Electrical Problem

[burkem]

So my brother drives a 2006 Mustang GT. Recently his car has gone nutty and two ford dealerships have misdiagnosed it. The car is throwing codes for fuel level sensor, dte, it says the emergency brake is up even when its not, no radio, no a/c, windows wont auto adjust, low oil light, low coolant light, can hear blinker click, the list goes on. First dealership said it was the SJB, we replaced and reprogramed it and it fixed nothing. Next dealership said it was the guage cluster, replaced and reprogramed and still nothing. A little back story, his car was slightly hit in the front. Just had to get the hood repainted and we noticed that the body shop removed one of the grounds and painted under it and never sanded the paint back down for the ground. Could be unrelated but I dont really know. The alternator was replaced about a year ago with the upgraded PA performance one. Battery is less than a year old. No noticeable leaks on the interior. Sorry for the long post but I really need to get this fixed for him. Any ideas?

 

[BruceH]

Alternator, battery, or both. I'd go with alternator if I had to choose.

 

[burkem]

The alternator tested good by the guys at advanced. I figured itd be good since its only about a year old and tested ok.

 

[ksack]

well shoot my first guess was the SJB since that was the cause of all my electrical woes

 

[Yellowneck86]

You might have the dreaded water leak issue. Check the passenger side floor board to see if there is any water or if it feels damp. Most likely rain water has gotten into your smart junction box and is causing the electrical problems.

 

[86GT351]

You might have the dreaded water leak issue. Check the passenger side floor board to see if there is any water or if it feels damp. Most likely rain water has gotten into your smart junction box and is causing the electrical problems.

This. Just because the SJB has been replaced does not eliminate it from a possible issue. Carefully inspect it for any moisture on the weather pack connections. It does not take much to cause havoc on the electrical system in these cars!

 

[burkem]

I have checked the passenger floor and the connections already. The floor was a bit damp, nothing significant and the connections were perfectly dry. The ford tech and the dealership spent 2+ hours inspecting all the wiring he could and he couldnt find anything either. Can a alternator test good but cause these issues?

 

[BruceH]

I have checked the passenger floor and the connections already. The floor was a bit damp, nothing significant and the connections were perfectly dry. The ford tech and the dealership spent 2+ hours inspecting all the wiring he could and he couldnt find anything either. Can a alternator test good but cause these issues?

It's happened before. What you describe is what my car was doing when the alternator went bad.

 

[TexasBlownV8]

You mentioned a possible bad ground. While that's not in near the SJB, it could cause other issues.

All of the items do sound SJB-related. The PCM and SJB (and other systems in the car) communicate with each other. Grounds need to be proper and solid, and if one is gone or not making contact, it can cause issues.

This does not sound like an alternator issue if other things are working properly; a simple check of the voltage when running should show a little over 14v.

 

[burkem]

Well the Ford dealership said today that there is corrosion in the wiring harness and it all needs to be replaced at a fee of over $5000. My brother does not have 5k and we are not all too confident in this dealership. He is going to try and bring it to corporates attention. Will corporate be any help or anything? The car is an 06 with 96000 miles on it.

 

[BruceH]

Well the Ford dealership said today that there is corrosion in the wiring harness and it all needs to be replaced at a fee of over $5000. My brother does not have 5k and we are not all too confident in this dealership. He is going to try and bring it to corporates attention. Will corporate be any help or anything? The car is an 06 with 96000 miles on it.

Find another dealership. What is the name of this one?

 

[burkem]

World Ford of Pensacola

 

[Fullboogie]

They're attempting highway robbery.

 

[fdjizm]

You can replace the whole harness yourself, they are smoking crack.

 

[SS KILLR]

Damn. Looking for a sucker I guess. You said it was hit int the front right? Pull the whole fuse box up from the base. Turn it over and see of it has corrosion.

 

[burkem]

We finally got the car to a mechanic we trust and after going over all the wiring in the car and checking anything and everything, he came to the conclusion it was the PAC interface for the aftermarket double din radio. My brother and I installed it about a year and a half ago and it has worked perfectly. He disconnected the radio and now everything works as it should. Has anybody heard of this? Could it be the actual radio itself vs the PAC interface?

 

[86GT351]

Anything with aftermarket electronics is possible. Remember you are introducing something extra into the harness,etc. These aftermarket components are just issues sometimes.

 

[BruceH]

We finally got the car to a mechanic we trust and after going over all the wiring in the car and checking anything and everything, he came to the conclusion it was the PAC interface for the aftermarket double din radio. My brother and I installed it about a year and a half ago and it has worked perfectly. He disconnected the radio and now everything works as it should. Has anybody heard of this? Could it be the actual radio itself vs the PAC interface?

Glad you found it and didn't pay for a new harness.

 

[michael.konor]

... was the PAC interface for the aftermarket double din radio. ...Has anybody heard of this? Could it be the actual radio itself vs the PAC interface?

The only way to find out is if you disconnect the PAC itself and then test your car.

However the best solution is seeing where it connects. I don't have a schematic of where the PAC connects into the car and if you could attach one to here, we could offer more advice and suggestions.

 

[kevinatfms]

The alternator tested good by the guys at advanced. I figured itd be good since its only about a year old and tested ok.

advanced auto parts cannot perform an alternator ripple test. I have had several DOA PA and Motorcraft stock alternators. the only way to fully test is to take the car to a ford dealer and get the IDS ripple test completed.