Report from Kansas City 4-30-08. This is why it is important to get those recalls done. Note that it is not mentioned in the article that a Ford is involved. I blanked out the owner's name.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An east-side couple narrowly escaped harm early Wednesday morning as their truck exploded into flames in front of their home.

"I just heard a pop, and I looked outside and it was the truck -- I see the sky illuminated and the truck on fire. I don't know what happened," XXXX YYYY told KMBC's Jim Flink.

YYYY said it was a scary and dangerous situation.

"The flames were going up right under the roof, and I was afraid it was going to get the house," YYYY said. "The fire department said had the wind been blowing, it could've gotten the house."

YYYY's girlfriend, MMMMM, grabbed their 4-month-old daughter and two dogs and dashed outside.

"You tend to (move quickly) in these situations. I had a baby and a couple of dogs, which I got all corralled, and then we got our butts in gear," MMMMM said.

The truck was turned into a burned-out shell. Now, the family is wondering how they'll deal with the loss of their only transportation.

Flink reported that it's believed the fire started in the master cylinder and the brake line area. The truck had been part of a recall due to the possibility of flash fires from faulty brake wiring.

 

BUT, Ford did not make all of their vehicles a mandatory recall. They only recalled some models to be compliant.Although ALL OF THEIR VEHICLES use the same part. The problem is in the cruise control brake sensor. When this part gets alot of miles on it or corrosion, there is the possiblility of brake fluid seepage which can go to the electrical connector on the opposite end. With enough heat it can cause a fire, because Ford ran full power thru it instead of thru a relay.
One of my vehicles is not covered, so I luckally bought a bunch of these parts new off Ebay. If someone out there wants one, I have two to sell. Ford was claiming a shortage of them for recall, and was installing an inline fuse in most peoples come in's when they were out of them. I am not looking to make a profit here, $5. ea plus ship.

Lowflyingbird

 

... yeah yeah i check on mine routinely. i'm about to put a fuse in line myself, im tired of hearing ford duck out saying its on backorder BUT if you wanna pay for our F" up we'll get u one right away!

 

Is there any easy way to tell if the recall has been done on my truck?

 

Yeah, look under the hood for the butt-ugly add-on harness at the switch on the master cylinder.


It was not needed. Only vehicles that had the particular CIRCUIT (not component) problem were recalled. Your "information" is not very accurate.

As far as the "news report" goes, it fails to identify the exact year of the vehicle involved and completely fails to address whether the subjects responded to the recall notices sent to them.

Steve

 

Funny I have a windstar that is not on that campaign and it has the switch, started to smoke so I disconnected it. Great job Ford, I called Ford and they said it wasnt in the recall, And has caused no problems. So now I have no cruise until I buy a new switch, and yes add some protection. Maybe a giant condom over the entire vehicle.

 

I *guess* I could breathe somewhat easier after unplugging my cruise control for a few days the last time this topic came up.

The pics I saw here had a plasticish looking sensor, but mine is solid metal.

I also had no pending recalls on the Ford recall search.

If it wasn't for my friend taking it upon himself to send what was once my currently non-running 95 police interceptor to the smasher (his backhoe) for scrap, I'd have to chase down parts for that as well. (Oh well, got a 95 Z28 with LT1/T56 out of the deal...bummer.)

 

Did you file a report with NTSB? In not, you need to do so so that there is visibility of the failure.

FWIW, the Windstar's circuit is switched so that the SCDS is only powered when the ignition is in RUN and it is protected by a 15A fuse which has demonstrated the capability of protecting the vehicle from combustion. The vehicles in the recall, generally, were those where either the circuit was continuously powered, had a 20A fuse, or both. I've never seen a report of a Windstar going up in flames due to this situation, but then I haven't looked, either.

Make the complaint through the proper channels and perhaps you can make a difference.

Steve