garyb900

Not sure which section to post this in so here it is. This is a long post!
I have not seen this mentioned on this site before so I thought I'd post it for everyone's benefit.
I have a 2005 model. Have had no problems at all since I bought it in December 2004.

Last night I had the electrical system on my car basically die on me.
Everything was fine all the way home from work (20 min. highway drive) until I got to my driveway. It was raining but not exceptionally hard.
When I got home I started to pull in to my driveway and then all my lighting went out, no headlights, taillights, interior lights. The windows did not work. The radio went out. The fan would work and the car ran fine but no electrical stuff. I had just filled up earlier in the day and now the low fuel light was on as well as the traction control light, I could not turn traction control on, the T/C off light was lit. Also, the ABS light came on, the oil pressure light, the battery light, emergency brake light, basically all the idiot lights came on.
Needless to say, I was freaking out.
I got into my garage and shut it off.

I started checking fuses and any wiring I could get at and saw nothing wrong. I got my Xcal2 and checked for trouble codes. No codes detected.
I flashed back to stock and checked again, no codes. I started to get worried.
I put the key in and it would start and run but no electrical stuff. I tried to put it in drive and the shifter was stuck. I had to pop open the little door on the console and push the button to release it. I drove in forward and reverse but no help.
I disconnected the battery for 30 minutes hoping something would reset but again, no luck.

I started searching forums for help and found on another site a post about water leaking in by the bottom of the windshield where the little rubber strip is on the plastic covering the access to the cabin air filter and then getting into the passenger compartment and onto the Smart Junction Box (SJB).

I pulled off the interior panel to access the SJB and sure enough, the carpet inside was wet and the box had water droplets on it. I dried up the water as best I could using paper towels and a blow dryer on a low setting (not too long as its electrical & plastic in there). Then I decided I'd better let it sit overnight since it was too late to contact the dealer.

After I finally got dinner I went to throw some trash away and the right side tailight and both reverse lights as well as the right side front marker light were on. I thought, what the heck is happening?! Maybe it's starting to dry out and stuff is coming back to life. At that point I figured I'd better disconnect the battery just in case. I let it sit all night and this morning I went out, reconnected the battery and everything cam back to life. The only things that were not working were the key fobs and also when I turn the ignition on the headlights now come on. I reprogrammed the key fobs according to the instructions in the owners manual and they now work except that now when I lock the care the lights no longer flash but the horn honks twice. I plan to take it to the dealer to see if they can locate & fix the leak. I also put everything back to stock just in case. I only had a C&L intake and tune installed so that was nothing. I made sure to read my strategy with my Xcal2 as per Doug's instructions just in case they mess with the computer codes.

In the mean time I bought some "flowable silicone windshield sealer" from Ace and put a bead under and along the top of the rubber strip at the bottom of the windshield hoping to prevent a reoccurrance. I drove it to work today and everything seem s fine. I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I really don't want the dealer messing with it if I don't have to even though it's under warranty still.
Here is a post that describes EXCATLY what my car did last night

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...lems-05-a.html
Here is another post that talks about the problem

http://www.allfordmustangs.com/forum...lems-05-a.html

I hope this information can help someone and/or prevent it from happening to someone else. I was lucky it didn't happen on the highway while I was driving.
I also want to thank Doug at Bamachips. He called me back last night and talked me through a download to update my Xcal2 to the newest firmware versioon so I could read my computers' strategy. Once agin, Dougs customer service kicks hiney!
SORRY this is so long but I wanted to make sure I got all the details in.
LATER folks!

JunTech

http://www.mustangforums.com/m_2076816/tm.htm

This might be related. Talk to Bascho on MustangForums and give him your Vin number. He is a Ford Rep who can help!

mco05gt

I had the same thing happen to me the other night. I came out from the Dr's office and the door remote would not unlock the doors so I figured I had a dead battery. The car did the exact same thing as you discribed. I left it over night with the battery disconected and it started and has ran fine ever since.???? It was raining when this happened.

