I just called the dealer in my area and they confirmed that the ranger has not yet been recalled how ever they did say that some F-150s were being recalled. He was unsure of the model years tho.

 

I only have the 2001 service CD here at work, and it shows the deactivator switch fed with 20 gauge wire, fused at 7.5 amps. I can't see where the failure of the switch would do anything but cause that circuit to go dead.

However, the loss of that fuse would cause the deactivate the cruise control. There are 2 or 3 (depending on auto or manual) switches that can deactivate the cruise control. One is this normally open deactivator on the brake master cylinder, the others are normally CLOSED switches that must provide power to the module for it function. One is the brake pedal on/off switch (the "BOO") and the other is a clutch switch if you have a manual.

Losing the 7.5 amp fuse would simply disable cruise altogether.

The fuse if F2.9 (fuse 9) in the fusebox in the cab.

Most likely this is the reason there may not be a recall on the Rangers, even if this defective type of switch was installed.

 

im just gonna unplug the switch... i dont have cruise anyway so its not gonna hurt not having it plugged in

 

Sorry, it also goes to your ABS system. Not a good idea. I forgot to mention that. It's the reason it's still there even in non-cruise equipped models.

 

Well crap, mine has a build date of 06/2002, mid year, wonder at what point they changed it.

 

hmm well i guess ill not un-plug it then cause i want my brakes

 

You'll still have brakes, but your ABS won't function properly or maybe at all. Don't know, never tried it.

 

this is exactly what ASE Master Techs are told to do. This switch does not affect your ABS. All it does is look for a pressure signal from the master cylinder. Once it gets its signal it breaks the Cruise control holding circuit. So unplugging it will do no harm...

unplugging will not affect ABS functioning....won't trigger any lights, nothing like that...

 

If anyone is worried about their own safety and their truck as well, as we all should be, I am offering to look up individual VIN #'s through Ford's Private Recall Site. This way, you have an exact report on your vehicle from the Ford Database and there is no guesswork due to build dates, and non-specific documents.

If you would like me to look this up for you send me a message and i'll do what i can for you.

 

For 2001~2003, both the Speed Control Actuator and the ABS Control Module use the Brake Pedal Position switch to sense when a braking event is about to occur. In the event of a BPP input failure, the fluid pressure operated Deactivation Switch is there as a safety backup.

Beginning in 2004, the Deactivation Switch is no longer an input to the ABS Control Module. It is used only as a redundant safety disengage for the Speed Control.

 

Are you sure that's true for ALL years? It does go to the ABS module in 2002 as a BK/YE wire on pin 13 of the ABS module.

BUT: there is nothing in the write up about it being actually USED by the module (and nothing that says it isn't either).

So, that's what leads me to wonder: is your statement true for all years, or just some of them?

Edit: Just saw Bob's input so maybe that's the answer. It's a backup on earlier years -- nevermind, lol.

Since the input is properly fused, I see no reason to unplug it since all switches don't fail and having the backup is useful.

 

i agree with not unplugging it myself. Due to a lack of replacement parts though, anyone who takes their vehicle to a dealership over this issue is more than likely just going to have the switch unplugged. At current there are no replacement parts for this issue.
Since i don't have wiring diagram in front of me i will go with Bob's input on this matter. That sounds a little better than my statement due to the fact that i can not verify every inch of wire connected to that cut-off switch on the master cylinder. So I guess on this one i stand down from my statement.

As i said earlier, i'll be happy to look up all TSB's,FSA's and such on your trucks if you wish. It's up to you...

 

I do remember reading that the 'fix' was to pull the connector and disable the cruise control system.. although that WAS on the F-150's.. which AFAIK is the only vehicle Ford has officially announced a recall for.

Maybe that's part of why Ford hasn't issued a recall on the Ranger, because the switch is used for the ABS system (either as a primary or redundant trigger) while it is not on the F-150 and therefore far easier to 'fix' on the F-150.

 

That, and the fact that since the circuit is appropriately fused there is no real "danger" like there is in the vehicles that had fires or whatever

 

So the F150 was not fused?!

 

I looked at an 2002 F150 schematic and the Deactivator Switch is normally closed just as on a Ranger. The way I read it, pulling the connector to the DS should disable the Speed Control on either one.

The 2002 F150 does not use the DS for the ABS system. Don't know about other years, though.

I suspect that they are not addressing the Ranger switch because they haven't had any fires yet like the ones with the F-series. The management and accounting folks are probably in denial, thinking that they can somehow keep the scope of this narrowed to just the proven "problem vehicles".

 

Okay, I buy that. It's probably a numbers game. There are several times as many F150's in service as there are Rangers, right? So the number of positives goes up w/ the size of the population, assuming the chance of a positive stays equal..

 

I read EVERY single post in this thread and remembered at the end that i dont have the switch in my ride. No cruise and i only have rear abs. So im unaffected by this. Also i have seen rangers in my local junkyard that have caught fire and it seemed to be in that particular region where it started.....so maybe its just not as big of an issue as the F-150.....who knows....at some point ford might decide to let us know how "fire prone" our lil rangers are.

 

So, is that a flame paint job or is your truck on fire?...