New Week, New Problem

[01yellerCobra]

Forgive me if this post gets a little off. I'm still recovering from a road trip to Washington with a buddy this weekend.

This morning the wife went to move her Mustang into the driveway to wash it. When she hit the unlock button the locks started going crazy. They would keep unlocking and locking by themselves. She was able to get them to stop by hitting the unlock button. The car was able to start and she pulled it into the driveway. It would do this when trying to lock and unlock the car. First things I tried was the drive side lock button. No response for either lock or unlock. Tried the passenger side and it would lock and unlock the car. So I figured it was the driver side button. I hit it with contact cleaner and it started to unlock, but wouldn't lock. At this point I had the battery disconnected for a bit while pulling the door panel, but it would start acting up once the battery was reconnected.

My next thought was the SJB. I pulled the carpet back and it seemed damp. Not really bad, but I figured it could be possible. I pulled the SJB and found a little corrosion on the large plug in the back. I cleaned the corrosion and hit all the connectors with contact cleaner. I also cleaned that white connector that's next to the SJB as it had some corrosion as well. There were no signs of water in or around the SJB. I plugged everything back in and reconnected the battery. Everything seemed good, but as I was tightening the nut that holds the SJB the locks started going again. Nothing was pressed, they did this on their own. So in the off chance I missed something I pulled the SJB back out and opened it up. I didn't see any moisture inside, but I hit it with the air compressor anyway. As of right now it's sitting on my work bench and all the plugs in the car are open just in case I missed something.

The only other thing I can think of is it's something to do with the alarm. It has that plug under the steering column that most dealers put in. I can't remember if I've ever seen it flashing, but it is flashing now. It was doing 3 flashes and a pause. So my other thought it was showing a code. But I have no idea who made the alarm so I have no idea where to look for what the code means. The car does have the active alarm. It has the motion sensors under the rear view mirror and the horn in the passenger side quarter panel.

Anyone have thoughts on this? Turning it into a bonfire sounds good.

 

[Gabe]

If I remember right some of the early 05-06 convertibles had some weird issues like this, somebody else recently posted about it, I forget if it was on here or a different forum ... some "global" feature? Sorry I'm not more help ...

 

[oooo2stang]

How long has it been since you've changed the battery? The cars do some funky stuff when the batteries are on their way out. On mine, the locks would go crazy, all the lights and gauges would flash. The battery went out completely a couple weeks later.

 

[01yellerCobra]

The battery was replaced about a month ago.

 

[TGR96]

This is probably a dumb question here, but what is the SBJ?

 

[01yellerCobra]

This is probably a dumb question here, but what is the SBJ?

Smart Junction Box. It's in the passenger side footwell.

 

[TGR96]

Thanks!

Sorry Cobra, I have no ideas for a solution to your issue. Good luck with it and keep us posted.

 

[ponys197]

Mine was doing this too. I checked the SJB location and there was few drips of water on the black wrapped cables above it and the white water shield was keeping it off the SJB.

I did however pull the cover in the engine bay and noticed that the foam piece was not in the right places and there was water in the corner under the cowling.

I went to the parts store and got some foam and some silicone , replaced the cabin air filter , checked the vents down there for blockage and applied new foam to the plastic cowling and re-assembled. Haven't had the same issue since I did that.

When I was looking at the foam it was not formed on the guides on the plastic cowling at all - very poor workmanship. The foam I used was a bit larger but was still able to fasten back down with no issues.

 

[01yellerCobra]

That gives me hope. Everything has been sitting open since yesterday. I'm hoping I just missed some moisture somewhere. The car has 77 or 78K in it now and we've had it since 2012. This is the first time I've dealt with the SJB. We don't get a lot of rain here.

When you talk about the cover in the engine bay are you talking about the cowl where the cabin filter is or the cover to the fuse panel under the hood?

 

[01yellerCobra]

Got home and went over the connectors with alcohol and an acid brush. Hooked everything up and tested it. The driver side lock button works again. And using the key fob locks and unlocks the doors as its supposed to. No crazy locks this time. Checked them again after everything was buttoned up and it worked normally. So I'm cautiously optimistic it's fixed. I'm wondering if the fuel gauge might also be fixed. We won't know until tomorrow though.

 

[ZmanM3]

Hopefully, good luck!

 

[01yellerCobra]

It's been good the last couple of days. I told her she needs to drive with the top down more to make sure everything dries out. Now I'm waiting to see if the fuel gauge is also fixed. But she has to fill up first.

 

[porkipine]

I believe ponys197 is correct, it sounds like you have a leak... common issue on the early cars

 

[01yellerCobra]

I'm sure there is a leak. But normally it's not really an issue in sunny San Diego. I blame El Nino.

 

[86GT351]

You need to remove the wiper arms and then the windshield cowl. Look carefully down behind the battery and you will see the cabin air filter. Replace it. While in there remove the 2 big rubber drain plugs as they get clogged. Also get some liquid self curing foam and spray into the corners to seal the area better.

 

[01yellerCobra]

I've already pulled the drain plugs. We could hear the water sloshing in a turn. I did that back when we first bought it.