If the hot wire going to the cruise control switch had a fuse and the brake fluid shorted it out, wouldn’t it blow the fuse way before it got hot enough to ignite brake fluid?

 

So does anyone know the part number of the faulty part? And is it the same as the aprt number in the recalled 2000's? From what i can find it is in the years from 1995-2002 with all the 2000's recall is that correct?

Thx

 

Just went and bought the replacement switch at the local ford dealer. Took 5 minutes to install and now its a done deal. It only cost 13 bucks for the switch and the harness. Its worth 13 bucks for peace of mind and to keep a otherwise excellent vehicle from going up in smoke. Thanks for all the info.

 

You bought the switch and harness What do you mean harness what is the harness all about? Does the new switch no fit into the same canon plug? As the old one?

 

GIJoe is incorrect. My 2000 F150 is part of the recall and it has a 15A fuse in the cruise circuit. The problem is the fire starts before the 15A fuse blows. 15A is a lot of power and can melt the thin wires and ignite the brakefluid. Here is a pic of the circuit.


While waiting for the recall, I spliced a 1 amp fuse into the hot wire.

Later model years (2004+) have the circuit connected to a ingnition switched bus and have a seperate 2 amp fuse.

Fritz

 

It comes with a new plug-in harness. The switch is completely different from the old one. The harness adapts the existing vehicle harness to the new switch.

 

Oh I see great thanks! Do i have have to worry about getting air in the brake lines if I take the old switch out and put the new one in? Do I need to bleed the brakes after putting the new switch in?

Thanks

 

I did not have to bleed anything. I swapped it out and had the same pedal I had before I started. I was thinking the same thing but honestly I dont think that bleeding the brakes could get that little bit of air out of the switch. You could bleed it at the switch by loosening the switch and having someone else hold the pedal down(with the ignition key off) but the air trapped up inside the switch has nowhere to go as it is the highest point in the hydraulic circuit besides the fluid reservoir.

 

Makes sense thanks for the info!

 

I don't know how I got it in my brain that there was no fuse on that circuit.... just looked at all the schematics again and, sure enough, there are fuses in them every year..... guess I've been staring at too many different ones over the last couple weeks. My humblest apologies..... I stand corrected.

-Joe

 

can someone look at the photo below and tell me if this is the faulty switch in my 2001 F150? Thanks,

 

I called two ford dealers today and had them check my vin and both said that my '01 was not affected. But, the switch sure looks like one that had caused problems.

 

Yes that is the switch. Yes that is the same switch as the ones that are involved in the recall. No, that does not necessarily mean your truck should be recalled too. It may be recalled in the future, but is not now.

-Joe

 

Thanks for the comment, Joe. Why wouldn't all switches be recalled? Do you think there a production problem with some of the switches put into the market? I will try to keep an eye on it for any signs of leaking. I would also be tempted to change it out since its an inexpensive part.

 

I don't know why all the switches haven't been recalled. From what I understand, not all of them fail, and they can't get a finger on why some do and some don't, and that's why they're testing them. They have identified that particular batch as having a significant number of them fail, and that's why they recalled them.

As long as you fill the switch with a couple drops of fluid before installing it, it's a simple install, and, like I've said before, if the $30 lets you sleep better at night, go for it.

I honestly don't know where the problem lies. My opinion (and this is strictly my own personal opinion) is that I'd rather have a known good design on the truck than a possible bad one and would replace it with the better of the two. It costs less than a tank of gas, but could prevent a total loss of the truck.

Again, that's only my opinion.

-Joe