RedDragon777

i had a problem where my stereo just cut out on me but after a bit it came back on, might have to take apart my kick panel and check for leaks

metroplex

Supposedly there is a lack of seam filler at one part under the wiper cowl that allows water to leak down into the SJB and the carpet. It'd be nice if we could find that spot and take pics so we can fix the problem w/o taking it to the dealership.

garyb900

Well, the car has dried out and has been working OK since yesterday. I do however have two small issues that I hope someone can help with. I REALLY don't want to have the dealer mess with it if I don't have to.
1. The headlights now come on when I turn the ignition on. Even with the headlight switch off. They seem to have gone into daytime running light mode, which my car never had in the first place. The are dim and when I turn the headlight switch on they get brighter, leading me to the running light mode conclusion. Anyone know if this can be deactivated?
2. I had to reprogram the key fobs using the instructions in the owners manual. They now work however, when I push the lock button once the doors lock but the lights no longer flash. Also when I push it a second time the horn now honks twice rapidly instead of just once. Any ideas on this?
If it can not be changed I guess I can live with it. The only other option I see is having the dealer rewplace the smart junction box and then I would have to make sure the didn't change my strategy code so I can reload my tunes.
Thanks to eveyrone who posted to help me. It WAS a help and I appreciate it very much. There were several people on different forums that helped me.

On a side note, isn't it funny that none of us ever really want to take our cars to the people that built them when we need service?!
__________________

metroplex

The dealership networks operate independently of Ford Motor Company. If the government did not get involved, FoMoCo would desire to sell their cars directly to us. That translates to GT500s for $43k MSRP, no possibility of ADMs, etc...

Your lighting issue sounds like a damaged SJB (Smart Junction Box) which results from water leakage shorting it out. Ford is apparently AWARE of this problem since they use foam shields and other band-aid fixes. I recall in some other threads, someone found the source of the leak to be a body seam that needed extra sealant which would allow water from the cowl to drip in through the "crack".

IWantMyNewGT

Some threads say it may be a rubber grommet in the firewall that leaks. I hope a TSB is issued for this soon. The electrical issues are scary, and mildewed carpet is nasty.

mot250

I've had mine fixed at my dealer. Took them two days to find it but they did say they added some seam sealer to the cowl area on the passenger side. I've driven it in the rain twice now with no issues but I reserve final comments until I drive it in a downpoor again.

See my thread on this topic here...

http://forums.bradbarnett.net/showth...ghlight=carpet

When I get a chance, I'll open up the cowl to take pictures of the suspect area. But no promises and it probably won't be soon. The weather has been too nice and I am still driving the car just about daily. Hopefully I'll be able to tell what the dealer added. If water is getting to the grommet in hte firewall or the grommet on the side in front of the passenger side door, the water is already fetting to far into the car. These grommets were not made to protect from water entry.

Don's P-51

If you have had all the lights go out on your car I would definitely consider that a safety defect. I think it would be to your advantage to report this to the NHTSA. They have web site you can either report the defect on line or give them a call. If enough people do this Ford may be faced with the prospect of an investigation and in turn a recall which is absolutely the last thing they may want to face.

adnlyn

my passenger side foot well had water. took them 3 1/2 wweks to find it and 2 1/2 weeks to fix. they had my car for six weeks. took the entire interior out. replaced carpet and padding and padding behind dash on firewall. they said it was leaking where the antenna went threw the fire wall. car stunk like mildew bad. still not happy with it so i traded it in for an 07 vert lets hope i have better luck this time.

vistablue mustang

Does anyone know if the TSB was issued yet? Ford needs to speed up the process for this. It might not happen to everyone, but it should not happen to anyone

IWantMyNewGT

Well, add one more to the "leak list". We've just had our first major rainstorm since I bought my GT last September. Yesterday, after a couple days of driving in heavy rain, I popped open the access panel in the passenger footwell. I felt the carpet pad at the bottom and it is damp .

