Like most of you on here with the same problem, my 04SD had the water in fuel light come on. I am deployed to Iraq right now and left my truck sitting at a friends car lot for about 4 months trying to sell it while I am gone. I wanted to buy a new 08 when I get home. So after 4 months of sitting and barely being ran my wife picks up the truck and we decide to keep it. The light was on. My brother drained the fuel/water seperator and replaced the fuel filters for me. This did not fix the light issue. Then my brother drained the separator again and this caused the light to go out and just occasionally come on. Then my wife was told to drive the truck until it was almost out of fuel and fill up from a reputable station. Doing this cured the problem for a couple of weeks. Until now the light is back on. So my wife took the truck to the Ford STEALERSHIP and they told her that the fuel manifold fuel/water module with the sensor in it needs to be replaced along with the wiring harness. So my questions are???

1. Does this sound familar to anyone?

2. Why does the wiring harness need to be replaced? Truck only has 38K on it.

3. Does $260 sound resonable for this? Parts and labor.

4. Will it hurt anything if she just drives the truck the way it is, until i can get home and clean the sensor.

Thanks!

 

This is a common problem, if your handy you could probably fix it yourself for less than $100. If you know it is drained, it will not be a problem for her to drive it as it is till you get home and you can assess it from there. Although, $260 for the dealer to do it is fair if they are following the TSB procedure and your truck does need a updated calibration.

Here is the original TSB for '04 on the WIF issue...

https://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/full...php?tsb=06-6-5

Here is the most recent/updated TSB for the WIF issue...

https://www.ford-trucks.com/tsb/full...p?tsb=06-22-12




Thanks for what you do and stay safe out there...

 

Maybe there's someone on here from your neck of the woods that will volunteer their time if your wife buys the parts and do the work for you as a way of saying "thanks for your service"

You might try posting this in your local chapter and see if you get any offers.

 

AS long as there are no issues with the truck being ran with the light, then I will just let her drive it. I know the water has been drained. I might just get my brother to pull the sensor and clean it and see if that fixes things. Can someone give me an idea exactly where the sensor is so I can tell him to look at it?

Thanks!

 

Runmyta, cleaning the sensor may fix it if it's not corroded or defective. The WIF sensor is inside the HFCM (water separator) module that is inboard the frame rail under the driver's seat. The HFCM has a cover with a drain plug. THe cover is held on by four 1/4" bolts. Carefully remove the cover (don't damage gasket or you'll need a new one) and clean the sensor and housing out with brake cleaner, then reassemble making sure the gasket is in proper position.

PowerstrokeHD's links show everything. Click here to see some more diagrams that will help you locate the WIF sensor.

You may still need the new flash update, but this will fix the light issue unless the sensor's bad.

 

Have your brother unplug the WIF harness at the HFCM. Use a fuel additive and drain the HFCM when you change engine oil. The light is just a corroded sensor, it does not effect the performance of the truck.

 

Shouldn't you be under warranty?Should be $100 deductible...

 

ive had the same problem on my 03's (2) and my 04 and the dealer warrantied them. they said there was an issue with the switches shorting out and they were replacing the fuel manifolds with updated parts to correct it. i believe it is a common problem and would bring it to the service managers attn.