I have an odd issue with my 2010 Ford F-150 STX 4.7L V8 Regular Cab. Driving in NYC a number of years ago, I hit a large (6' diameter, 1 foot deep) pothole at about 25 MPH. Shortly after, a series of chimes sounded and the display on the dash cycled through what appeared to be a series of diagnostic icons and all gauges went dead. I pulled over and turned the truck off. I immediately tried to restart it and it wouldn't start. I checked all of the logical stuff under the hood and elsewhere and it still wouldn't start. After trying for about 30 minutes, it finally turned over and ran fine the entire way home with a normal display presenting on the dash (mileage, etc.).

I took the truck to the dealership. They reported something like 70 codes, cleared them all and couldn't reproduce the problem. They checked the grounds, updated the ECU, etc. The problem still couldn't be reproduced and I took the vehicle back. A week or so later, the same happened. I returned the truck to the dealership and naturally, they couldn't reproduce or fix the issue. This time, zero codes. This happened another one or two times and I gave up. The truck would periodically exhibit the problem and if I kept it running, it would eventually go away. Still annoying. The issue seemed to be worse during the warmer summer months especially on hot days.

This problem continued over time. I eventually took an interest in it again when I bought one of those bluetooth ODB II readers with the Android cell phone app. I left the reader on the truck and tested that it worked. It did...everything seemed normal and zero codes. The ODB II reader was easy to set-up and use. It gave all kinds of info about the truck. For all intents and purposes, the truck was running fine. Shortly after, the issue returned while I was driving. I pulled over, tried to connect to the ODB II reader using my phone and couldn't connect for the duration of time when the truck was giving off chimes and the diagnostic icons were displaying on the dash. I turned the truck off and as expected, it wouldn't start. I tried turning the truck to accessory on mode and connecting...no luck. It was as if the ECU wasn't there. I gave it some time and eventually the truck started and seemed to run fine. At that time I was able to connect to the ODB II reader without any problems. I checked for codes and everything was clear.

The same series of events happened over and over. Sometimes it would occur driving down the road, other times it would happen when I tried to start the truck the first thing in the morning, and other times it would happen as soon as I backed out of the driveway in the morning. Each time, I tried to read codes using the ODB II device and no dice.

The other day, the truck wouldn't start. The chime were sounding and the diagnostic icons were flashing on the display. The headlights were on (habit) and the parking brake was set. I turned the headlights off, released the parking brake and the truck immediately started despite being in the state where it normally wouldn't start. The truck ran fine for the rest of the day. I had the same issue a few days later and did the same thing...lights off and released the parking brake. The truck started right up.

While I appear to have some weird form of a workaround for this issue. I would ideally like to get it fixed. Does anyone have any ideas as to why this would be happening? Any insight or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your time.

 

Sounds like someone put a Dodge or Toyota motor in your truck. That might require an adapter kit to get it working with the Ford stuff...

 

Welcome to the forum, Joebu! Since these warnings lights keep returning, it might be time to go back to your Ford Dealership. How many miles are on the truck currently?

Crystal

 

I would love to bring it back to the dealership but fear the pricetag associated with the work. The truck is now out of warranty and has about 75,000 miles on it. I had one person suggest swapping out the ABS sensors. I would start with the right side of the vehicle as that's the side that took the beating from the pothole. Also on the right side is the ECU module. I had another person suggest disassembling that unit and looking for any broken solder points. I'm comfortable enough with electronics to do this work. I'm mostly looking for suggestions prior to diving into the project.

 

Do you think Ford would be open to not charging for the repair given the documented history of this issue? The original service visits took place during the warranty period for the vehicle. However, it was over 3 or 4 years ago that the truck went in for the issue. I have just been living with it since. I suspect it's going to be a bad ECU. Thoughts?

 

Hi Joebu,

I can't make determinations of financial assistance myself, but if you return to a Ford Dealership for diagnosis, I'll be able to escalate this to your regional customer service manager (CSM) for review. Let me know what you decide.

Crystal

 

I highly doubt it would be free or even discounted. Something happened when you hit that huge pothole and it's not a factory defect. But I understand it's annoying the dealer can't reproduce the problem. What are the codes it's throwing?

Ps, you have a 4.6 V8. Not a 4.7 as that would be a chrysler product.

 

I'll give it some thought Crystal. Thanks for the offer.


Thanks for the correction on the engine size...you are correct.


I'm not inclined to think this would be covered either due to the pothole factor. It was either that pothole or a nice car accident in the middle of Manhattan during rush hour. The truck and I took it like a champ and limped home.


No codes at all...that's the tough thing. The issue occurs, I can't connect to my ODB II reader during that time, the diags on the display go away and then I can connect. Once connected I do a code read and there aren't any codes. Annoying, huh? It strikes me as something throwing the ECU into a reboot/reset cycle of some kind and once that is complete, the issue goes away. The problem is that the issue can manifest itself for 1 minute, 5 minutes, 30 minutes or seconds. It's like something is getting stuck and doesn't mesh up, the ECU is designed to reset under those circumstances, and it does that until the issue resolves itself. It's the weirdest and least predictable thing I've ever seen. I work in IT security and deal with some seriously odd computer based and software based issues. In 18 years, this is the first thing I have hit that doesn't have some kind of logical fix.


Feel free to ask if there is any other info I can offer. Thanks for your interest.