I do tow my boat and that brings up an immediate problem. The truck is going nuts. Bah! Humbug! As if I needed MORE impediments to any sort of sailing event :P :P
So my world anxiously awaits word from the car guru. Smells like money to me. Something electronic because I can clear the computer by disconnecting the negative terminal and sort of get the thing to run after a bit. And occasionally it'll run perfectly. An intermittent fault. The worst kind.
my passenger blinker does that and we had to have the computer reprogramed, but it is doing it again. Sometimes I long for the days of a simpler car to work on!!
I've been looking for a '75 or earlier spitfire or tr-6 project to eventually be my grocery getter.
Doug, It should not be necessary to reprogram the vehicle's computer, for an improperly blinking passenger side light.
That points to a more serious, underlying problem.
A lot of automotive sensors and controls all run in parallel, from one end of the vehicle to the other end, due to taking a common raceway or path, if you will.
IF! Your local squirrels have been sharpening their teeth on your undercarriage wiring, >:( or otherwise chewing on stuff, you may have a partial short circuit between a sensor, a control, or the turn signal, or some combination of all three. :P
So the computer gets the wrong input or voltage at the wrong time, from the wrong source and it (quite understandably!) freaks out.
IMHO, the techs that re-programmed your vehicle should have checked out the wiring and found the cause, instead of just putting a technical band-aid on it.
If the squirrel could get in there, your hand probably can, too.
Crawl underneath, (a good flashlight helps) and look around and feel around for frayed, and/or chewed, insulation.
If necessary, check under the hood, too.
If there is exposed or partially exposed insulation, your problem (or one that's equally baffling!) will likely come back.
And if it does, that's the time to start asking the techs, Rude Questions, in a Loud Voice. >:(
Back when I was doing electronic service, I always had to keep my techs from wasting time, searching for obscure or complicated failure nodes, instead of the simpler more mundane ones. ::)
Just like Occam's Razor, the simplest reason, was usually the right one. 8)
It's easy to succumb to Fear and Superstition, because of today's High-Tech, well . . . . . EVERYTHING! :o
But, don't.
There's a logical (and not overly difficult) reason, for any sudden and unexplained failure of an electronic system.
Apply a little hard-nosed, skeptical investigation, before you start sacrificing Goats and Virgins, to the Volcano. ;)
Hope this helps,
Charles Brennan
Thanks CB! I will see what I can see and also take it in if I can't locate the problem.
Mass air flow sensor. Not too bad and back on the road. If I'd had the time, I would have taken it to get the code and tried it myself with YouTube guidance, but that would have been in 100F heat and taking a vehicle that MIGHT leave you by the side of the road all over the place to get the code. Sometimes living in the sticks can be frustrating. It's pretty much 15 minutes to ANYTHING. So the pros did this one and we'll see if that solves the problem.
It always helps to know the make/model/year of the vehicle. Squirrels are a big problem in our area (I'm a service advisor at Ford in Ocala, and was an advisor at Volkswagen for 5 years. We see alot of redent damage to wiring. VW and other makes went to soy based wiring insulation on the wires, I just wish they hadn't made it taste like pecans. The newer the car, the more likely it's a module of some sort. I also see alot of times a taillight or headlight assembly gets cracked somewhere, or the rubber gaskets on the light bulbs (if they even are incandescent, alot of vehicles now have LED, making the housing in excess of $2000 to replace on some models.) They've combatted this issue by making them positive pressure vented housings, but now most manufacturers have a technical bulletin stating if you have condensation inside the housing, it's totally normal. If it's enough to drip down the lens, it would be covered under warranty if it's within time and mileage, and if it's puddling it's a done deal (if there's no physical damage.) Once there's standing water, there can be water intrusion into the module that's built into pretty much every housing.
Riley, glad it was just a MAF sensor, probably the best way it could have ended up for you. We see codes for MAF sensors sometimes when the air snorkel is cracked, or leaking in some way. If the code pops back up again, check that first. Hopefully it's fixed.
The car is a 2013 Ford Edge. Where are the most likely places to be damaged on the model?
