Truck fire follow-up

Mike (WA) · Nov 15, 2009

Hows this for irony? Ford Motor Company sent us a recall notice for the speed control de-activation problem, mailed on the SAME DAY as the fire (we got it 2 days later)!!

Wife called several of her horsey friends with Fords- some got the notice years ago, but one got it the same day as us. And she, like us, has had her Ford for several years. And she told us her sister in California had a similar fire, and FoMoCo sprung for a NEW TRUCK!!

Now the Mrs. is excited- a new truck! She called the sister in Cal- turns out the story was slightly wrong- it was an MG Midget that burned, many years ago, and Ford had nothing to do with it (I suspect Mr. Lucas, purveyor of the "Prince of Darkness" electrical system on Brit cars).

So I gently brought her back to reality- we'll get paid for the old truck, but not a new one. Our insurance will pay- but if we hadn't been insured, we might have been able to get FoMoCo to pay, after spending thousands in attorney fees.

Bummer- she points out that old ladies get $150K for spilling coffee in their laps- would a lousy new truck be so much to ask? Life just ain't fair. . .

BIGR · Nov 15, 2009

Just got the letter yesterday for my '96 F350 I bought used two months ago. The cruise control didn't work so a friend of mine who's a Ford Diesel mechanic looked at it. He went to his work and they looked up the serial number and said there was a recall on the truck. Gave him the parts and he put them in. He said it was a switch in the master cylinder that shuts off the cruise when you touch the brakes. Cruise works now like it should. Is this the same problem? They don't really explain it in the letter. Thanks!

Bob · Nov 15, 2009

I got the recall letter for my 'Sploder yesterday and it DIED last evening from fuel pump failure!

Orgwayne · Nov 15, 2009

Bought 1998 ford f-150 used , took to Ford Dealer for a tune up , Desk guy asked if the cruise was still hooked up , I said ya , and he came out and unplugged it !! Said they would replace with a new one , fires I guess . They put the part on in a couple of days. I checked out AllDATA , And sure enought a recall from a while back
Wayne

TimMiller · Nov 15, 2009

I just got my letter about it about a week ago.

Goose · Nov 15, 2009

Bell invented the telephone, McCormick invented the reaper, and Lucas invented the short circuit.

Aowner · Nov 15, 2009

I was opening yesterdays mail and I got one. How long does it take for them to replace the speed control deactivation switch.

Gabe in Ks · Nov 15, 2009

I work for a Ford dealer and I do these recalls everyday about 10-30 depending on the day. Ford just send out a whole batch of recall notices recently. The recall has been going on since I believe 2005. Unfortanly they just added the Powerstroke trucks and Windstar vans to the list on the recall. What happens is the switch on the master cylider can start to leak brake fluid not really enough that you would really notice it. That switch has power to it all the time which causes the posibility of a fire. I have also seen on some that leak brake fluid end up in the cruise sevo and also in abs module. The recall only takes about a minute to do.

LilFarmer · Nov 15, 2009

A company I used work for bought a used F-350 with the v-10 in it. About a month after we received a notice from Ford that there was a recall; something about the cruise control and a switch that could leak and cause a fire even while parked. We took it in, the dealer had it two days, then called and said it was done.

We went to pick it up and I asked the service manager what switch they had to replace so that we could keep an eye on it in the future. He told me that ours was NOT LEAKING and they spent two days replacing nothing.

FoMoCo service at it's best!!!

Bob · Nov 15, 2009

Well... it didn't burn up, did it?

Gabe in Ks · Nov 15, 2009

They should have put a fused harness on it or unplugged it if it wasn't leaking per the recall, takes maybe a minute to do so I have no idea why they would have more than a day.

fixerupper · Nov 15, 2009

Good one Goose. Reminds me of the Truimph motorcycle I used to own. Jim

Jon Hagen · Nov 15, 2009

I had a similar problem with a brake light pressure switch on my old 85 model Steiger Cougar. The tractor is almost 25 years old. this summer I walked through the machine shed and noticed the little Steigers brake lights were on. The tractor had not been driven for several weeks.
I got up in the cab and pumped the brakes a dozen times, brake lights still on.
Got to tracing the brake light wiring and found the pressure switch on the master cylinder was "burn your fingers hot " I unplugged it and the lights went out. I suspect the switch failure is similar to what is happening to the Fords.
Just wondering how close I was to losing the main machinery shed containing 90% of my main tractors, seeding equipment and combines.

