Mystery Message in message center.

[RustyBlue05]

Hi I've got a 2005 xlt 4.0 (170,000 mi) that has an issue with an unknown message popping up on the message center.

What happens is while I am driving I hear the little warning beep from the message center and when I look down to read what it says I can see some message going away on the screen. There is never enough time to even attempt to read it, so I have no idea what it could be saying. The frequency of this is very inconsistent, sometimes it will happen 3-4 times in 30 minutes of driving sometimes it won't happen for 3-4 months. There doesn't seem to be any kind of patten it follows either. Just wanted to see if anyone else has had this happen or has any clue as to why it's doing this or what it might be saying.

I think I'm going to try rigging up some sort of dash cam to see if I can record it just so I know what its saying.

Would appreciate any input anyone has on this.

 

[Donystoy]

That is a strange one. The only time I have experienced something similar is when the oil change reminder comes on but will stay on until I hit the reset button.

 

[kydirtscooter]

What is your build date? There were some early 05 model year that snuck out with incorrect programs. Fix was to replace cluster. Was a SSM/FSM back in the day, not TSB.

 

[TechGuru]

Maybe a momentary "door ajar" from a bad switch?

 

[shitohdear]

I second the momentary "Door Ajar" warning. My Explorer had this symptom two months ago with a bad driver's door switch. I searched the wiring in the door hinge for a broken wire, but did not find one. I ran out of time to deal with the problem and my mechanic diagnosed the switch and replaced it. Problem solved; driver sanity (somewhat) restored. Good luck to you.

 

[RustyBlue05]

What is your build date? There were some early 05 model year that snuck out with incorrect programs. Fix was to replace cluster. Was a SSM/FSM back in the day, not TSB.

Build date is march of '05

 

[RustyBlue05]

Maybe a momentary "door ajar" from a bad switch?

Thanks for replying. That is what I kind of thought. Is there a way to determine which door/liftgate switch is bad. Since it is only intermittent I feel I could end up chasing it for some time before I replace the right one. Unless I just change them all at once, which I think I would like to avoid if possible. Also where are the switches located? Inside the door? Part of the latch assembly? I don't see anything that jumps out as a door switch looking at the open door.

 

[TechGuru]

I'd start out with WD-40 in each of them.

 

[Donystoy]

Years ago I had a similar situation when I in-advertently unlocked the window in the rear hatch. Occasionally especially over a bump it would operate the switch and give a "beep sound" Drove me crazy until I found the unlocked window.

 

[Joe in NY]

Can also be Low Brake Fluid. My brake fluid was right at the point where going up a steep hill, taking off fast, or jamming the brakes would just trigger the prompt. For the first few weeks it would go away before I could read it.

 

[RustyBlue05]

Thanks all for the ideas/suggestions. Update on the situation: I now have an el cheapo dash cam rigged up pointed at the message center in hopes to catch it happening on camera so I can play it back to see what it says. Of course it hasn't happened again since I posted this but when it does I'll be ready. Will post my findings here, might be awhile though.

 

[MrPulldown]

Do you ever go through the "system status". Where it reviews each system. There might be something in there that will tell you what is going on.

 

[RustyBlue05]

Do you ever go through the "system status". Where it reviews each system. There might be something in there that will tell you what is going on.

Thanks for the idea.
If you mean the system check by pressing the setup button then reset, I have done that. Everything comes up OK except it says the washer fluid is always low from a bad sensor/connector, and always a tire pressure monitor fault on account of I don't have any sensors in my tires. Both of those come up every startup and I just reset them and they go away until the next startup. It has been that way for as long as it's been mine, pressing reset twice on startup is something I dont even think about. Honestly it would feel weird if I didn't have to.

 

[RustyBlue05]

The message popped up today on my way into work this morning and I got it on camera. Just looked at it frame by frame after I got home. It pops up so fast that the other text like the "x.. miles to E" doesn't have time to fade away and ends up being combined messages. I was able to decipher it and it looks to be a check charging system message. I tried to upload the video to youtube so everyone can see it for themselves but it won't let me.

It must mean loose wire/connection somewhere or corrosion possibly? Alternator is a reman from Carquest I put in maybe 3 years ago, battery terminals are nice and clean. If anybody has some suggestions feel free to post them I would appreciate it.

 

[Cj02mercurymounty]

Hi I've got a 2005 xlt 4.0 (170,000 mi) that has an issue with an unknown message popping up on the message center.

What happens is while I am driving I hear the little warning beep from the message center and when I look down to read what it says I can see some message going away on the screen. There is never enough time to even attempt to read it, so I have no idea what it could be saying. The frequency of this is very inconsistent, sometimes it will happen 3-4 times in 30 minutes of driving sometimes it won't happen for 3-4 months. There doesn't seem to be any kind of patten it follows either. Just wanted to see if anyone else has had this happen or has any clue as to why it's doing this or what it might be saying.

I think I'm going to try rigging up some sort of dash cam to see if I can record it just so I know what its saying.

Would appreciate any input anyone has on this.