I know there is a poster who is keeping track of this issue and mentioned that approx. 75% of the cars that he is tracking that reported leaks were built on a Thursday. Mine was built Friday 1/20/06, just for the record. I hope a TSB is issued soon.

mustangcr8z

Back in november a truck threw a retread an shattered my windshield, had a new one put in, about a month later drove to Charleston from charlotte in hard rain, got there un loaded and noticed right tailight would not go off, set the alarm it just blinked and dimmed but still stayed on, I naturally thought the windshield was leaking, started looking, found that the driverside floor was soaked,looked up under dash seen water dripping onto 2 electronic boxes ( not sure what they are for,but I'm sure it has to do with lights and alarm ) started the car and attempted to move into a garage to ge out of rain it stalled wouldn't start had to push it,water puddled on top of the fuel reset switch and kicked it out! let it dry over night reset switch everything was fine including lights this was on xmas eve.Merry freakin xmas, I went round and round with glass people, took the car to their shop they checked it by spraying water on it and blowing an air hose from the inside lookin for bubbles in a soap solution, no bubbles, I guess I owe them an apology, I guess it was just a coincedence. taking it to the dealer now that I've read all these posts, I have a nasty mildew odor.Thanks for the posts.OOOOHHHHH!!!!! I'm adding an edit I hope you notice and read, when the glass people were looking for a leak THEY DID FIND ONE! on the driver side firewall there is a foam like grommett that goes threw the firewall, there's some wires and maybe a/c lines! its down below the master cylinder, when they squirted water at that grommett and the water poured threw the grommett, right down on the 2 electrical boxes on the driver kick so i bought some windshield and weather seal glue and drizzled and coated the grommett best I could, so far no leak, It rained today I'll check tommorrow....

DynamicmustangGT

i know a good tsb for this don't take it out in bad weather? j/p I know some people don't have dd's anyway go to the dealership theres no specific tsb I know of however, they will diagnose the problem until its fixed

Hollywood_North GT

...may wish to merge all these water leak threads together. There seems to be an increasing number of them popping up.

mustangcr8z

An update on my 05, we had rain yesterday so I checked it today I had a musty smell so I knew it was happening just had to confirm! thanks to all the posts on this issue or I would have never checked, to find water and my carpet padding wet and water droplets all over the floor of the car. I guess I'll be going to Ford Monday Morn, while its still wet. didn't see where its coming from, thats going to be fords problem. I'll keep updates with Fords actions.

Took it to Young Ford here in Charlotte Friday 3-23-07 they replaced the fuel pump said they were aware of the problem, no test drive or any bull*%$# they just replaced. on to the water leak, they have a guy that one of his skills is to find and take care of leaks, found it ,sealed it and any where else he found that could be a problem he sealed why he had the car....as far as the musty smell in the carpet, they originally said they would have to clean it 1st and if that didn't take care of the smell they would replace.....after actually seeing and smelling they... well... ordered the carpet said they thought it would be a waste of time to try and clean.....My dealer rocks..I have never had any probs during the 13 or 14 yrs I've been using them, I wish everyone had a dealer that treated their customers like they want their business repeatedly..Good luck to all
Took my stang to Ford today ( 3-27 ) new carpet is already here, so thieir putting it in, even gave me a rental, incase it isn't finished before its time to go to work.

Hollywood_North GT

Below is a post over on MustangForums from a Ford employee at the AAI plant who allegedly knows all about this and claims a TSB is in the works. Hopefully this information will be useful to people experiencing any leaks >>

The TSB has the tech looking in no less than 10 places. The water that is entering the cabin is doing so from the cowl. The cowl captures all the water coming off the windshield. It will pool inside the cowl like a sink if the water is entering faster than it can drain. The problem is that the cowl is full of holes (10 grommets for attaching the cowl and a large hole for the filter). If installed correctly all the grommets and the filter gasket and other seal will hold the accumulated water. But anyone one of those grommets or filter gasket or other seals could leak if not installed correctly and that is why so many people are getting leaks from different places. When a certain grommet is leaking, the water will drip onto a cross-beam that runs from the left to the right side of the dash in an arch. Water follows the arch of the beam to the passenger side A-pillar and leaks down on top of the SJB. Some grommets will leak down the firewall. If it's the gasket for the filter then in leaks into the plenum and out the drain hose.

As you can see they're a few entry points into the cabin.....but they are all related to the cowl. I'm pretty confident that the TSB's scope is large enough to fix all the leaks we've been talking about in this thread.