Your Mother

Hey guys, I recently bought a 2011 F150 FX4 5.0L 59k miles. The truck has a rebuilt title from "flood damage"...before everyone slams the purchase, I got an incredible deal on it and purchased it with all expectations of possibly having to sink a good bit of money into it. I wanted to throw out the issues I'm having to see if anyone may have some ideas before I drop it off at a dealer. Maybe (hopefully) the issues are related to a single component or 2...I don't know.


Issues:
-No radio display
-No radio
-No Climate
-No horn
-Won't shift into 4x4 (it tries but ends up saying check 4x4)
-Factory Key buttons do not work
(already tried battery change and programming process)


So basically nothing in the center console works although the buttons do light up. Maybe all the components are actually bad but didn't know if anyone had any thoughts as to whether it may be body control module or a ground or something. I haven't really dug into it much besides testing fuses in kick panel (they are good). Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

thebreba

I'm extrememly doubting this will solve any of your problems.. but did you check any fuses? other then that.. it sounds like some eletrical work will need to be done...

If you don't mind me asking.. How much did you get the truck for? I was thinking of trading in my 09 5.4 next spring/summer but It's going to have about 165-170k miles. And I'd like to get a newer/Nicer truck... I've heard some friends of mine getting lucky with Rebuilt titles and getting killer deals... So I'm just curious =z

Best of luck

Masejoer

I'd expect that a flood vehicle is not a financially-sensible thing to attempt to have repaired by a third party. If you were handy with electronic diagnostics, a flood vehicle can be a good deal, but paying others an hourly rate for diagnosis and repairs, likely without any guarantee, will get expensive fast.

Since I assume the truck runs, I have no quick-solution ideas off hand. I'd verify all fuses and start by cleaning all electrical connections and grounds (removing entire interior), then manually testing each item by hooking them up to a battery, or other 10-15V power source. Studying the service manual would aid in making a diagnostics plan. Could easily be dozens to hundreds of hours to diagnose and repair. You could get lucky and find that a common ground is corroded and used by many components (but expect future electrical problems to creep up).

Cpt.America

Very hard not to slam the purchase... but the only thing I can think of is what the guys above said. However, considering the buttons light up.. I'm not so sure. Open up your car manual to page 300 something, and there is a diagram of all the fuses. pull them each and see what you see, replace any that are blown, and then start from there.

If the head unit is fried, might not be that bad. Buy an aftermarket center dash piece and an aftermarket 2din HU, and you're good.

Your Mother

I got the truck very cheap...it would be premature to slam the purchase without knowing the details and wouldn't be beneficial to anyone really. Plus I stated in my post that I had already checked the fuses. Thanks anyways.

Masejoer

I will say that is is pretty easy for people to slam a purchase when it had flooded, and already has evidence that electrical components were damaged (shows that water has already gotten into the electronics and many connectors may be continuing to corrode). The fact that there are already problems points to a vehicle that will continue to be trouble. It would take completely disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling a vehicle to make it trustworthy again (hence why I suggested they only be purchased by someone that has some electrical know-how, and is willing to do all the work).

"Cheap" flood vehicles may have to be <$5k for a 2011 (they are going on 5 years old now) because without DIY, they may require $10k+ in mostly man-hours to properly repair. $100-ish an hour, 2 weeks in a shop could put you at an $8k labor bill + parts, and automotive-grade connectors aren't cheap. My 2011 supercrew was purchased cheaper than the 2001-2002 supercrews I was looking at, but with no problems, clean title, one owner. Deals can be found without resorting to damaged vehicles. Electrical gremlins are the most time-consuming and frustrating problems to track down, and since everything is closely intertwined in newer vehicles (bcm has to be flashed for something as simple as enabling foglights), don't be surprised if your truck leaves you stranded more than a few times. It's just the risk associated with flooded vehicles. A 500,000 mile vehicle would be more probable to have better reliability.

If ALL fuses are fine, you'd still need to follow service manuals, and physically follow wires in the vehicle with an ohm-meter to check for areas of broken connection. It may also be worth it to buy the cheapest dead component and swap it in, then see if it comes to life. If not, there are much larger electrical problems. If it works, you may just need to swap out the dead components.

Just want you to make sure you get sufficient repairs. With flood damage, you have no idea what else is rotting away/corroding and will fail soon. I'd clean, or have a shop clean (bare minimum, distilled water, then re-connected with grease), high-importance connections such as the vehicle's computers, power steering, fuse block, headlight switch and lamp connections, brake sensor and lamp connections, and airbag connections. The rest is fine to fail, but some important systems should be cleaned to guarantee functionality.

Cpt.America

I didn't see the last few words there saying you already checked the fuse panel. Apologies. And slamming the purchase would make me feel better.. isn't that a benefit? Just messin with ya, good luck with the diagnosis. I think best case scenario would be that each component is individually toast. Would make swapping stuff in nice and simple to figure out, and you would just be out the cost of those components. I would probably strip out the carpet and make sure that everything EVERYWhere, is dry.

Your Mother

[QUOTE=Masejoer;4382929]I will say that is is pretty easy for people to slam a purchase when it had flooded, and already has evidence that electrical components were damaged (shows that water has already gotten into the electronics and many connectors may be continuing to corrode). The fact that there are already problems points to a vehicle that will continue to be trouble. It would take completely disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling a vehicle to make it trustworthy again (hence why I suggested they only be purchased by someone that has some electrical know-how, and is willing to do all the work).

"Cheap" flood vehicles may have to be

Your Mother

[QUOTE=Masejoer;4382929]I will say that is is pretty easy for people to slam a purchase when it had flooded, and already has evidence that electrical components were damaged (shows that water has already gotten into the electronics and many connectors may be continuing to corrode). The fact that there are already problems points to a vehicle that will continue to be trouble. It would take completely disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling a vehicle to make it trustworthy again (hence why I suggested they only be purchased by someone that has some electrical know-how, and is willing to do all the work).

"Cheap" flood vehicles may have to be

Your Mother

Mase,
Thanks and all but I'm not asking for opinions or lectures on my purchase. In fact I tried to avoid that with my original statements. I'm 100% fine with it and it's my responsibility. Some of your statements were a little silly though..."under $5k" lol you can't even get a drive train for that! $10k for repairs? Not happening. Lol I could replace every harness and component for less than half of that. The truck was "salvaged" for flood damage over 3 years ago. It's not like I was out deep sea fishing last week and reeled her out of the ocean with my fishing pole! It's runs and drives great, passes inspections, and is in great cosmetic shape! I'm very well away of the market and the "deals" as I have bought and sold many vehicles for profit. Heck I traveled 4 hours just to get this one after shopping the market for 2 months. I'm well aware of the "rebuilt" status value depreciation. Thanks for those who have tried to help but the opinionated comments on the purchase rather than how to fix the issues are wasting everyone's time. Thanks