my tough issues

The description for this page, The Raptor Tech Forum, says its for the tough issues with our trucks. Well, After 1.5 months of chasing a gremlin and now a noise in my truck I hope I can maybe get some ideas for the next course of action.

At the beginning of October I started having issues with my fault code lights and navigation screen shutting down on me at various intervals. I scanned the truck and no fault codes came up. But the hill decent light, tpms, eps, emerg. brake light etc. would start flashing and chiming and the nav screen along with blinker indicator lights etc. would all shut down. Off road button does not work when this happens along with most everything that is associated with the dash.
What I've done so far. I've checked all the ABS sensors and all are ok, Pulled the steering wheel to see if there were any loose wires etc. I posted a tech article, on the forum here, on how to remove steering wheel from that experience. I've pulled the connectors for the abs sensors and cleaned the connectors. I've checked the ABS module for any damage etc. (someone had said that the module heats up and can throw the faults and cause the same problem that I have). It does it's weird thing even if it's cold right out of the garage. I've checked for loose or disconnected grounds on the frame etc. I replaced the third brake light as there was some correlation with that becuase of the oem light leaking and buring the 3 leds in the light out for some on the forums.

On my noise problem I pulled the front wheels, brakes, and hub to check for bad bearings or anything that could cause a noise like this at the same time pulling the abs sensors to check for cracks or anything out of the ordinary. I've pulled the front diff cover to check for anything that looks abnormal. I"ve narrowed the noise down to what I think, (with several other people listening) to a catalytic convertor that is possibly going bad. The symptoms are a grinding or tinny rattle when I am accelerating above 20 mph and on up. it has progressivly gotten worse over the past week. The noise is very prevalent. The best way to describe it although I know this is not it, is a rock or something that has gotten between the brake dust cover and the rotor. The noise is not RPM or Speed oriented meaning it does not increase or decrease in severity when speeding up or slowing down.
On my scan tool I do not get any fault codes but I don't think that my tool is all that technical and that the dealers may have better ability to read either hard or soft codes.
My truck is out of warranty with 38K miles so I'm on my own dime. The Cats are probably still under emmissions warranty if that is what the noise is.

Anyway. I'm looking for real world feedback like someone that has had this type of issue and found the solution or a ford tech or those that deal with this type of thing. Conner at Outlaw and the owner of ADD both gave me some good advise but it did not seem to help the electronics issues.

Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to throw my way.

Mil T

Generally when I had electrical problems with no code present it was a problem inside a module rather than wiring or sensor problem. I'd start off at looking at the smart junction block beneath the pass side kick panel. This module runs many of the inside electrical functions. Look for the obvious loose connections, ground, water damage.

The cats will rattle when they break apart/go bad but usually its at its worse at idle, when the exhaust pulses are the greatest. When the engine increases rpm the rattle goes away and the broken pieces will try to plug back into the hole they came from. Sometimes power loss it noticed because the loose chunks can block flow. Have you tried to raise the vehicle and let the tires free spin while trying to isolate the noise? For noises like this we'd use chassis ears which are sensor you place on different suspect areas. The sensors will amplify the sound and you listen to it in the cab while driving around. Noises are hard because they transmit all over the chassis so isolating them can be a chore.

If it is a cat it is still under warranty. Since you are just out of warranty have you called ford or talked to the dealer about your problems? Its possible they'll work with you.

Just got back from Dealer. Small town so dealer doesn't know much about Raptors but they did give me some ideas to look at and you aren't to off base with your suggestions.
1. The electronics issue. I noticed along with the tech that it seems to be steering wheel oriented. However when I got home I also noticed that when the dash cuts out and I got it to do that by turning the wheel that if I just touch the emergency brake that it comes right back on. One of the things that I did not check and was going to was the brake pedal switch. I will also look at the module you mentioned. The tech also mentioned a steering wheel centering module that could have a problem. I havn't looked that up yet but will.

One of the techs told me I should contact Ford to see if anyone has had this problem any where else in the country. I will probably follow up with that also.

2 Cat. He partially agreed after I took him for a ride, however he wasn't totally convenced because it does not act like you mentioned and that is what has thrown me off as well. The noise comes when you are on the gas while driving only. When letting off the throttle the noise stops. We tried to duplicate with Brakes on and running throttle up while in gear. some noise but not like when driving.
I am planning on taking cats off at manifold and pipe and seeing if they are loose or not.

Bad thing is that dealer is really busy and can't get it in for 2 weeks. I'm thinking on the cats that I could just replace with High Flows from Magnaflow or ?? They aren't that expensive and I could possibly get some benefit in power and mileage maybe and get it done a lot sooner.

Thanks for your suggestions. This is the type of help I'm looking for.

Does it change a lot under torque? Apply the brakes and torque it up some forward and reverse. Listen for the noise to change... one possibality is The flex plate could be cracked

If your using a no frills code reader type "scanner" you are only in the OBD II portion of the computer. You will need something more sophisticated such as a IDS, Snapon, OTC to get into the factory data stream. Sounds like something is stealing a ground. Make sure none of the heat shields on the exhaust are cracked at the welds. Good luck.

Hockster said:

Does it change a lot under torque? Apply the brakes and torque it up some forward and reverse. Listen for the noise to change... one possibality is The flex plate could be cracked

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Whats a flex plate? I've never heard the term.

We did the torque test and the noise is not noticable.

---------- Post added at 06:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:14 PM ----------

cobradoc said:

If your using a no frills code reader type "scanner" you are only in the OBD II portion of the computer. You will need something more sophisticated such as a IDS, Snapon, OTC to get into the factory data stream. Sounds like something is stealing a ground. Make sure none of the heat shields on the exhaust are cracked at the welds. Good luck.

Click to expand...

Would a regular auto repair place have one of these type of scanners? I can't get into Ford but I might be able to get into another shop somewhere that could scan it perhaps.

A good reputable independent will likely have one or several of those mentioned. We own all three and then some. If your gonna be in the repair business you better plan on spending money on diagnostic equipment. I could buy another Raptor for what I have spent on equipment the last two years.

Food for thought I haven't opened up the book but you could have a network issue on the CAN network from a module sending a bad signal down the network. When testing your network you can test through your datalink and the high speed and medium speed can should see 60 ohm resistance on properly operating network if you have 120 ohm then you have a module offline w terminator resistor in it. If you have any other reading other then 60 ohms on either one you can have an issue. Your electrical thing could be anything. Just one more idea. And for the noise while driving did you check the muffler bearings. ? No one likes a loud ****.

jdowens1 said:

Food for thought I haven't opened up the book but you could have a network issue on the CAN network from a module sending a bad signal down the network. When testing your network you can test through your datalink and the high speed and medium speed can should see 60 ohm resistance on properly operating network if you have 120 ohm then you have a module offline w terminator resistor in it. If you have any other reading other then 60 ohms on either one you can have an issue. Your electrical thing could be anything. Just one more idea. And for the noise while driving did you check the muffler bearings. ? No one likes a loud ****.

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You know. Last night I had a dream and exactly what you said is what I dreamt. The only problem was I couldn't figure out how to get the 12 inch cresent wrench around that CAN. I do appreciate the feedback and will keep this suggestion for the ford techs should I need to take it in.

The muffler bearings were already checked and I noticed there wasn't any grease in the bearings so I put some vasoline in them to quiet them down. Hey I'm 62 years old and have been a motorhead since the begiinning. I'm not going to fall for 2 many jokes.

Just dawned on my. Were you really serious on the can and ohm suggestion??

Mil T