Electronic Problem While Towing

[JimJa]

Two PAX in truck, one ATV in the bed and two on the towed trailer climbing up Parleys canyon east of SLC. About 3/4 of the way up the canyon (petty heady climb of about 10 miles) truck went into limp mode and significantly reduced power. Outside temperature was cool and truck was running fine prior to limp mode.

Pulled to side of the road, shut down and restarted. No change after start-up. Nursed the 7-8 miles to the Ford dealer in Park City. at 45MPH. Code reader indicated three codes (my bad for not writing them down which is of little help here). Service Manager indicated those three things needed to talk to each other and were not, at least not the way they were suppose to. Those codes were erased and the truck has ran fine after, including a 20 mile grade (not as steep as Parlleys) just west of Evanston, WY. The truck has run fine ever since (approx 150 miles) but a certain amount of confidence has been lost.

Don't know if this is a random event and will not happen again but I'm going to purchase a code reader just in case. Will certainly write down any future codes that show up. Anyone had something similar happen?

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[t4thfavor]

In the future, most codes can be cleared by removing the negative battery cable for a few minutes. Might save you time in the future.

 

[HenryMac]

In the future, most codes can be cleared by removing the negative battery cable for a few minutes. Might save you time in the future.

Now that's very helpful and could be a lifesaver in certain instances. Have you actually tried this yourself?

 

[t4thfavor]

Now that's very helpful and could be a lifesaver in certain instances. Have you actually tried this yourself?

On just about every vehicle I’ve owned, yes. If not, forscan or any decent code reader will do. The harbor freight one works well.

I’ve yet to have anything serious on my truck in 17k miles with about 1000 miles of heavy towing.

 

[HenryMac]

On just about every vehicle I’ve owned, yes. If not, forscan or any decent code reader will do. The harbor freight one works well.

I’ve yet to have anything serious on my truck in 17k miles with about 1000 miles of heavy towing.

Good to know. I guess I need to start carrying my old tool box... in my new truck!

Thanks for the 411.

You say to unhook it for a few seconds. Are we talking like 10 seconds, or 5 seconds? Does it loose memory if it's unhooked for too long?

 

[t4thfavor]

Good to know. I guess I need to start carrying my old tool box... in my new truck!

Thanks for the 411.

You say to unhook it for a few seconds. Are we talking like 10 seconds, or 5 seconds? Does it loose memory if it's unhooked for too long?

I do a minute. It’s not going to hurt it if you leave it unhooked overnight, you will just have to reset your radio presets. I just carry a 10mm wrench in the center console.

 

[JimJa]

I do a minute. It’s not going to hurt it if you leave it unhooked overnight, you will just have to reset your radio presets. I just carry a 10mm wrench in the center console.

I did not do the battery disconnect (I've heard that also) because I wanted the dealer to take a look. The truck only has 6,000 miles and it was the first time towing. I have a code reader at home and once arriving home I checked for new codes ...there were none.

And that brings up another question. Even tho "at-home" code readers can remove codes, are the codes still "hidden" in the ECU and obtainable by the dealer?

Currently the cheap Harbor Freight code readers are still a bit more expensive than those on e-bay. Additionally, the inexpensive HF readers do not have an internal library of code definitions, instead having a reference book, at least mine does. A minor inconvenience for sure but still an inconvenience.

 

[rang19ca]

Any code reader that erases any code can NOT be read by the dealer. I have taken many a Ford vehicle to the dealer with codes erased and they can not read them once they are cleared. They told me to leave an active code so they could read it.

 

[t4thfavor]

Major codes that would cause limp mode would still be readable when using the battery method, but NOT be readable if you were to use a code reader to reset them.

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