Fire But Saved Most Of Tractors

Here's the general gist of what I remember about it:

Appearantly there is a relay or something in the brake fluid resivior. The relay is part of the cruise control system, ie step on the brakes, this realy clicks, and the cruise switches off.

The example they had was some family in LA or somewhere that had this shiny new Expedition. They parked it in the garage, becasue they were afraid if they left it on the street that it would get stolen. Well, the Expedition caught fire, and burned their garage and house down. Wow.

Anyway, for some reason, Ford designed that relay to have power all the time, as opposed to having power to it just when the ignition swithc is on. Well, there have been problems with the relay going bad, heating up, and starting the brake fluid on fire.

Since a vehicle needs brake lights, why not use the "brakes applied" signal to kill the cruise control? It worked just fine on my old Corvette, controlled by a switch on the brake pedal arm. Simple, simple, simple, inexpensive, effective, and safe.

Sounds like Ford's engineers have way too much time on their hands.

I did see a show on American Justice where a woman drove a 78 Cougar over an embankment and her mother was a passenger. She tried to get her mother out of the car and it started to burn. She couldn't shut the switch off either. The door was locked and her mother died in the fire.

She was prosecuted for killing her mother & was convicted & served time in prison. Her friends raised enough money to hire an expert and the man hired knew about Ford cars having ignition problems. He inspected that car & found that
this Cougar had the ignition switch that was on Ford's recall list. This car had missed the recall by one year. She was given a new trial & released. This show is rerun by American Justice
several times a year. Hal
PS: If I was the tractor owner I would be looking for a good lawyer.

Ford Recalls 3.8 million Pickups and SUVs

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From a Google search:

In the 5th largest recall in US history, Ford Motor Co. announced today the recall of 3.8 million of its pickup trucks and SUV's due to concerns over engine fires. The recall of 1994-2002 model-year vehicles includes the F-150 pickup, Ford Expedition, Lincoln Navigator, and Ford Bronco.

And:

Campaign Number: 05V388000 Date: 2005-Sep-07

Component: Vehicle Speed Control Defect Summary: ON CERTAIN PICKUP TRUCKS AND SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH SPEED CONTROL, THE SPEED CONTROL DEACTIVATION SWITCH MAY OVERHEAT, SMOKE, OR BURN. Consequence Summary: A FIRE AT THE SWITCH COULD OCCUR. Corrective Summary: AS AN INTERIM REPAIR, OWNERS WILL BE INSTRUCTED TO RETURN THEIR VEHICLES TO THEIR DEALERS TO HAVE THE SPEED CONTROL DEACTIVATION SWITCH DISCONNECTED. FORD INITIALLY ADVISED NHTSA THAT PARTS WOULD BE AVAILABLE TO RECONNECT THE CRUISE CONTROL IN MID-OCTOBER 2005. HOWEVER, AS OF NOVEMBER 7, 2005, FORD STATES THAT PARTS ARE NOW EXPECTED IN MID-DECEMBER 2005. OWNERS WILL THEN BE INSTRUCTED TO RETURN TO THE DEALERS FOR INSTALLATION OF A FUSED WIRING HARNESS. THE INTERIM OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN DURING THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 12, 2005. OWNERS SHOULD CONTACT FORD AT 1-800-392-3673.