I'm assuming front and back blinkers both dont work on the passenger side, since it wasn't specified. In that case, could be both bulbs but less likely, more likely the relay or wiring. Look in the engine compartment for squirrel or other manner of rodentia, like nuts, acorns, shredded insulation, chew marks, etc. It's extremely common here. You could do the wiggle test, it's always a good try, turn on the blinkers and have someone watch them like a hawk, while you go around and wiggle every wire you see. Pull gently in each direction, hold connectors and wiggle the wires a few at a time. If the person watching shouts out (you instructed them to do that, right?) then go back and do wires individually. Check all grounds, failing that, it could be a body control module. That's a bit more involved, you can replace it yourself but it needs to go to Ford to be initialized and reprogrammed. You can get a used one from a junkyard (being a 2013 it's hard to find a new one), but it NEEDS to be from the exact same year and trim level. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the tutorial. It's at the body shop being repaired after a run in with a deer right now and they said they would check the blinker problem too. If they don't fix it, I will wiggle the wires.
Been through the squirrel thing. Went out of town for a week, left my truck in the carport, when I got back and started it it ran some kinda ragged. Could not see anything under the hood that could be the cause so took it to a local mechanic. Called me in an hour said it was fixed and that a squirrel or rat or some kinda rodent ate the fuel injection wiring to one cylinder. Confirmed it was a squirrel.I started throwing a sock full of moth balls under the truck every time I left it for a while, seems to work keeping them away. I've got the tree rats at about $5K in various damage repairs around my house.
Squirrels can be destructive. I've had them chew holes in sails and grass catcher bags, chew on boat and trailer wiring, nest inside a K&N filter causing $2700 in damages to the turbo when it got sucked in, and damage to fences and bird feeders.
Now,during the licensed season take care of them with air rifles. They do make a great squirrel pot pie.
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While I am armed for just that purpose based on your recommendations a few years ago, I have some problems with the HOA in that regard. I have a neighbor two blocks over who traps them and in the past ten years he has trapped over seven hundred. He relocates them to the Yocona river where his son owns some property. He starts late spring every year and traps through the summer to get them out of his area prior to nesting time when they try to get in the attics.
Pie looks good, of course I would have to lie to my wife about the main ingredient, she would refuse.
Wolverine, never heard of one getting sucked into a turbo, that's a new one for me. I had one recently, a Ranger that the squirrels got into his evaporator housing, plastic chewed up all over the floor, pulled the blower motor and there was about 10 lbs of moss packed in there along with the shredded cabin air filter. Still don't know how they got in there, all of the most common access points were untouched. About a 5k job. Had one yesterday, check engine light with misfires, only 2400 miles on the F250, found a big patch of fur down low, looks like he chewed a harness to a sensor, then got stuck in the belt. Nothing left at all, just the patch of fur. I found that one right in the lane, he opted to take his truck and fix it himself. We see squirrel damage at least once a week here. Funny, I've been called every name in the book over their antics, like it's my fault, LOL. I am, after all, a professional scape goat.
Chris, a thick skin sounds like it should be part of your job title requirements! Don't people know you are only the messenger not the message. I'm thankful for a knowledgeable assessment that leads to a solution. What I don't appreciate is a mistake or a misdiagnosis that doesn't fix a problem. I do appreciate you sharing your knowledge freely with me even if my problem doesn't end up being rodent behavior. I do miss cars that were simpler to work on, but those days are long gone. Maybe that's why I like canoes and kayaks so much. Although, small sailboats aren't that much more difficult even if they do have moving parts. However, they do entail more work. I do like KISS, but maybe that's because that last S often applies to me.
It's still not over. And it STILL smells like money. Sporadic as I mentioned and with conflicting indications. My personal bet is the computer is gone whacky because of all the various indications and actions. I did find that the tranny on that year had a lot of problems. One of the codes pointed to the tranny, which has a Ford maintenance item associated with it. A big can of worms if you ask me. So it's off to the guy again. I hope I have a truck again one day.
So, my tactic of making a mad dash late in the evening is effectively negated. I'm ashore and will stay for a while. That doesn't change anything other than the POSSIBILITY of a sail or outing. As it has been running in the 100s(feels like) I can't say that I would have even attempted that.
I feel your pain and the heat. It's supposed to cool off later in the week here. We raced this past Saturday with 8-10mph winds and on the water the heat wasn't bad while sailing. However, when we pulled the boat out at the ramp and put it up, I became a bit lightheaded even though I drank over a liter of water while sailing. High 90s and my age don't mix as well as they once did.
