Dealer say's my CEL is coming on because of a faulty water in fuel sensor. This dosn't make sense to me because there is a light on the instrument panel specifically for water in fuel and it isn't illuminated. Is it possiable for the CEL to come on and not have the WIF light on? Will a faulty WIF sensor even cause a CEL to come on?


2003 4X4 F250 6.0

 

If you are getting a check engine light what is the code your getting and someone here may have an answer.

 

I took the truck in for a p2285 code (ICP sensor), they said that the sensor is bad and they will replace it but along with that they said I had a number of bad sensors that would need to be replaced along with a wire harness and the water in fuel sensor module. I can maybe understand having to replace sensors other then the ICP since the obd scanner I was using didn't have the ability to show pending failures. What I don't understand is how the fuel in water sensor can cause the CEL to illuminate without setting the water in fuel light on the instrument panel.

 

Ask the dealer if he got a code that indicates the water in fuel sensor is bad. With your comment about replacing a wiring harness, you should check your main engine wiring harness. Chaffed wires on that harness can cause the WIF light to flash every once in a while.

The spot to check is the large wiring harness on the drivers side. It comes up and over the drivers valve cover. Check to see if the wires are rubbing against the valve cover. Also trace the wires a little further up to make sure they are not chaffed from rubbing against a metal bracket just above the valve cover.

 

Thanks for the reply...When I pick the truck up I will ask the dealer what codes were set and how they repaired them. I think I have a basic grasp of what they are doing but what is really throwing me off is the statement they made stating that the CEL would stay on if I did not allow them to replace the fuel in water module/sensor. I have never had the water in fuel light illuminate or flicker. If this module/sensor were bad or detected water would it not set the water in fuel light(WIF) and not the CEL? I am going to ask them this question specifically but I would like to have a better understanding of the correlation between the CEL and the WIF sensor before I ask the question.

 

If a sensor goes bad or stops communicating with the PCM it should throw a code. The code will make the CEL come on, so water in the system may not factor into the equation.

Maybe you can find someone near you that has a scanner so you can avoid the dealer/mechanic fees.