I got the letter but really don't want to do without cruise until the harness comes in. If I got the story right, the switch under the hood leaks brake fluid, eating the plastic and letting wires touch and burn.
If there is no fluid leaking from the switch, what is the likelihood of an event?
I see there have been about 75 fires and a bazillion units recalled so the chances are slim anyway.
I plan to call the dealer and ask about the harness just to nudge them but I drive highway every day. Just fishing for ideas and thoughts.
The fluid leaks internally, from the fluid side to the electrical contacts side, corroding the contacts INSIDE the switch, causing excess heat.
The switch leaks internally. Without X-ray vision, you won't know until it's too late.
I've been "driving highway every day" for the last 12 years. Never had cruise.
You've been warned by Ford of a known defect that has destroyed dozens of vehicles, several homes, and apparently killed two people. Just unplug the damn thing and put your foot on the gas pedal.
Not to worry. Considering the number of vehicles involved and the percentage that have actually developed a problem, one is far more like to be struck by lighting than have a fire in their vehicle. Generally the fuse blows long before a fire will start. Beside if you vehicle did actually get destroyed by fire, as a result of the recall, Ford will give you one hell of a good deal on a brand new vehicle. ;)
From the record, "Ford found that brake fluid could leak through the cruise deactivation switch into the cruise system's electrical components and cause corrosion. Corrosion can cause a short that will blow the fuse and keep the cruise control from working, but in some cases it can lead to verheating and cause a fire at the switch."
Fixing the Problem "To repair trucks, Ford will install a jumper harness between the cruise control deactivation switch and the cruise mechanism. The harness will act as a circuit breaker that will open if there is a higher flow of current does occur that will turn off the current at the switch, if the switch becomes shorted."
"MasterBlaster" > harness comes in. If I got the story right, the switch under the hood
That would be expensive! Better just to add another, smaller, non-replaceable fuse.
All my previous vehicles with cruise didn't have the brake line switch. The brake light circuit deactivated the cruise. If that failed, the switch on the wheel marked OFF would kill it. Lastly, turning off the key would do it. I think I'll just bypass it for now.
Unless things have changed, Ford is replacing the switch with one of a different design and adding a fused jumper. The problem is that they can't get enough of them, fast enough to cover all of the vehicles.
Older cars used a vacuum dump valve at the brake pedal along with the brake lamp switch to deactivate the cruise. (redundant deactivation devices) Many CC controllers are not vacuum operated these days so a different way was needed to have the redundancy. You could actually jumper out the connector on the switch and never see a difference in the operation of the cruise. This would cause a very dangerous situation if the brake switch ever failed though.
There is an off switch for the cruise control for most vehicles on steering wheel. In addition, in any vehicle, the brakes should be able to stop the vehicle even with cruise control on.
PLEASE don't do that Paul! That wasn't a suggestion. Some Ford products have problems with the wire breaking at the brake switch connector. If that happens while you have it jumpered, you could get into a terrible accident. I only mentioned that for clarity.
Jeff, the brakes will not stop the car from 60 mph while the CC has the throttle at WOT trying to get it back to to 60.
Yeah, they will, although not as fast as they would if the throttle were closed. However, one is able to shut off the cruise control by pressing the clutch or the off switch, too, in this situation.
Modern CC never applies full throttle. In the scenario you describe the fail safe will shut down the CC when the accrual speed drops below the set speed by ten percent, in any event.
You are correct, most owners have no idea that the brake horse power is always greater than the engine HP. That is why those old unintended acceleration stories were BS.
One can easily prove it to themself by placing their foot on the brake and putting the throttle to the floor. The tranny in it lowest gear, with the greatest amount of torque, still can not overcome the BHP.
Makes sense since the brake contact surfaces are cooled by air rather then being fully enclosed like drum brakes are. I had a '69 Dart that had drum all the way around & it never had a difficult time stopping. Had a big problem with vapor lock in the fuel system (but that's another story).
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