2005 Mustang Electrical Problems - Page 2 - Ford Forums

tongy89 · 11-12-2006, 16:58

Whats this " burping gas tank" problem that you speak of?

sjkip · 11-12-2006, 17:08

Hi Tongy89. Many California counties require gas pumps with rubber fittings on the nozzles, to trap gas vapors when you fill your tank and to sense when it's full, to prevent spillover. They work pretty well, and you can actually smell the difference when you fill it up. I notice it when I'm out of state. But the original 2005 Mustangs had some kind of valve missing on the gas tank. The result was that while filling the tank, gas or vapors kept sloshing upward, shutting off the pump, because the "vapor smeller" in the nozzle would think the tank was full when it actually wasn't. This was worst at ARCO stations, where I could barely squeeze 3 or 4 gallons in before I just gave up trying to get the gas pump to quit shutting off. Ford, if you ask, now retrofits a gas tank with the proper valve to keep those vapors or splashes from fooling the California nozzles.

ford4v429 · 11-14-2006, 20:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjkip

Well, I got the car back from the dealer. The mechanic said that they've fixed the electrical problem, which was somewhere in the boom box radio, and that now the drain is only 0.11 Amp, which is pretty good...if that's really what it is. They also fixed the "burping gas tank" problem, which requires a retrofit in all 2005 Mustangs, although Ford Motor Co. doesn't talk about it much. But it's warranty work, if those "vapor catching" gas filler nozzles shut off prematurely. They told me that the clutch switch is probably okay, but that I should keep watching it, to see if the car doesn't start even though the lights are working.

Anyway, so far, so good. We'll see if it's fixed and stays fixed.

Thanks for all your help, guys.

The 06 tank improvement isnt 100% right either- the first few fillups in mine were a joy- first 2 burped gasoline all over the car(second time splashed enough to soak my leg in the process) next couple were the click/click/click...that was last December, hasnt done it since. if you look under the car its a wonder they take fuel at all- the filler is about the size of a garden hose and 3~4 feet long, with effectively a 'trap' in it where it wraps under/around the coilspring... feeding one side of a saddle type tank- the only connection I see between halves(other than the thin area over the driveshaft) is that menagerie under the trunk, appears to be the vapor canister, with extra hoses...I still dont see how it draws fuel from both tank halves...

regarding the electrical gremlins- longshot but Ive read about a couple that had a cowl leak letting water get into the 'smart junction box' connector in the kick panel- caused all sorts of fun- a girl over at themustangsource had elec trouble- they actually had a ford engineer flown in to figure it out- bad connection in a plug somewhere in the front fenderwell(?)... anyway, hope they get you all fixed up- BTW: if you havent already been told, the gas fillup thing is less likely if you pull the nozzle back out about an inch so the 'boot' is not sealing at all, and set it on the first catch only to fill slowly- that seems to prevent most of the 'burping- regarding the clicking off every nickel, flip the nozzle 90~180(dont scratch your paint!) and usually it will take fuel- wouldnt recomment filling it all the way up that way though as if it burps in that position, it might really spew...

if theyre into the tank anyways- maybe mention the car stumbling after long cruise- there IS A SEPARATE TSB on this, and the fix is a different pickup/fuelpump...if theyre gonna have the tank out anyway, might as well nip that in the bud too, its a well known issue, and would hate to see it have to go back again someday...and be sure they fill it up/check for leaks- one guy had a near disaster after having his done- wasnt sealed right, dumped like half a tank of gas- and not far from the exhaust...

sjkip · 11-14-2006, 21:25

Hi Ford4v429. I had tried that "pull it out slightly" trick, and it did work, up to a point, as did the turn it 90 degrees. But neither worked very well. Replacing the whole thing may have worked. I'll try an ARCO fillup and see. The electrical thing seems to have gone away, although I must admit I haven't parked it for more than a couple of days. If I can park it for up to 10 days without a dead battery, I'm satisfied. I'm sick and tired of going back, and even more sick and tired of calling Ford "Customer Care" and getting the company line recited back to me: "We're applying all appropriate resources to your problem," or some such nonsense. I figure I'm not perfect, so why should the car have to be...as long as it starts, runs and doesn't leak gas (so far, anyway).

sjkip · 11-23-2006, 15:17

Hi again Ford4v429,

Well, you're right. Two fillups, so far. Both of them dropped about 1/2 cup of gas on the gas station floor. Didn't smell it on driveaway, so I guess it falls straight down. I hope no one accidentially blows up a gas station with this "fix." As a bare minimum, I wonder what the point of vapor catching gas pumps might be, if this keeps happening. So much for clean air in SoCal.

The car starts every time now, although good, old AM590 (not 540 anymore) came on with a clock reset once. I can live with that, as long as it starts. But I'm still afraid to park it for more than a couple of days, especially at an airport or somewhere else I have to be able to drive away from quickly.

