I will read up on which wheels have them on the 03 KJ but you can visually confirm which wheels have them fitted.
You can download the 2003 Jeep KJ Service Manual here...will give you the Theory on how the ABS works and section 8W has the wiring diagrams.
www.colorado4wheel.com/manuals/Jeep/KJ/
OK I have just read the 2003 Jeep KJ Service Manual sections 5 and 8E.
I was wrong when I stated that you should not get an ABS light come ON before the Jeep starts moving. The ABS control unit has 2 processors inside it and these talk to each other as soon as ignition is turned ON. If the two processors have a disagreement with each other then the ABS light is lit. Also when the Jeep starts moving then other checks are done which likewise lights up the ABS light. Definitely download this 03 manual and read up on the theory of operation.
Your Jeep has ABS sensors on the two front wheels and the rear wheels ABS system is operated by the sensor on top of the rear Diff.
Looks like a bad sensor somewhere or bad wiring....you will need to check the wiring carefully for shorts to engine/chassis and use section 8W to trace the wiring.
Once you get into the wiring diagrams I will advise you on how to go about checking for shorts/breaks in the wiring!