I dunno about pie but some fried w/ biscuits sounds really good right now. I'd love to shoot those! It's too civilized to shoot around here anymore and the last time I managed to ignite some powder, I found that my elevated blood pressure makes me not as steady as I used to be. I think I could still save most of the meat though ;)
PS....the dang truck is running fine. Not a blip. Now I'm to the point of driving it to failure and THEN worrying about it. It's getting a little long in the tooth to be worrying about too much. The heat has abated a little, mainly because we've had cloud cover. I'm too, am VERY attuned to heat stress and can no longer delay that cooling period for a while like I once could.
The saga continues as the truck left me hanging and it was towed. Consensus now is computer module. We'll see.
This is why I much prefer biking, hiking, paddling, and sailing to any type of motorized recreation. Of course it is a necessary need in our modern world for getting some where quickly. I try to limit the amount of driving just the same. I feel your pain.
In all fairness the old Ford is just that, getting old and I've been trying to resist the "get a new truck" bug.The truck was a gift from my wife when I was in Africa, all smelling nice when we went zooming off once I arrived back home. Since then it's given good service but to admit it all, that dang thing is just TOO big. And consumes WAY too much gasoline. It's a good construction contractor truck. Will haul a crew, their tools, AND a trailer with the material. Which would be good if I were constructing anymore....but it does make a good tow vehicle. I've towed trailers all up and down the SE coast with it and the catboat is a snap.
I must admit I have had more vehicles that I hated to see go as they were reliable and treated me well than those, I was glad to be rid of. However, Driving just isn't something I truly enjoy. I like the traveling and seeing the countryside but not the driving. Paddling a canoe or sea kayak is different. I enjoy developing the skill and the process. Sailing falls into that category. I don't bike as much as I use to, and backpacking is now a thing of the past except for an occasional short distance affair. I think it has something to do with the physicality and the closeness of moving through the surroundings that make it so appealing.
Every now and again I get the driving bug. Not not a old folks mosey around and look at the sights; a go somewhere far away feeling. Hours of driving. So...the truck and I have gone to New Mexico, Minnesota, NC, SC, FL,AL, and a WHOLE bunch of places in MS. It's kept that urge at bay for the most part, although the last few trips have been in the Honda. I love both of them for different reason.
The truck is big and comfortable and will haul everything but the kitchen sink. The Honda is nimble, fast, and has gadgetry that makes the truck feel old. That Honda Lane Assist (What I call autopilot) is awesome and takes a major part of the work out of driving. You don't realize how much it makes (highway) driving easier until you learn to use it.
Truck is running fine so far. I was right....it smelt like money. And I have my tow vehicle back. NOW if we'll just get a breath of cool air I might not be afraid to go out on the river without heat stroke.
I've got an old truck that I bought to haul Unole around with. Used it maybe three times then bought the big boat and sold Unole back to Charlie Jones who promptly returned her name to Necessity. 2004 Dodge 1500 with vinyl floor mats, crank windows, manual door locks and a 5 speed transmission. A real torture to drive in traffic. And every time I think I might sell it, the wife comes up with a project requiring a full 8 foot truck bed to cart materials. Like right now, there is a pallet of 32 bags of shale weighing 1300 pounds in the bed of the truck.
The Honda sedan we now own has the lane keeping assistance and Adaptive Cruise Control so it will stay in its lane and the ACC keeps you from running over the slow guy in front of you. This works great in stop and go traffic as the car will stop itself and resume acceleration when the traffic moves. However if the car stops longer than 4 seconds, it will not resume unless you tap the accelerator pedal. This works wonders on MY ATTITUDE going back and forth between Central Texas and Pcola. Especially at Baton Rouge going eastbound. >:(
I miss my old 350 Dooley with the flatbed and liftgate. It's been gone for quite a while now and to be honest my body today probably would not miss it. I have fond memories of my dad's 60s Bronco and my old Willis Jeep. The Ford Arrowstar minivan had over 200,000 miles before the transmission went out. Lots of memories of family trips in that one.
These days, I much prefer being a passenger to being the driver. However, my wife has bought a new car a Mazda C30 and it has all the new driving features. We've only had it for a few weeks and I haven't been allowed to drive it enough to have them figured out. I might like driving a little bit better once I do if I get the chance. But the Ford edge is back out of the shop after hitting a deer this summer and the blinker works. It was a wiring problem. So I have a tow vehicle again.
Still put me in a canoe, a kayak, or a sailboat and I'll be smiling.