I don't know if Ford Motor reads this stuff, but I hope so. I don't know which Job number Quality is at Ford nowadays, but it must not be #1. Right now, there's a 1% chance I'll buy this car when the lease is up, and that'll be it for Fords in my driveway. Someone must make more reliable cars in the U.S.

Vista Blue GT · 12-04-2006, 05:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by tongy89

Whats this " burping gas tank" problem that you speak of?

Its when you go to put gas in the tank at no matter what the inflow rate the tank regurgitates the gas back toward the pump nozzle causing the gas station pump to shut off. In particular in the summer its a pain because it takes forever to get the tank filled up becuase it keeps shutting off over and over.

You can try repositioning the angle of the gas pump nozzle but that rarely helps. I have found that if you "feather" the rate of inflow and "ease" into a full normal inflow rate that it tricks the tank into not regurgitating the gas.

sjkip · 12-11-2006, 09:06

Yeah, it burps back at you, even with the new tank. The problem is that I can't just turn on the pump and click the automatic trigger. I have to stand there.

sjkip · 12-14-2006, 15:27

Well, the 2005 Mustang's back in the shop. Now, they tell me that there's a retrofit for the retrofit on the gas tank. Apparently, Ford agrees that the "anti-burp" gas tank fix makes it worse than it was before. Also, the radio (that boom box one that came with the car) comes on loudly and automatically, about every third time I start the car. So I wait again. Tick, tick, tick...

edgespeeder06 · 12-17-2006, 06:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjkip

I've had my 2005 Mustang V-6 in the shop at least 6 times with versions of what's probably the same electrical problem. It's 18 months old, with about 13.5k on the odometer. It was new when I first leased it.

First, odd warning lights kept coming on at random times. No, the door wasn't ajar; no, the seat belts were all fastened. Then, the car wouldn't start after I parked it for awhile. After waiting a few minutes, it would start.

Next, I parked it at the airport for about 10 days and the battery went totally dead, requiring an AAA guy to jimmy the lock and then someone to jump start it. The radio automatically came on full blast at 540 AM (I never listen to the radio; it's never on.)

At that point, I took it to the dealer. Same old story: "We can't fix it if we can't reproduce the problem." After that, the car would sometimes fail to start, requiring jump starting (and the radio automatically came on at 540 AM each time). I took it back a couple of times. Again, they said they couldn't reproduce the problem, but suggested that the battery must not be charging properly, and that could explain the "phantom lights."

After a couple more returns to the dealer (by now, roughly 6; the actual number is in the Ford computer), they replaced the alternator (the voltage regulators are now integral) with a rebuilt one. That seems to have taken away the phantom lights.

But the car still won't start if I park it for a couple of weeks. Most recently, I jump started the car (and the radio came on at 540 AM, of course), then drove it for an hour to charge it up. After parking it for a day or so, it started and ran fine. Then, after parking it for about a week, it wouldn't start again. Surprisingly, when I tried to start it the next day it started! So it seems to start or not start randomly, as far as I can tell, and when the radio doesn't automatically come on, I figure the battery must not have been dead.

Finally, I took it to a different dealer, at Ford Motor's suggestion. Same story: "I can't fix what I can't reproduce." I made some more calls to Ford Customer Service. After moving up to the third layer of Customer Service, I realized that all I'm going to hear is the company line about not being able to fix what won't happen when they want to see it happen. I wasted a few minutes explaining to the last one ("I don't have a supervisor; I'm it.") that I can't bring the car in if the problem is happening. I mean, how can I drive it to the dealer unless it chose to start that day? But that was a waste of time.

So I'm going to pick it up from the new dealer, drive it home, if it'll start, and just stare at it in the driveway, hoping it decides to start if I need to drive it.

Any suggestions on what I should tell our local mechanic, who says he thinks he might be able to solve the problem...at $80/hour?

Thanks!!!!

as of yesterday, my car wont start so i was wondering if it had the same problem, the parking lights work, but the guages or nothing else lite up, im so screwed its an 05 v6

sjkip · 12-17-2006, 08:03

Hi Edgespeeder06- It might be the same problem. The dealer says that Ford told him the battery drain problem was in the boom box radio that came with the car. They've apparently fixed that, and I understand that it was fairly simple. If you have an OEM boom box radio in yours, you might ask the Ford dealer to call Ford Motor's engineer to get the solution. But even though that's fixed on mine, the radio still comes on automatically - and loudly - at 590 AM when I start the engine, actually, a couple of seconds after I start it, and the clock resets to 12:00. I can live with that, I guess. Anyway, see what happens when you talk to your dealer. Good luck. By the way, the gas tank problem is still not fixed. They're now telling me that Ford is still working on a fix for it. But if you live in a state where they don't have those "fume-saver" gas pumps, you're okay.