Anyone have this happen??

[F350DRW1]

O.K. 4:20 EST, heading south on inter-state 287. Got it on cruise, 82 mph. 37 degrees, clear, dry, pitch black. Lights and everything else goes dead. Ever been in a plane when the lights go out? It was just like the battery cables were cut. No lights on highway, so basically I cant see anything. I hit the brakes and notice I have no brake lights. I get stopped, and as I'm fumbling around looking for a flashlight I notice my cell phone charger lights up. This is after like 30 seconds. Then my XM receiver and lights come back on. And then, with the keys in the ignition, in the off position, the truck starts by itself. I gave it a walk-around. Everything works, No blown fuses, drove it rest of way to work. I have an auto start but the fob is on the keys, which was in the ignition, not my pocket. about the long post but this one has me baffled.

 

[Kleetus]

I'd make sure you have a fire extinguisher in the cab... that's not good. Might have a wire coming loose for the autostart, or something starting to short. What's odd is the loss of brake lights.

Have you had any cab off repair? I'm wondering if a main harness is working loose.

 

[bushpilot]

sounds like a ground out/short.

did you ever have the truck in for the wiring harness TSB ???

http://www.forddoctorsdts.com/articles/article-05-13.php
FDDTS - 6.0L Injector Harness

 

[Moe-B]

I was watchin Close Encounters of the Third Kind the other night and as these lights went by in the sky the cars would do this.

OK, never mind.

 

[F350DRW1]

Gee, thanks, Moe. I'll keep an eye out for little green men if it happens again. Kleetus, were on the same page. I carry 2 extinguishers at all times and wouldn't have been surprised if it went up in smoke. Bush, truck has not had cab-off repairs and hasn't been in for any wiring recalls. This whole thing took place in less than a minute and I have never seen anything like it. I have looked at the grounds, wire harnesses, etc. Don't see anything scorched or loose. The truck starting itself was pretty interesting.

 

[bushpilot]

those wiring harness recalls were a real ***** to figure out...
some folks were "discovering" the problem @ 70mph in the fast lane !!!

 

[F350DRW1]

Yeah, it was no fun stopping this thing. A trailer behind me would have been the icing on the cake. Now I have to figure this out for safety's sake. I can accept a short or a ground on the power side, but the auto-start activation is beyond me.

 

[Kleetus]

The part that gets me is no brake lights. That's separate from just about every other system. What about the plug at the firewall? The Banks stuff plugs inline with the PCM connection, right? So there shouldn't be anything there for teh other accessories. If it was a short circuit somewhere, a drop of that magnitude WOULD set something on fire, even a battery cable wouldn't survive a shot like that, for 1 minute.

I'd recheck every major connection, heavy wires, loose, cracked, corroded and if that looks okay, check your butt for Aliens...

 

[bushpilot]

you COULD start the truck in the drive way, let it run w/ the hood open,
and then take a length of wooden dowel or stick (something NON METALIC)
and start poking around at the wiring harness-es and connectors.

poke & press 'em pretty hard...if its a wiring chafing issue hopefully youll
find it this way....it could be wires grounding to the frame or bolt/screw
or it could be wires grounding inside the looms, touching each other.

on the 6.0L 03s & early 04s this was a particularly troublesome problem...
intermittant at best...and as a result it was tough to trouble shoot.

read those links & review the photos w/in the links...theyre very helpful.

 

[Kleetus]

(something NON METALIC)
and start poking around

Man... you're no fun... where's your sense of adventure?