It has happened to me! (Dreaded Fan Sensor - Crumbling Hose!)

[Glocker]

I was driving home from work and the truck started bucking badly and wouldn't accelerate bast 26 MPH. Things kept getting worse and worse as I was trying to limp the truck just a little bit further to the house. I was getting errors on the dash for:

• Terrain Management System Fault
• Pre-Collision Assist Not Available
• Service Advanced-Trac
• See Manual
• "Engine Light"
• "Wrench Light"
• "Traction Control Light"

As I made it into my neighborhood, the truck stopped accelerating past 6mph. When I made it to my driveway, I popped the hood and found the rubber hose that holds the sensor connected to the fan was crumbled and the harness was laying on the fan shaft. I zip-tied the harness up out of the way and restarted the truck, and everything is running fine now.

Did you guys have the same symptoms that I did when this happened to you?

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[rydfree]

I was driving home from work and the truck started bucking badly and wouldn't accelerate bast 26 MPH. Things kept getting worse and worse as I was trying to limp the truck just a little bit further to the house. I was getting errors on the dash for:

• Terrain Management System Fault
• Pre-Collision Assist Not Available
• Service Advanced-Trac
• See Manual
• "Engine Light"
• "Wrench Light"
• "Traction Control Light"

As I made it into my neighborhood, the truck stopped accelerating past 6mph. When I made it to my driveway, I popped the hood and found the rubber hose that holds the sensor connected to the fan was crumbled and the harness was laying on the fan shaft. I zip-tied the harness up out of the way and restarted the truck, and everything is running fine now.

Did you guys have the same symptoms that I did when this happened to you?

When the vehicle is trying that hard to tell you something isn't right I would have pulled over. Luckily it did not get tangled up in the fan and tore the harness to pieces.

 

[moorejl57]

I keep checking my fan hose and it looks like it's brand new. Why are some of us having them deteriorate so quickly? Sounds like you were extremely lucky not to damage the harness.

 

[TJC]

I wonder the same, but I have decided to change to a hose that I KNOW will not suddenly and unexpectedly deteriorate. I detest and will not own a car that leaves me stranded.

Usually the symptoms are MUCH worse. You were lucky!

 

[airline tech]

Yes, those are the symptoms of the damaged wire harness, hopefully it just put tension on the connector and triggered all the faults.
I would give the harness a detailed inspection for damage and then install a short piece of 3/8 HP Fuel Line and install new clamps on both ends then resecure the harness to the hose.

I would also very carefully with the engine running give the harness a shake test, to ensure it does not throw it into a fault mode. (Limp Mode) as it may have damaged the harness by broken strands.

And since we do not know if the reason for this the deteriorated hose itself or the Fan Clutch is trying to spin the module (electric part).
I would monitor with the engine running to see if it wants to spin with the fan clutch.

Thus far, it appears to be just the hose breaks down and the harness falls into the path of the fan or gets caught on the hub (attaching nut) and rips the harness apart.

Good find and hopefully you got lucky and zero harness damage.


NOTE: Your Module has spun out of the OE Position, as noted below

OE Position:

Added Hose (Repaired Position)

 

[TJC]

I would give the harness a detailed inspection for damage and then install a short piece of 3/8 HP Fuel Line and install new clamps on both ends then resecure the harness to the hose.

The only reason I have not moved to replace that hose so far is that I am afraid the fuel line hose will put undue stress on the fan sensor bearing. Am I paranoid ? Thoughts?

 

[airline tech]

The only reason I have not moved to replace that hose so far is that I am afraid the fuel line hose will put undue stress on the fan sensor bearing. Am I paranoid ? Thoughts?

The pic I posted on a repaired hose was my daughters boyfriends Ranger, I just happened to look at it while doing some other stuff to the truck.
Hose was broken, wire harness intact.
I compared mine to his and no noted difference in play or rotational tightness the module.
From what I can tell, there is no bearing that the module rides on, it just free floats on the shaft.
I would love to see one taken apart to see exactly what its riding on.

 

[Msfitoy]

I keep checking my fan hose and it looks like it's brand new. Why are some of us having them deteriorate so quickly? Sounds like you were extremely lucky not to damage the harness.

Mine looks brand new as well...maybe weather related...

 

[Glocker]

When the vehicle is trying that hard to tell you something isn't right I would have pulled over. Luckily it did not get tangled up in the fan and tore the harness to pieces.

For sure, but with traffic as heavy as it was in my area and with rush hour in effect, I needed to get my truck into the neighborhood for safety. I was 1.3 miles from my house when it started.

 

[Glocker]

 

[Muffin1]

@Glocker, curious what's your mileage?

 

[GreyAreaRanger]

So what part is the common failure point? Is this something one can preemptively replace to prevent this failure or is it a luck of the draw? I plan on replacing that egr valve sensor soon to prevent that issue from raising its head as I have 84k miles on the truck now

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

So what part is the common failure point? Is this something one can preemptively replace to prevent this failure or is it a luck of the draw? I plan on replacing that egr valve sensor soon to prevent that issue from raising its head as I have 84k miles on the truck now

From a couple of other posts, the hose seems to crack just before the clamp. Almost as if the hose had become hard and brittle and failed.

@airline tech ’s hp fuel line fix looks simple and sound - it should be easy to source the parts and do it in your driveway.

@Ranger_Rocks posted links to a number of threads on this issue…

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/fan-clutch-sensor.23456/

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/thre...ence-a-fan-clutch-going-bad.25821/post-592062

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/threads/tube-on-fan-clutch-sensor-wire-problem.20549/

https://www.ranger5g.com/forum/thre...e-tube-sensor-thing-going-to-clutch-fa.26246/

This pic is courtesy of @mtbcal…

 

[MountainGoat]

I checked mine awhile back and it was solid.

I think we need a 3D printed or metal version of that hose.

 

[TJC]

The pic I posted on a repaired hose was my daughters boyfriends Ranger, I just happened to look at it while doing some other stuff to the truck.
Hose was broken, wire harness intact.
I compared mine to his and no noted difference in play or rotational tightness the module.
From what I can tell, there is no bearing that the module rides on, it just free floats on the shaft.
I would love to see one taken apart to see exactly what its riding on.

Does the sensor move axially on the shaft? Something has to hold it in place.

I think I am going to take the hose off and investigate. But not today.

My 2005 Ranger has the bed lifted so I can access and replace the fuel pump assembly. The check valve in the pump assembly has given up, and I am tired of cycling the key 2-3 times to get fuel to the injector rails. Once it starts it runs great. I really can't complain, it is 18 years old with 165K miles on it. I probably should have changed it when I replaced the engine and transmission with the Jasper replacements.

On a side note, the Jasper replacement transmission has proven to shift far smoother than the original unit ever did. I suspect they modified it with improvements. Jasper has patented many improvements in OEM units and then licenses them back to Ford and GM. I know then engine has improved pistons and other parts.

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