May be worth installing battery disconnect switches on all that stuff.

rustyj14 · Nov 15, 2009

NOTE: Lucas invented the three position electrical switches:
OFF--FLICKER---SMOLDER!
They supposedly have a smoke refill kit for their electrical systems. And, if the smoke lessens, they sell Harness smoke! For the engine--you can buy Replacement oil leaks"!

LilFarmer · Nov 15, 2009

Not yet!!

I'll keep you posted.

Ill John · Nov 15, 2009

I got my recall letter last week and took it in, they said I needed an appointment, would take a half hour to an hour to complete, I left it and told them to call. This was at 7:30 AM, called at 11AM, guy told me mine was the only one they hadn't done yet, he'd call in about an hour. FIVE/5 minutes later, a diferent guy calls and says it's done, typical dealership sh!!. Mine is an 01/160,000 miles on it.

GeneMO · Nov 15, 2009

If life was fair, I wouldn't have had kidney failure at age 30.

Gene

Anonymous-0 · Nov 15, 2009

There was a fire that destroyed an independendent garage here a month or so ago, in the middle of the night. Word on the street has it that it started from a Ford SUV. They still have the scene yellow taped off, and there seems to be a lot of investigative activity..

Don-Wi · Nov 15, 2009

I've had my VW since Marc h, and so far I've gotten 2 letters about recall items. One in the heated seats, and another with the ignition system. They said they'll send another notice when the dealers have enough parts to start doing all the recalls on the ignition. (I think it's the coil packs).

Kinda curious if that means I'll have a rental...

Donovan from Wisconsin

barn E · Nov 15, 2009

Hey Jon Hagen, in the fifties I had several Fords that used what looks like the same switch for brake lights. And several went bad. No fire though. Is Ford saying the brake fluid was leaking out and caught fire??? Mine just kept the stoplights on.

Karl in MD · Nov 16, 2009

Why do the Brits drink warm beer? Because Lucas builds the refrigerators. BSA: Gaelic for "catastrophic oil leak".

Anonymous-0 · Nov 16, 2009

5 minutes.Takes longer to do the paper work.This problem has been going on for 10 years.Took Ford a long time to admit they had a problem.I disconnected the speed control when I bought the truck.A fused wire harness is added.While we are on trucks.My son has a late model GMC pickup truck.He was on a trip Sunday,about 150 miles from home the truck did feel right.He pulled into a store parking lot, got out and saw a puddle of oil under the front end of the truck.He found a trans mission oil cooler line had seperated.The store clerk gave him 2 numbers to call.A wrecker and a flatbed truck showed up.They used the wrecker, towed his truck 5 miles.They took him to a motel.Said they would get the parts Monday morning.They picked him up early.The mechanic aploigized for the labor charge but he had to take the grill out to fix the problem.The oil lines are held to gether by a flimsy wire clip with a plastic cover.The clip rusted and fell off.It was under the plastic cover.It took 6 quarts of aft to replace the lost fluid.20 bucks for the tow and 30 bucks for labor.If you drive a Chevy or GMC you better check these flimsy clips that hold the cooler lines together.As long as GM keeps making junk they will lose sales to the imports.Gardiner Maine is a good place to break down.

Anonymous-0 · Nov 16, 2009

This is a switch that removes power from the cruise control when the brake pedal is stepped on.My truck did not have the problem switch but the Ford dealer put on a wire harness with a fuse on it.The switch has power on it full time.Most people would think its a brake lite switch.THe brake lite switch is under the dash.The bad switch is square and made by Texas Instruments.Look at your master cylinder.My 77 chev has a big cast iron master cylinder.My 96 Ford has a small aluminum and plastic master cylinder.I call my 96 Ford Old Leaky.Ive had 3 brake lines fail, 1 wheel cylinder blow out,gas tank leak and power steering hose leak in 10000 miles.

Truck fire follow-up

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