Setina PB400

[Mikey*TX]

Hardest part is driving an Ecosport.

 

[RickyG]

Vehicle went into what is known as limp mode. Power is drastically reduced. The objective being to force one to get off the road and shut down the engine. In my case, I was only a short distance from my servicing dealer. In limp mode, the only drive setting is comfort. The others are disabled. Numerous warning icons illuminate on the right side of the gauge cluster and in the tool tray. In my case it was the CEL, airbag deployment icon (they didn't thankfully). An orange wrench as well as several warning pop up windows in the center of the main screen. Each a different color designed to not be ignored. Looked like an explosion. Ambient air temp sensor malfunctioned as did the lighting on the right side, front. A somewhat tense moment till I pulled into the service reception area.

I hope when you took the front end off your vehicle to put the push bar on it didn't screw things up.

 

[Mikey*TX]

I didn't do the work. Dana Safety did. And installing push bumpers is just one of the many things they specialize in. I'd trust them before I'd trust a dealer to do what is needed to install a push bumper or any of the other things needed to convert a civilian vehicle to police work. They have their own in house fabrication shop. From metal work to custom wiring. Dana does it all. They do all the work for the US Secret Service and US Marshals offices nationwide. Ditto the Border patrol. There were by count seven Dodge Ram pickups undergoing transformation for the marshals office while I was there. Four to five more outside along with a number of all black Tahoes. All with US gov plates waiting their turn for equipment installs. Somewhere I believe I've posted several pictures of the outsides of the trucks. The black Tahoes one sees with the presidential limo, those are their creations. One section of the install center is off limits to the general public and no photos allowed. My understanding is that is where a number of modifications are made that the general public is not privy to. Understandable IMHO. It is not unusual to see dually pickups with 5th wheel flatbeds loading finished vehicles for transportation to the end user.

 

[RickyG]

I didn't do the work. Dana Safety did. And installing push bumpers is just one of the many things they specialize in. I'd trust them before I'd trust a dealer to do what is needed to install a push bumper or any of the other things needed to convert a civilian vehicle to police work. They have their own in house fabrication shop. From metal work to custom wiring. Dana does it all. They do all the work for the US Secret Service and US Marshals offices nationwide. Ditto the Border patrol. There were by count seven Dodge Ram pickups undergoing transformation for the marshals office while I was there. Four to five more outside along with a number of all black Tahoes. All with US gov plates waiting their turn for equipment installs. Somewhere I believe I've posted several pictures of the outsides of the trucks. The black Tahoes one sees with the presidential limo, those are their creations. One section of the install center is off limits to the general public and no photos allowed. My understanding is that is where a number of modifications are made that the general public is not privy to. Understandable IMHO. It is not unusual to see dually pickups with 5th wheel flatbeds loading finished vehicles for transportation to the end user.

If your Ford dealership cannot figure out what the problem is maybe they can trace back their work and make sure everything was buckled up correctly.

 

[Mikey*TX]

If you are referring Dana ? You have no idea of the qc checks they use. They are pros at this. Did you look at the pictures I posted ? When the noise clip is removed, only the connectors for the sensors in the lower section are disconnected. The issue is in a large multi pin connector in the engine compartment that runs along the inside of the fender. One or more of the pins (terminals) are the issue. The pins are machine crimped once the wire is inserted into the barrel end of the pin after the end of the wire is stripped of insulation. Long ago this process was done by hand. Now it is automated.

There is a 10% failure rate in manufacturing. A manufacture checks X number of each build. If those pass qc, the entire lot is released to the end user. In this case Ford. The harnesses are shipped in large cardboard containers called gaylords.

They are returned to the supplier for reuse until scrapped.
This is not an uncommon issue. I had a C6 Corvette that Chevrolet paid the dealer to lift the body off the frame so that the entire wiring loom from the engine compartment to the rear could be replaced. Evidently the harness had been exposed to corrosives at some point. Over time, all the exposed ends turned green as copper will do. The terminal ends of a battery cable are perfect examples.

 

[Mikey*TX]

Terminal machine crimper.

 

[peterk9]

There is nothing in the Manual referring to "limp mode". There is a 'Fail Safe Mode' that the engine goes into when overheating occurs but overheating doesn't seem to have been an issue in your case. I'd like to find what the Manual actually calls this limp mode, if indeed it does, as others have mentioned it as well. Fail Safe Mode results in alternate cylinder deactivation thus reducing power.

Peter

 

[Mikey*TX]

The owner's manual has no reference to it as for most, it would simply go over their head. In fact, most buyers never crack open the owner's manual. I could buy both of us a steak dinner if given a dollar (usd) for every person I had to show the auto headlight on feature icon the stalk. The techs will set it to off when it's in the shop and never return it to auto setting. The term limp mode is simply used to denote a reduction in power when a serious issue is detected by the vehicles brains, be it the PCM, BCM or, a combination of. From a google search: " Limp mode, also called "limp-home mode," is activated when the car's computer system detects an issue that could damage the engine or transmission. It reduces power to lessen the load on these crucial parts, but still allows you to drive the car home or to the closest repair shop."
Read the article here : What Limp Mode Is, and Why Cars Use It

 

[peterk9]

Sounds somewhat similar to Ford's Fail Safe Mode.

 

[Mikey*TX]

Most likely one and the same. Just a different name.

 

[Mikey*TX]

The offending connector.

 

[Mikey*TX]

 

[peterk9]

Was that confirmed as the cause Mike?

Peter

 

[Mikey*TX]

Still waiting for the official word. That is the connector that the Ford tech wiggled the cable on. The male connector closest to the front is evidently the guilty party. He is of the belief that there is a male pin with a bad crimp on the wire such that it will break contact when the cable moves fractionally. He would clear the code, gently nudge the cable one way and the ST would run perfectly. Drove it around the dealers lot, no issues. Then he drove it slowly over several speed bumps ........... That's all it took for everything to tank. It is now parked in their secured lot with other vehicles waiting on parts. I'm betting they are waiting on a new harness. That is the one that feeds the ambient air temp sensor.

 

[Mbrooks420]

There is a 10% failure rate in manufacturing. A manufacture checks X number of each build.

Based on what? 10% is obscenely high for any kind of manufacturing.

Automated crimping and harness making is by far more reliable than doing it by hand.

 

[RickyG]

Still waiting for the official word. That is the connector that the Ford tech wiggled the cable on. The male connector closest to the front is evidently the guilty party. He is of the belief that there is a male pin with a bad crimp on the wire such that it will break contact when the cable moves fractionally. He would clear the code, gently nudge the cable one way and the ST would run perfectly. Drove it around the dealers lot, no issues. Then he drove it slowly over several speed bumps ........... That's all it took for everything to tank. It is now parked in their secured lot with other vehicles waiting on parts. I'm betting they are waiting on a new harness. That is the one that feeds the ambient air temp sensor.

Good that it's covered under warranty I bet that harness is quite expensive.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Good that it's covered under warranty I bet that harness is quite expensive.

They’ll most likely just re-pin it.

 

[Mikey*TX]

Way to labor intensive. I highly doubt the dealership has the extractor tool to begin with. Then, the tech would have to have new pins and the correct crimping tool. An AMP roto crimp is not your everyday hand crimper like the ones at auto parts or Walmart.

 

[Mbrooks420]

where all does that harness go?

Anyone reasonable versed in electrical repair could fix a bad pin in that connector.

 

[Mikey*TX]

We both know that. However, that's not how Ford works. They want the entire harness replaced. They leave nothing to chance.