Hi, folks.

I recently purchased a 2017 F250 XL. It's a late 2017 with notched windshield, so it's basically a 2018 spec. Total and absolute base model (crank-up windows, vinyl mats, etc.). Replaced OEM stereo w/Kenwood unit and Maestro box/harness a couple of weeks ago. I don't really care about tunes but need to be able to answer a call legally.

I delivered a customer's boat to Maine over the weekend. Used 4WD to get up the driveway at their summer house (mud season begins). After the trip (Saturday afternoon) I swapped left rear tire for the spare due to a leaking valve stem. truck sat all day Sunday. Got fuel on my way to work Monday morning. Pulling out of gas station, "Service Advancetrac" warning showed for a few seconds then went out. Haven't seen it since. I assumed it lit due to the fact that the spare may be a slightly different outside diameter. Spare is OEM Michelin tire, other tires are BFG ATTA KOs with less than 1k miles on them. All 5 tires are 245/75/17s

Monday night I went to pick up a pizza. While waiting for the pie, I sat in the truck with the key off and noticed that the center dash display (odometer, TPMS, etc.) would light up for a few seconds and then go out. It did it a few times, 45 seconds to a minute between flashes.

Drove to work this morning (Tuesday) and noticed that the backlighting for the climate controls stay lit when all other lights go out after parking. I'm not seeing the dash flash anymore, though.

Park indicator turns red on dash, so park switch appears good.

I'm swapping the tires back out this morning, but I doubt that it will change anything relating to the above electrical issues.

Also: I had the windshield replaced last week. There has been some light rain since then, but nothing heavy. Thought I'd mention it because it's the only other change to the vehicle.

Where to start? I really hope this isn't the beginning of a computer nightmare. That's one of the reasons I ran my '06 F150 as long as I did.

Thanks!!!

 

Welcome to the forum!

Not sure if this is your issue but many members bring this connector to light where there is electrical issues as you describe.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...connector.html

 

I was thinking the connector too. Removing the spare may have nudged or jostled the connector making a marginal connection go bad.

 

Yes, as a first step that’s super easy, get a can of dielectric grease. Under the truck, on the frame rail on both sides of the spare are a couple of electrical connectors. Pull them apart, fill with the grease, put back together. That 5-10 min step has cured quite a few crazy electrical issues. Basically you’re waterproofing those connectors and helping ensure solid connections inside. The fact that you removed the spare sure seems coincidental to your other wonky electrical gremlins. Give it a shot and let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks, Guys. That fixed the climate control backlight issue. I haven't scanned the truck yet, so I don't know if whatever tripped the AdvanceTrac warning is still an open issue.

Speaking of scanning, I've been reading a bit about the OBD II/Forscan stuff out there. What do you guys recommend?

 

If your main goal is just FORScan programming changes, having used both the OBLink MX+ and the EX, I recommend the EX.


https://www.obdlink.com/products/obdlink-ex/