stangfreak2

Ok, so my car was at the dealership for about 5 days this last week getting various things fixed including:
-Replaced radio (just the stock radio bc the buttons were messed up)
-Replaced leather trim on door panel
-Replaced idler belt (bc of a squeak)

I picked my car up thursday, and took it to have new wheels and tires mounted/balanced etc. After installing the wheels/tires, I then drove back to my house (all this driving was about 10 miles with old wheels and 15-20 with the new ones. I had no issues during that time. THEN, Friday morning I left my house in Frisco (north of dallas), drove in traffic in dallas for a while, then had been driving for a good three hours or so when my car freaked out, and I dont know what happened (headed back to school at Texas A&M). While driving, ALL my electrical went out...lights (driving at night), interior lights, radio, windows...everything, so i pulled off the road. Also, every warning light known to mankind flashed (TCS, oil pressure, break fluid level, etc. etc.) I turned my car off and on a couple times (including ignition), and it started fine everytime, but the electrical was kicking in and out sporadically. It was night, so i couldnt drive because finally, the electrical stopped working alltogether, and i had no lights. I had it towed to the nearest ford dealership. BEFORE, I have had my alternator and battery replaced when the electrical did something similar, however if it was the alternator, the car would not have started 5 or 6 times after shutoff, but it did (when i had it replaced, the car died alltogether, and wouldnt start up). So i dont THINK its that, or the battery obviously. ALSO, it was raining for the three hours I was driving...

I'm thinking it was one of the following three possibilities:
1) Something electrical got wet that shouldn't have
2) Somebody screwed up something electrical while messing with the radio/door panels/idler belt (although it worked fine for about 4 hours of driving from the dealership to tire place to my house then most of the way to college station)
3) Some computer issue with the new wheels and tires (although they are the SAME overall diameter as the tires I had on before...)

What do yall think? cuz I dont have a clue..

stangfreak2

Note: I am considering having them unhook the battery, then reconnect it (to reset the computer), then if everything is still messed up, we will know it's not the wheels. If everything seems ok, then i would have them drive it a little while after it being reset and maybe after resetting it and letting it relearn with/get used to the new wheels, it will be good to go...who knows, just thinking out loud...

Archer1

What a nightmare! Well, I'm sure it's not the rain or new wheels. The dealer who was working on the electrics in your dash did something wrong and that is absolutely where trouble shooting needs to start! Technicians of all types get it wrong sometimes and I'd bet real money that's what happened. I also would not turn the key until that work was checked out. Ever seen an electrical fire?
Don't let them just start replacing stuff either. You always start trouble shooting at the last place something was changed. Good luck and be a HARDASS!

157dB

It does not rain, then leak, then start acting up
all in one day.
The rain happens occasionally and the leak happens
then. The SJB gets wet and the lengthly process
of galvanic corrosion is started. The box dries out
and the slight damage is left. It happens again and
again until the corrosion has built up to such a degree
that the SJB starts to not function properly.

Its probably a wet SJB.
Check the passengers side carpet area for any signs of water intrusion.
Common problem with the S197s.

IT WONT 'GET USED TO THE NEW WHEELS.
caps lock.
Wheels dont cause weird electrical problems.
Unless they dont contain enough carbon and
the static electricity is getting built up.
Everything is properly fused in the S197 so no possability of electrical fires.
Unless someone has bypassed a fuse or put a penny in it...

Nuke

As soon as I read your post I thought water leak. THAT sucks...

Archer1

Well that lowers my ideas about Ford and reliability issues. To put the Smart Junction Box in a spot prone to leaks and not issue a recall. But it certainly a possibility. I would expect a flood of error codes (pun intended). Please post up the outcome. I welcome the chance to learn something new that my come in handy down the road.

Archer1

By the way everything is fused in light aircraft and there are electrical fires every year. The short may be in a wire that burns before it draws enough current to pop the circuit breaker or blow the fuse.

Nuke

Ford and reliability in the same sentence. Isn't THAT special?

I don't believe the SJB is within the OBD realm of monitoring.

And if a wire "burns" before the fuse pops, then either the wire, the fuse or both are inadequately sized.

157dB

Thats from brittle insulation thats stressed daily and the build-up
of condensate moisture in tightly wrapped bundles of wire hidden in
the aircrafts fuselage. Like comparing apples to oranges.
The S197 is not a Boeing manufactured item.

PVC/Nylon

An early-generation wire type, PVC/Nylon, and an offshoot, PVC/Glass/Nylon, were installed on all Boeing 727s and early-model 737s and DC-9s. They resist chafing and don't burn easily, but many wiring experts say they're dangerous if they burn.

''PVC shouldn't be used in aircraft,'' says George Slenski, an Air Force materials engineer who has analyzed wire for the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation of the TWA Flight 800 crash. ''If it burns, toxic fumes are emitted. It hasn't been allowed on manned Air Force aircraft since the early 1980s.''

A major manufacturer of PVC for airlines, Prestolite Wire, declined comment. It stopped making such wire for aircraft about 15 years ago.

PVC is not used in the S197...