Ladies & Gentlemen; I have a problem. I brought my truck to several dealerships in the Miami-Dade / Ft. Lauderdale area to find out whether they have the new switch and wiring harness to fix the cruise control fire problem. I was told that they do not have them yet, don't know when to expect them, and "No, only the dealer can install the parts." I'm shipping my truck overseas soon, and I know for a fact there are no Ford dealerships where I'm going. I want to get this taken care of before I ship it, and I'm willing to take it as far as Atlanta to get it done. I only have a 10-day window, so any info you you can pass on will be greatly appreciated.

 

i dont see why they dont have it. i went back in feb. and got i fixed. i live in the baton rouge area.

 

You DO have a problem! Ok - only thing I can think of is to post a note for Quintin & see what he suggests. He's a Ford tech & is VERY helpful!
Dodge slayer01 - I had a new switch put in as well but it's apparently not the same as the new one w/the inline fuse they're using now. Even my switch has to be replaced - got the letter straight from Ford. Take it in & get it disconnected for now. In fact percysledge should also get his disconnected at the dealer for safety purposes & worry about the fix later on. Hope this helped!

 

They did disconnect the switch, but unfortunately I won't get back to the states for 3 years. I'm really gonna miss my cruise... Thanks for your inputs!

 

I got the same runaround from the local dealers here as they "only have enough parts to take care of the people that have recall vehicles". My wifes truck is a 2003 which isnt under the recall but the way I see it is its a matter of time before it is due to the fact the switch is the same as the recall vehicles & the switch is also hot at all times. (I verified all of this not only by checking out my father-in-laws truck when I was doing some other work on it but also with the local parts guy here who is pretty good - by the way the father-in-law got his replaced under recall a couple of days ago). Anyway heres what you need to do, go to:

www.oemfordparts.com

click on parts request (at the time I ordered it wasnt in the "search" portion yet, & enter the part #1L1Z-9F924-AA this is the "switch repair kit" which contains the new switch, wiring harness, & tie wrap. I got mine in the mail last night so I havent installed it yet but it appears correct to the ones I have seen. The only thing Im still not sure of is that the harness is fused, I wish I had a spare to cut open but I dont & apparently if you buy the parts seperate from the kit they cost a lot more (the kit from OEM is like $12.00 + shipping). These guys seem on the ball & I will likely order from them in the future. Obviously if your truck is part of the recall its probably best to go to Ford & have it fixed free but for those of us with different situations or those who dont want Ford to touch their vehicle this seems to be the way to go. "Disclaimer" - Proceed at your own risk please:-)

 

The latest available jumper harness, which should be available sometime this month, is fused unlike the current stock of jumper harnesses which is unfused. The idea is that if the switch leaks and shorts again, it'll pop the fuse in the jumper harness or burn the harness up rather than burning the whole truck up. The 1L1Z-AA switch kit has the unfused jumper harness.

 

Hi Quintin - Any idea why Ford is having people bring in their truck only to leave with the same problem, I.E. still running a hot ciruit to the switch at all times with no fuse other then the 15 amp fuse on the circuit? Im guessing the new switch (it is different, black in color & larger) is rated at 15 amp as opposed to the old one that is only 5 amp (or so I read somewhere). Curious.

 

They aren't leaving with the same problem. The switch is disconnected in the interim. Apparently, what was shorting out the connectors was a faulty brake pressure switch that'd allow brake fluid to pass through it and into the (constantly) hot connector and whoosh, you're on the 6 O'clock news when your house goes up in smoke 'cause your truck in the garage caught fire.

 

I unplugged the connector when I got the recall letter. No need to take it to the dealer to unplug a connector. I am thinking about installing a resistor between the connector terminals. The resistor would have the same resistance as the brake pressure switch. Would not this allow the cruise system to work and eliminate the possiblity of the old/new pressure switch failure causing the cruise system to be deactivated?
Roger

 

No resistor required. The pressure switch is a normally closed switch and allows power to go from the fusebox to the cruisecontrol computer. When it fails it fails closed. If you step hard on the brake, the switch opens and the cruise deactivates. It is the same for the switch on the steering wheel and the switch on the brakepetal.
You can jumper the wire harness with a piece of wire and the cruise will work. But you will loose the emergency cruise shutoff.
It would be better to buy a small fuseholder with a 2A fuse and install it into the hotwire going into the pressure switch. That's essentially what ford's new fix is. Then install the new switch when it is available.
Why did ford go to the fused harness instead of replacing all switches? The fused harness costs U$ 10, the switch costs U$28. Multiply the difference by the millions of trucks and suvs and it's big money.

Fritz

 

I guess I could be happy Ford is trying to save several million dollars by relacing the harness only but if they had simply spent .10 cents or so a vehicle on a beter design during production maybe my stock in the company would be worth more then the paultry $8 a share right now :o

 

So what is the big deal about having a backup deactivation switch? My old Corvette does not one and the three cars that I installed an aftermarket cruise system on back in 1970's did not have one. In all the years of driving with a cruise system I have never had or heard of a brake or clutch pedal switch not working.
Roger

 

Because back in the 1970s, people weren't getting sued for spitting on the sidewalk in front of a church, or for anything else stupid.

 

The redundant switch could be called the "CYA" switch although in this case it bit em in the rear instead! Say does anyone with a 2003 model have the time to take a peek in the under hood fusebox & see if in position #17 theres a 2 amp fuse? This is shown on the schematic yet my wifes truck being built 10/02 doesnt have that additional fuse. Also if anyone has the part # for the FUSED harness that would be GREAT to have.
Thanks Guys

 

The fused harness isn't available yet. Should be by the end of this month.