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A couple of months ago, I got a random "amber wrench light" on the dash. After I shut the vehicle off, it would go away. Over the last month, it's been coming back on more frequently....pretty near every time I drive the truck. I'm also noticing a bit of a dead spot in the pedal at times....though it's never failed me completely.
After a quick Google search, I was led to believe it could be a throttle body issue. Before replacing the throttle body, it was suggested to remove and clean the throttle body itself....which I did.
I'm still getting the amber wrench light, but now I'm also getting a random high idle after driving. If I throw it in park, it will idle up to 2,000RPM. I initially assumed I may have created a vacuum leak of some sort, but when I shut the engine off and restart it (or even blip the key off and on again quick before the engine dies, it comes back to life and idles fine? This tells me that it isn't a vacuum issue.
The strangest part, is that it's not tripping any codes what so ever?
Does anyone have any advice? I'd hate to drop $300 on a non returnable throttle body, just to find out that isn't the issue? And if it is the throttle body....is it really necessary to replace the whole unit? I have my suspicions that it's an issue with the drive by wire mechanism.....so would one not just replace the affected area?
The code reader only reads DTC's stored in the ECU's memory and cannot be read in real time while the ignition is on.
As soon as I turn the ignition off in order to read the DTC, the light disappears, clearing whatever tripped it to begin when the ignition was on and the engine was running. Going through the code reading procedure at that point turns up nothing. Simply says "No DTC's Found".
It's not tripping the check engine light (which would store the code in memory), just the wrench light....which from what I understand, is an indicator that the engine has gone into some form of "limp mode", not an indicator that a code is present?
clean the throttle body.
I had the wrench and the truck died, read somewhere in here that the throttle body will get dirty. Pulled mine off (easier job than I thought), sure enough, the engine side was filthy, wasn't allowing the plenum to close completely.
Last edited by Big Daddy 18C; 06-12-2015 at 12:43 AM.
Reason: clarity
Id say you need to have a scanner then. (Not a code scanner)
Will see if I can borrow one before proceeding.
Originally Posted by Big Daddy 18C
clean the throttle body.
I had the wrench and the truck died, read somewhere in here that the throttle body will get dirty. Pulled mine off (easier job than I thought), sure enough, the engine side was filthy, wasn't allowing the plenum to close completely.
Why didn't I think of that?
Before replacing the throttle body, it was suggested to remove and clean the throttle body itself....which I did.
Brought it over to a buddies house who's a tech at the local Ford dealership and put it on his Innova scanner and.....
....still nothing. He actually lent it to me for the night and told me to drive around with it plugged in and it should pick something up. I got to the end of his street and I felt the engine drop out for a second and the wench light came on again, but still.....no codes tripped.
Well....update. Picked up a new (used) throttle body assembly a week or so ago, but hadn't had the chance to put it on. Got a smoking deal on it and it appears to be brand new.
Needed to do some heavy hauling with the truck last weekend and finally got it to kick on the check engine light along with the wrench. Got a P061f and aP2106 code. Both of which seem to point towards the throttle body
Fast forward to today, when I finally got a chance to change it. I removed the battery cable, replaced the throttle body, put the cable back and and started it up.....runs and drives beautifully. Random throttle drop out was gone, shifts are smooth and consistent and idle is perfect. Thought I had it licked until I pulled into work this evening then "bam"....wrench light comes of again and the idle starts to increase. Turn the truck off, light resets and it runs like a Swiss watch again. And again....no codes present.
I'm pulling my hair out here. I can't believe I'm the ONLY one who's ever had this issue???
Been a busy fall and haven't done much. Broke down and took it to a local Ford dealer shortly after my last post and had them hook it to the scanner.
According to the service advisor, the diagnostic points to a faulty accelerator pedal.
Good news, it only retailed for $800. But that's ok, it's obsolete anyway.
According to him, the '06-'08 model years are interchangeable.
My question now is.......
Are the adjustable and non adjustable pedals the same, or are they specific?
My truck has the adjustable pedals, but in the event I'm not able to find one at a wrecker locally, or for that matter at a decent price, will the assembly from the non adjustable pedals swap over to the adjustable bracket?
Found a couple of pics of the two side by side and with the exception of the adjustable vs non adjustable bracket, the units themselves look identical. Notice the plug placement and configuration of the 3-10mm mounting bolts
Ok....I gotta say, the tech in this forum has taken a real dump. Over 900-views and only 5 responses??? It seems if it doesn't have to do with plus sizing your tires, bolting on an obnoxious exhaust system, or adding lights to your grill, people just scroll on by.
Threads over 5-months old now and almost no helpful replies. Guess nobody really gives a damn about these trucks anymore since the twelfth and now thirteenth generation P/U's have hit the street.
*RANT OVER*
So, for those who still care and have been following along, it turns out that the accelerator pedal was the culprit. I guess the potentiometer situated in the pedal mechanism took a dump and started sending the ECU wonky readings. Would explain the high idle, random dead pedal and continuous tripping of the "limp mode". Never did find out if the adjustable and non adjustable pedals were interchangeable, but based on the pic above, I'm gonna say they are. I was able to get an adjustable pedal for all of $45 at a pick n pull, so I grabbed it.
Truck runs as good as ever now. Wrench light is gone and hasn't come back, idle is perfect, power is back and no dead spots. I'd like to thank everyone for their help, but other than a handful of people who responded, I pretty much fixed this one by myself.
Ok....I gotta say, the tech in this forum has taken a real dump. Over 900-views and only 5 responses??? It seems if it doesn't have to do with plus sizing your tires, bolting on an obnoxious exhaust system, or adding lights to your grill, people just scroll on by.
Threads over 3-months old now and almost no helpful replies. Guess nobody really gives a damn about these trucks anymore since the twelfth and now thirteenth generation P/U's have hit the street.
Some problems are much harder to diagnose over a forum, especially when there are symptoms that can point to a multitude of issues, as well as a lack of any DTC's to help pinpoint the problem. Often times I find it's best to not have any advice at all than wrong advice. Without a clear-cut diagnosis, it can turn into "hey try this" thread, causing a person to simply throw money at it over and over again hoping that something works. In your case you went through the expense of a throttle body first before you found the real culprit.
However, calling out fellow users like this is not a good way to solicit any future assistance.
It can be frustrating to have an unknown issue and not be able to solve it in a timely fashion. But don't take out that frustration on others here who simply tried to help, or absolutely didn't know the answer and respected you enough to not have you waste time and money.
Well it took YOU a month to replace the throttle body... and then another 2 months to bring a difficult-to-diagnose problem to someone with appropriate diagnostic equipment.
Did you think YOUR truck is someone else's problem just because you signed up for a message board? Get over yourself and your sense of entitlement... nobody owes you a thing. I'll bet all the kids in your world get a trophy.
This makes me wish that, despite not knowing what's wrong with your truck, I suggested lots of expensive and unnecessary repairs... At least then you would have spent all of your money on those and couldn't afford internet access with which to be a total dink. Yay YOU.
Next time you feel the need to rant, go hug it out with your Life Coach instead.
06-10-2015, 03:36 PM
