hey, all. i drive an 03 F150. when i heard about the recall, i immediately took the truck to the dealer and brought a copy of the recall. they pulled up the vin, and claimed since it didnt mention the recall that they did not have to fix it until the vin displayed it... i think this is a bunch of bullsh1t! should i go to another dealer, or just buy the part and fix it myself. btw, when i asked the guy at the dealer if my truck is safe he responded, "I can in no way guarantee that your truck will not catch on fire." what a joke!

 

Great customer no-service! & the "big 3" wonder why theyre in trouble

 

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm let me say this, I occasionally use my cruise control on a nice smooth backroad set at 45mph, now i'm not sure if i had the cruise on this one time or not but once I got home & it smelled like I had been doing burnouts & donuts with my truck, there was a hot burnt rubber smell, do you think that could be involved with the cruise control? If so then i'll take mine to the dealer too.

 

Yeah man be careful. Seriously. I would take it in. If you don't then I wouldn't use the CC...

 

My truck sat all day and I never used it and around midnight it went up in flames all on it's own.

 

k mines going in for the check.

 

The problem exists if you use the cruise or not - if the switch is leaking &/or a short occurs in the switch/wires a fire will start since their is no fuse to stop the current flow through the shorted switch. One way to prevent a problem before you have a chance to bring in your vehicle is to unplug the connector to the CC switch on the master cylinder & tie wrap it off to the side - I believe this was sanctioned by Ford in the last recall as a temporary fix if the dealers didnt have the parts on hand:-)

 

There's a pressure switch on the master cylinder that's tied to the cruise, so when you step on the brakes, the cruise cuts out until you hit the "resume" button. The switch is powered all the time, whether you use the cruise or not. If the switch leaks internally, the brake fluid causes the connector pins to corrode and short out and the end result is a fire. Just unplug the switch until the recall is done and there won't be any risk of the truck catching fire.

 

ok, where exactly is the switch I need to unplug? Anyone have a pic at hand? I cant takre the chance of losing my truck.

 

Theres pics, etc. at the link I referred to earlier:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...=216384&page=4

The pressure switch is at the top of the master cylinder - just unplug it maybe tape it up to keep crud out & tie wrap it out of harms way:-)

 

ok thanks, i'll do that.

 

I bought the recall harness from a ford dealership today... I am a little confused as to how to install it... Does one end go into the master cylinder and the other end into the plug that formerly went directly into the master cylinder? Or does it hook up differently?

 

Yes - it goes between the pressure switch & the connector you unplug from the switch, refer to the link I posted above for pics on the install, etc:-) Just for good measure could you post the part # here? Im curious if its changed at all.
Thanks

 

Did you really expect a dealership to foot the bill to fix a problem that doesn't exist on their own tab? The '03 wiring was different from the other vehicles in a number of ways. First, the circuit that feeds the brake pressure switch is switched, not hot all the time like the '02 and prior models. Second, the switched circuit that feeds the brake pressure switch also includes a separate dedicated 2A fuse. Third, it *should* have the revised switch installed already.

Now, in the unlikely event that the new designed switch fails, the 2A fuse is sufficiently small to blow long before enough juice can short out and cause a fire. Furthermore, it's not likely to short out when it's parked because the power is off with the key. Now, in the highly unlikely event that you're driving down the road, and the switch fails, and it shorts to ground, and the 2A fuse fails to blow, and the 2A current is enough to get something hot enough to start a fire, and the air movement from driving the truck doesn't put it out, then yes, it's remotely possible it could start a fire. Pay your insurance premium and park it wherever it lets you sleep at night.

 

The early build 03's dont have the fuse & are hot at all times like the older recalled trucks this is why they have to use the VIN to see if a particular truck is part of the recall or not