Plagued with problems....

[NHarris]

My 2005 X has been cursed lately...one thing after another. First...The rear diff seal was leaking, next; the brakes were warped, then; the visor mirrors shattered, then; the visors were replaced, but...now nothing works in my car (fuse 17 is blown). I tried replacing fuse 17, but it seems to be shorting out and blowing the fuse EVERY time I open the door. Whats wrong there?

And recently....to add insult to injury, my X's fuel guage sensor has quit working on me

Has anyone else been plagued with problems like I have been?

 

[jayton]

My 2005 X has been cursed lately...one thing after another. First...The rear diff seal was leaking, next; the brakes were warped, then; the visor mirrors shattered, then; the visors were replaced, but...now nothing works in my car (fuse 17 is blown). I tried replacing fuse 17, but it seems to be shorting out and blowing the fuse EVERY time I open the door. Whats wrong there?

And recently....to add insult to injury, my X's fuel guage sensor has quit working on me

Has anyone else been plagued with problems like I have been?

I have been plagued with a bunch of problems before, but not with the Explorer. My BMW 325i was costing me about 400 a month in replacement parts for a 3 or 4 month period once. The Ex has been the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned.

How did the visor mirrors shatter?

As for tracing the short, that can be difficult. You could try unplugging every accessory that uses that fuse slot one by one to see which one doesn't pop it. I would start with interior lights since you said it happens when the door opens. You can manually keep the interior lights from coming on by spinning the dash panel dimming switch all the way down. That would be a good step in trying to diagnose.

 

[jrford]

rear diff seal was leaking, - not common but not uncommon either.
the brakes were warped - very common, good quality components will fix permanently (also make sure whoever rotates the tires that they use a torque wrench and not the sticks to set them to specs-i've been using 105ft/lbs).
the visor mirrors shattered - so are mine. . .looking for jy's
now nothing works in my car fuse 17 is blown - this is an easy one, check for broken wires in the rubber boot between the drivers door and pillar, most posted question imo.
Fuel sensor- whats wrong? Sometime if i over fill (really top it off) mine it will stick for a few, give it some time, also check the wiring back there. . .fuel pump harness is actually below the RR tail light for some suggestions.

 

[BigRondo]

Nate, it might be related to a broken/damaged wire in the boot between the body and the door, or an issue with the door ajar switch, as these issues are very common. You said the fuse blows every time you open the door: fuse 17 is for the Delayed Acc Coil, Battery Saver, Interior Lamps. Every time you open the door the Interior Lamps come on. So the short very well could be in the boot, or related to the door ajar switch.

Here is a great thread for checking/replacing the door ajar switch, thanks to borland for the awesome write-up: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249253

Here is a great thread for checking for broken/damaged wires, thanks to synyster for this awesome write-up: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums//showthread.php?t=270081

Hope this helps out. :biggthump

EDIT: jrford has beat me to the punch!

 

[jrford]

EDIT: jrford has beat me to the punch!

ah but you posted links, lol. . .much better. . .

 

[NHarris]

All great posts. My X is back at ford. I took a wild guess in thinking its the visors (fuse problem), because that's the newest thing on my X, and since they were installed I've had the problem. If it is, then it should be free, cause it's their mistake.

EDIT: So just heard from ford, the short was in the visor. Thats fixed and now everything is working wonderful

 

[BigRondo]

All great posts. My X is back at ford. I took a wild guess in thinking its the visors (fuse problem), because that's the newest thing on my X, and since they were installed I've had the problem. If it is, then it should be free, cause it's their mistake.

EDIT: So just heard from ford, the short was in the visor. Thats fixed and now everything is working wonderful

Glad you got it resolved Nate. Electrical "demons" can be a real PITA to troubleshoot.

 

[NHarris]

The fuel level sender unit costs about $1,000.00 that takes the total to over $3000 in work on top of the $13K purchase price. Last owner must have neglected my X.

 

[jrford]

The fuel level sender unit costs about $1,000.00 that takes the total to over $3000 in work on top of the $13K purchase price. Last owner must have neglected my X.

Find someone cheaper if you can 1k that's pricey, to say the least. . .only $172 rockauto, that includes a new pump and sender.

For DIY some guys actually cut a hole in the floor to get to the tank (no a bad idea actually) or i'd be tempted to drop the tank but that could be a major safety issue with draining the gas and fumes etc i'd might see if anyone else would do it, imho.

 

[jumpervb]

The fuel level sender unit costs about $1,000.00 that takes the total to over $3000 in work on top of the $13K purchase price. Last owner must have neglected my X.

If it is just sticking or slow to reach full on the gauge I would use a good fuel system cleaner and a good grade of gas (like Shell or Exxon) first. My 05 did that about 6 months after we bought it and the dealer told us to use fuel system cleaner on a regular basis and it shouldn't do it anymore. We do and it doesn't.

 

[ragajungle]

I love this forum!

 

[SparkyJeff]

The fuel level sender unit costs about $1,000.00 that takes the total to over $3000 in work on top of the $13K purchase price. Last owner must have neglected my X.

IMO for $1000 that fuel gauge is a convenience feature, you could just reset the trip meter at every fill up. top it off every couple days, etc.. a full gas tank is never something you would regret. <- find cheap gas, droppin' tank are only exceptions.

 

[NHarris]

The problem is its very sticky. Sometimes it just reads full, sometimes just empty. Its one of those things that I want fixed. Ford's already ordered the part and set up the appointment, so I can't really back out of it now....