I have a 2005 Lincoln Navigator Ultimate Edition 2WD with 130k miles. Yesterday I drove through a car wash (brushless). I had turned my vehicle off while it was being washed. Upon starting it back up, every possible warning light came on, CEL, Battery, ABS, Advance Track, said the Parking brake was on when it wasnt. Even the Odometer went blank. I put it into gear to drive out of the car wash area and the truck was in 3rd gear? I pulled over and turned the truck off immediately, and tried to check for the CEL codes but the diagnostic tool was saying "NO LINK". I was literally 1/2 a mile from my house, so i limped it back home and parked it. On the short drive home the RPMs would bounce up and down, the Speedo remained at 0 and the warning lights would chime on and off every few seconds.

I got home and undid the battery and let the truck sit for several hours, then tried to start it back up to see if maybe water had just got somewhere it shouldnt have....No luck, same problems. I let it sit over night, tried it again, same problem.

I have read multiple blogs about people have their windshield leaks into the electrical areas, but has any one every had it to this extreme?

Obviously it is electrical, but what do you think it is? PCM, GEM, Fuse Box???

Any help is appreciated.

 

did you check the floor by the fuse box to see it the carpet was wet? I would prob take a hose to the windshield and see if you can get water by the Fuse box.

 

Nothing wet anywhere. I got home today after work and went through everything again, sprayed the engine bay plugs with contact cleaner and put everything back together, reset the battery and cel, it worked great for about a mile then started all over again. The cel is P0100 (MAF sensor) and ofcourse every other warning signal still (abs, battery, charging system error, odometer error, advance trac, etc)

 

did you check the MAF? do you have the factory intake?

 

I ordered the sensor and it will be in tomorrow. It's just weird that everything else is going crazy. I took apart all of the plugs today and sprayed them with contact cleaner, reset the battery and the truck ran great for about 20 miles then it spit the MAF sensor again and a few seconds later all the warning lights came back. Ill put in the new sensor tomorrow and pray to the ford gods that it fixes it, otherwise I'm f-d

 

And yes I have the factory intake

 

It sounds like you got a high pressure undercarriage wash. I am also thinking through some items. Have you checked all your fuses and relays in your box under the hood and in the cabin on the passenger side? Those relays are very sensitive. I would pull my owners manual and see what relays and fuses apply to your instrument clusters. You may have just forced water in that fuse / relay box under your hood. Keeping that box dry is key.

Have you noticed any other items? Such as lights not working, blinker not flashing, radio, A/C not turning on?

 

All accessories work, lights are fine, radio, side steps, everything on that side of things is great. I did get a CEL for the ambient temp sensor and the MAF. Ofcourse pepboys ordered the wrong one so i have to wait another day, but while I'm waiting i have read that the ambient temp plays a big role in how the MAF works and upon inspecting the ambient sensor it looked like it was filled with gunk. It would make sense that the high pressure wash would blow the heck out of that thing since its right behind an open grill. I just cleaned it out with contact spray and am going to give it a shot. Otherwise ill wait till the right MAF gets in tomorrow

 

Any updates?

 

I got the new MAF and Ambient Sensor and installed them, let it warm up for about 20 min and took it for a spin, and after about the same distance got the same warning lights but then it spit code p0101 which is MAF ckt/rng. Read up on that code and everyone said to check all the lines and vacuum hoses. I did see one line that looked a bit worn out so i replaced that, still no luck. I then got a relay and switched out the MAF relay, no luck. 4 days of trying everything i can possibly think of. I don't like giving up, but i have no idea at this point what it could be.

 

You know this is challenging. Let me go through a process of elimination. If you know now the field device (MAF) is functioning properly, and you have to assume the computer is functioning properly, you may have an issue with the wiring harness. If the correct data does not get back to the computer, then check that. I am still stumped. You said you ran it for 20 min before it threw a code, how did it run? On my 2003, I replaced the fuseablelink cable from the battery to the alternator. I could not visibly tell a problem, but it was shutting down and acting crazy. I know it may be unrelated, but my experience has been that wiring in these navigators seems to be sketchy sometimes. That is all I can think of right now. Keep us posted

 

I have spent everyday this week while i am at work researching what I am going to try next. Today's research has less me to think that it has to be a wiring issue. Every vehicle will run according to factory setting until the vehicle is at running temp which explains why my car runs fine for 20 min, then when at running temp the comp will rely on the sensors to give live data. If one or more sensors are giving incorrect data then the comp will shut down and go into limp mode. Tonight I am going to get out my volt meter and test all the grounds then go through the harness. Ill keep you posted

 

Day 6...tonight started with me and my volt meter testing grounds. I tested as many as I could before i honestly just got bored with it lol. I decided to switch to the Alt and the fuse link. I could have sworn after Navigating180k's comment, and the 8 hours of YouTube videos i watched at work today, that it was going to be something to do with that, but nothing...i then went through the wire harness starting with the MAF and working my way through...couldn't find anything that looked abnormal. I then started the truck just to see if maybe i did something without knowing it, 5 min later all the symptoms again. Dumbfounded i sat there staring at the engine running and shaking plugs to see if i can make it react, i hear a hissing coming from the back of the fire wall by the brake booster. I already checked all those hoses on day 3?? I literally climbed on top of the running motor and stuck my ear to the noise to try and figure out WTF it was. The hose from the Vaper Managment Valve is hissing. I start feeling around the hose and trace it back to the other side where it plugs under the throttle body....the thing is falling apart as i touch it. I pulled it out, ran to pep boys and bought 2 feet of hose. Put the thing in and reset the battery....NO F-ING CELS OR WARNING LIGHTS!!!! I drove it around town 3 times, got gas, left it running for 30 min, not a single issue. I don't know if i am suppose to laugh, cry, or a little of both, but i think i solved the issue. I'm taking it to work tomorrow so I will do another follow up and let u guys know........how the F does a vapor managment valve cause all that havoc???? I am sure the MAF needed to be replaced, but wtf.

 

Well, I was following your posts because I was stumped on my Navigator problem and for some reason I thought you were onto something. For starters, thank you for the posts and help. I went to my EGR pressure sensor and found a hole in the line and a broken plastic part on the sensor. I ran down to the part store and replaced it. I also checked those vacuum lines running behind the vehicles throttle body.

Now my idle is much smoother and I am very happy to be rolling again. Thank you!!

 

Well it turns out i wasn't so lucky to have it just be a hose or sensor. My problem came back! Once again my electrical was going crazy. To try and find the problem again i left the truck running and shook every wire in the engine bay until the warning lights would come on and off. I traced it to the third plug on the engines PCM. Not convinced it was the PCM, i traced the wire harness down and it goes down the against the firewall towards the tranny. I got under the truck and felt around, low and behold, the harness was resting on the exhaust. It had burnt through the protective plastic and through the insulation on the wires. The bare copper was touching each other. Fml. I guess its better than a bad PCM but either way, another *****ty design by the ford guys. I'm taking tomorrow off to redo some wiring. Round 20!