Ford Recalls 4.5 Million Additional Vehicles In Sw

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL
Originally Posted By: rszappa1
This is about the 7th try to get it fixed.... Remember Quality is Job One at Fix Or Repair Daily....


Spectacularly inaccurate would be putting your post mildly.

What is ACTUALLY the case:

The issue stems from the brake pressure switch that sits on the end of the master cylinder.

Ford has used this part since the early 90's on various vehicles. The EXACT SAME SWITCH is used by various other auto manufacturers. This is not a "Ford specific" part.

The issue comes from Ford having an engineering FUBAR and leaving the switch hot at all times. This is NOT the case with the other manufacturers who use this switch. In the event that the switch fails via an internal short, it can get hot enough to catch fire, which has, in cases led to engine compartment and vehicle fires.

The fix is NOT a replacement switch. It is a jumper harness with a fusible link in it that will blow in the event that the switch shorts out.

There have not been seven attempts at fixing this, there has been ONE attempt at fixing it, and that is this one. What has happened, and another poster has mentioned, is that Ford has become aware of the issue being relevant to a wider scope of vehicles so they have updated/revised the recall to include this range.


rszappa please get your facts in order before posting lies.

 

[demarpaint]

Glad to see Ford going above and beyond with other cars to avoid problems. IMO the best vehicle on the road today is Ford. JMO

 

[bdcardinal]

if there is no leak, we put on the fused jumper harness, if there is a leak present, we install an updated switch with a smaller jumper harness.

the Windstars will be an issue on this recall. i was talking with out diag/tune up techs all with 30+ years of Ford experience and they have seen the brake fluid slide inbetween the wire and wire insulation to the main fuse box and cause massive havoc on the vehicle electricals.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: demarpaint
Glad to see Ford going above and beyond with other cars to avoid problems. IMO the best vehicle on the road today is Ford. JMO


My daughter and son in law have two MBs and I have had much less trouble with My Fords over the many years than they have had with MBs.

 

[StevieC]

Thanks to OP for posting this... My dads van is affected!

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: RH+G
Actually TI is not taking 100% fault for the switch and that is why the "recall" is taking so long. THe problem was that ford uses an unfused hot wire to the switch,


The hot wire is NOT unfused. Now, if you need an explanation of why a fuse is not necessarily going to protect against a fire, either in a car or an appliance, I'll be happy to give it.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: OVERK1LL

The issue stems from the brake pressure switch that sits on the end of the master cylinder.


Is this switch the same as the power steering pressure switch that Ford uses to signal the ECM so it can increase the idle? It definitely looks very similar and has the same Bosch fuel-injector style connector.

 

[kc8adu]

the problem with this thing is it can leak internaly and the brake fluid being hygroscopic draws moisture.this causes leakage.
the condition progresses slowly.
imho they would have to fuse this very lighly to protect against this failure as it may not pull much current in this mode till the fire is well under way.
i pulled a few of these off of wrecks and several pulled 2 amps at 13.8 volts on my bench supply.they got very warm then cooled down.many read several hundred ohms to ground with a simple ohmmeter test!
bout time they recall the rest of these random firebombs!
when i went to pick up an engine out of a p71 i looked for the repair harness but did not see one.the car had supposedly been in for a recall.i wanted to see what the fuse value was.

 

[brianl703]

Problem is, the cruise control servo gets it's power through this switch. So there's a minimum size that the fuse can be.

The recall instructions say to install a repair harness if no brake fluid is found or to replace the switch if it is leaking. I'm not sure but I believe the replacement switch uses a different connector (USCAR style as opposed to the Bosch fuel injector (aka AMP mini-timer jr) style).

I think the best repair would be to use the switch to drive a relay, with one end of the switch grounded and the other connected through the relay coil to 12V. The relay coil will limit the current during a fault to about 100mA depending on the relay used.

 

[brianl703]

By the way, I'll soon have a 1997 Crown Vic P71 that has not had the recall done (waiting on the DMV to process the title--it was towed and the owner doesn't want it back-the storage charges exceed the value of the car). I'll take it into the dealer and let them do the recall. In the meantime, the switch is unplugged.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
By the way, I'll soon have a 1997 Crown Vic P71 that has not had the recall done (waiting on the DMV to process the title--it was towed and the owner doesn't want it back-the storage charges exceed the value of the car). I'll take it into the dealer and let them do the recall. In the meantime, the switch is unplugged.


About 6 months ago I saw a 97 P71 still in service from the Miami Dade PD..I still looked good and was running just fine.

 

[bdcardinal]

Originally Posted By: brianl703
By the way, I'll soon have a 1997 Crown Vic P71 that has not had the recall done (waiting on the DMV to process the title--it was towed and the owner doesn't want it back-the storage charges exceed the value of the car). I'll take it into the dealer and let them do the recall. In the meantime, the switch is unplugged.


does the recall apply? a lot of P71s did not come with cruise control.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal

does the recall apply? a lot of P71s did not come with cruise control.


This one DEFINITELY has cruise control, and when I run a CARFAX on it, the open recall shows up.

I believe it was a Virginia state police car, which might be why it has cruise control.

 

[brianl703]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE

About 6 months ago I saw a 97 P71 still in service from the Miami Dade PD..I still looked good and was running just fine.


I just saw the list of auction vehicles from the city here, and there's a 97 P71 in the list.

The biggest issue with the one I'm getting is that the trunk will not open either with the key or the button, it's jammed.