Hey guys. My buddy's 1998 4.0L Ranger caught fire from the dreaded brake switch shorting on the master cylinder. In his deffence he's only owned the truck less than a week and had no clue of the recall. The damage is mainly to the wire harnesses on the driver's side.
Anyways I've offered to help him rebuild the wiring. Can anyone tell me what other years of the Rangers I can pull the wiring harnesses from? Or if the 3.0 harness will work? Any help would ne great. Thanks guys!!

 

Call a Ford Dealer with the VIN #, repair may be covered.

 

I called the dealer. For some reason his VIN# is not covered by the recall. They gave us a Bull S&%t answer about if the truck was the 4cy it would be on the list. Sounds pretty shady to me. I am thinking of going straight to Corporate Ford and see if I can rattle a few cages.
I found a complete wire harness for the motor for $625 delivered from Florida. The 4.0 with overhead cams is extremely specific for the harness, and rare too.

 

Hold on before ordering the wiring harness, the 1998 Ranger 4.0L had the Pushrod engine, Not the SHOC 4.0L. Rangers didn't get the SOHC 4.0L until 2001. So if the engine has been messed with/changed, all bets are off on getting Ford to pony up anything on the repair.

If he recently bought the vehicle from a Dealer & hasn't done anything to it since the sale, he might have some recourse. If your not satisfied with the Dealer answer, foward some dated/time stamped photos & info to Ford customer service & see what gives. Maybe they'll have a field rep have a look at it.

If the vehicle hasn't been messed with, this probably should be reported to the DOT, as if others with this vintage engine are reporting fires, with enough reports they'll have Ford expand the recall. So if they won't do anything right now because this year or model isn't on the recall mandate because of no, or low count numbers, report to Ford & DOT, photo document with time stamps & save your repair recipts, as if the TSB is expanded, he may be reimursed later for some, or all covered costs.

I recieved the recall a couple of years ago to have my 99 4.0L Rangers fused harness installed. If the switch isn't showing signs of dampness/weeping/leaking brake fluid, it won't be replaced, unless we opt & pay for it, which I did, as it was the root cause of this problem, but they didn't charge me any labor to install the switch, or top off & bleed the brake master cyl, just charged for the cost of the switch. Even that cost can be submitted to Ford for reimbursement consideration.

If his switch had the Rust/Red color insulator, it was the problem part, so don't remove it or anything else before the time stamp/dated photos, or field inspection if they say they'll have a field rep look at it. The replacement switch has a Black colored insulator.

More thoughts for consideration, let us know how this saga goes.

 

Ok this is why I like this forum, there is ALWAYS someone who knows delicate information like this. Thank you.
Yes he bought the truck only a few days prior to the fire. The truck is almos a 1510 race truck but still street legal, not that it really matters. My point is that who knows if the cab is origionally a 1998 but the motor could be a 2001 or newer. My buddy already purchased the wire harness and will arrive this week so that's already done. We're pretty much discounting help from the dealer but still this information is key to rebuilding. Thank you Pawpaw for your help. I'll keep the info on this up to date. Thanks again

 

Yup, the truck has been messed with, so your likely on your own if the seller didn't have any warranty!!!! Ford doesn't have any responsibility or liability & I wouldn't bother reporting this to DOT either, as messed with vehicles don't qualify.

Good luck on the rework.

 

I checked the VIN at the dealership, It came back as a 1998 with the 4.0L overhead cam motor. The motor serial # matches the cab VIN so I guess the '98 DID come factory with the modular 4.0L. The complete wire harness we ordered matches the damaged harness.

 

[quote=pawpaw;12501507]
"If his switch had the Rust/Red color insulator, it was the problem part, ..."

Hi PawPaw: You state that the problem part has the red insulator? Just after I bought my 97 XLT (3rd owner, but it only had 72,000Km) 3 years ago, I ordered shop manuals from the local Ford dealer, thereby giving them my VIN. Not long after, I received a recall notice from Ford, stating that there was a possibility of brake problems with my model, and to take it to my local Ford dealer for no charge inspection and part replacement. They replaced the wiring harness on the hydraulic brake pressure switch, but not the switch itself. Part of another recall? 1997 3L auto not included?

Just curious, when I did my mechanics training many years ago (1971), the auto industry was moving away from hydraulic brake pressure switches, since they always had the possibility of leaking, resulting in no brakes. Of course, since then we've developed dual system brakes, which got rid of the big problem.

However, there's always the possibility of a hydraulic brake pressure switch developing a leak, so why does Ford use this part, instead of the mechanical switch on the brake pedal? Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Andy

 

NS_Andy, I have an '02 F250 diesel that had that very recall. Apparently it was a multiple vehicle recall. Anyway, the recall is for the actual wire harness connecting to the switch from the main harness and not the actual switch itself. The brake switch alot of time fails by filing with fluid and will cause a short to ground heating and eventually igniting the brake fluid causing the infamous fire. The new wire harness the dealership installs in the recall is equipped with a fuse. In the event of a failed switch, the fuse would pop instead if starting the fire.
I wish Ford would come up with a way to relocate switch for our trucks.

 

[quote=NS_Andy;12511680]I have no idea why Ford designed/installed the cruise control deactivation switch on the brake master cylinder, nor why they did it & not fuse the lead to the danged switch, when the lead remains hot/with unfused B+ to it, even after we turn the idnition switch off.
TI made the leaking switch, whos faulty insulator caused an electrical leakage path to ground through the fluid, that caused the brake fluid to over heat, boil & cause a flash fire. Go figure. They've been making them this way for a looooong time, as my 94 Taurus is also wired this way, but hasn't been recalled yet & probably won't be, as they're not many remaining on the road, so Fords liability is low.

 

Back when dirt was new, after FoMoCo switched to hydraulic brakes, almost all their vehicles had the brake light switch mounted on the master cylinder. Very few failed in my experience.
You would think that after 70+ years of making switches, the switch would be nut and bolt reliable.
Putting the switch on the master would give a true indication that the brakes were being applied, RIGHT NOW, as there would be no mechanical 'slop' the brake pedal mounted switch requires to keep the switch open until the pedal is depressed.
Other possible reasons for the change are shorter wires, and less likelihood that the wire will get broken from flexing with every brake application.
Are there any other switches mounted to the brake pedal mechanism?
tom