Well, any liquid tape would be hard to remove down the road.

If you look at the pic, any liquid or spray will flow down between those wires, and encapsulate them in a rubber-like matrix, making it a solid piece.

If you don't want to go that route, there is a common product at Home Depot and Lowes, in the plumbing section.

https://www.homedepot.com/s/silicone...520tape?NCNI-5

I've used several brands, they all work as advertised. I have the Nashua brand in the garage right now, but the SuperGlue brand looks good also. And you can carefully remove it with a razor knife, with no harm done.

So you pay your money a make a choice, LOL.

 

You know, after thinking about it, that is EXACTLY what I want now. Even if you want to do the factory recall, the liquid tape wouldn't interfere, since you need to cut the wires 2" away from there. In fact, I want to 'weatherproof' ALL connectors that I can find under the truck. And also the ones exposed on my motorcycle. What a great idea. I'll definitely spring double the price for the clear one, so it looks OEM.

Hey gang, do you think we need to change the switch if doing this fix? I don't think so, especially for those of us who haven't had an issue, even under rain. And maybe the new switch requires the damn splice to work, no? I wouldn't buy it until I know that's not the case. The switch is quite cheap at $10+, so I might buy it next time I need something from Ford, and give it a try. But plan on doing the weatherproofing job asap, and I'm 99% sure that will solve any future tailgate issue, at least for me .

 

I got the letter the other day. It was 3 days after picking up my 2018 KR for being in the shop for the tailgate issue. Of course, they couldn't find anything wrong. They couldn't fond anything wrong with 3 warranty issues... I was so pissed. I need to find a new dealer.

 

I think your plan of attack is right on. I plan to drop the tire so that I can hang both connectors vertically, and just flow the liquid tape down the wires to the plug for about 1/2".

As for the switch, I'm guessing that Ford is not positive whether the connector harness or the switch is causing the problem. Maybe they suspect both could cause the tailgate drop, depending on conditions.

So they took the belt and suspenders approach for the switch, a cheap repair if the switch is only $10 retail.

 

Hey, your idea of putting connectors upside down is perfect. I'll do that too. And now that is getting hot, the sealant should flow down easier. So will remove the spare again, I guess.

As far as the switch, did Ford change it? THAT is my question. If not, then why mess with it, if we haven't had any issues? When I found my tailgate open, it didn't rain at all, so I must have forgotten to close the damn tailgate. Glad it has the dampener, or it'd had been bouncing all over the place. Drove about 120 miles with it open.

 

If ya'll are basically coating the terminals with this liquid deals...why not just melt candle was so it fills the voids and protects the actual connectors.

What are the chances that any tampering/modifying of this plug is going to void any warranty work to anything associated with that harness. Camera/light/switch, etc?

 

..

 

Dielectric grease inside the connector. No need to try to seal the outside of the connector, possibly making it impossible to get apart later.

 

Allhatnocattle is right....if you want to cover/seal the connector, silicon tape is EXACTLY what you want. It’s the kind of thing that stuff is made for. Achieves the same thing just as well without being more or less permanent like liquid tape. Also It won’t deteriorate/harden/come loose like electrical tape yet is removable and even comes off with no residue if you ever need to get to that connector in the future. It’s absolutely what I’d use for an idea like this.

 

Update: Ford says it was not the recall and swear up and down that the wiring is correct. So they will be doing a diagnostic to figure out the issue.