Truck has recently started doing some weird stuff after many trouble free miles, has anyone had any of these occur before? Hoping it’s just a battery but I’m out of town for a few days and battery is still Pro-rated warranty so I don’t want to bring it in to just an AutoZone.

- Power Door Locks, sometimes takes me locking it 4-5 times before the drivers door finally locks (this has been ongoing for a year).

- Power Running boards - one side closes half way then bounces back (stays open), other side opens halfway down then bounces back (stays closed). Don’t think it’s the motor? I would assume they would just not work if it was, and wouldn’t be both sides at once.

- Power Windows - when I auto roll them up they bounce back like someone had stuck their finger in them.

- Fuel Gauge - when I fill the truck the whole way it reads 3/4 full, the mileage range is still accurate but the gauge has a mind of its own. It goes from 1/8 to empty in a matter of 2-3 miles.

I had done some ForScan mods on it but they were several months back with thousands of miles driven on it since without issue. Truck is a EcoBoost limited so it has all the digital gauges etc, don’t know if that matters.

Have a great weekend fellas!

 

Power lock - I don't have a suggestion

Running Boards - Maybe need maintenance. They get dirty and the safety will kick in with the added resistance. Possible this is the cause.

Power Windows - Somewhat typical. A few threads on that. I've had it happen a handful of times. No rhyme or reason to it in my case.

Fuel gauge - I don't have a suggestion


Perhaps poor grounds. Suggest first cleaning battery terminals. I don't expect it to be a cure but who knows.....(besides me of course) Clean grounds if you can locate them. Not sure where they are, fender and/or firewall locations.
Read codes -if any are present, address them. Maybe communication codes ("U") are present. That typically causes more random issues than you mention though.

 

I'm not sure any of these are "Electrical Issues" caused by the same source (battery). Each has it's own issue.

Power Door Locks, - Guessing you have a bad switch or a ground issue.

- Power Running boards - Guessing something is stuck (small rock?) in the retracting/folding/guide mechanism. Could possibly be bent.
- Power Windows - Check the manual. Tells you how to reset the bounce back.

- Fuel Gauge - The biggest influence on the gauge is the angle/slope the truck is sitting. Especially the 36 gal. tank. Just accelerating or stopping quickly can throw if off quickly, temporarily. Be sure you are level when trying to get the most accurate reading. Occasionally it might take starting/restarting and driving the truck a few miles to get an accurate reading after filling.

Not saying these are the answers but are a good place to start.




.

 

Thanks for the advice. I will certainly look into it. It might not be the battery (I’m the not the most mechanically inclined, I know how to wrench but not diagnose).

Just the fact that several of these issues (all but the #1 power door locks) all came completely at once makes me think it’s an underlying issue. I’m going to maintain the running boards with some silicon lube tomorrow and fill up the truck again and see what happens.

Unfortunately I just think it’s something electrical. Both boards, windows, and fuel gauge all at once is too suspicious. I’ve put almost 100K miles on this truck trouble free in the past 3 years, it just seems unlikely several things crap out at once.

 

Lube the running boards. I had the same issue on my 2017 a few times.

 

Weird things happen on these trucks. I hooked up a light for my cupholders, and lost cruise control, have zero idea what one had to do with the other. Fixed it by doing a KAM reset, try it. Not saying it will work for you, but it only takes 15 minutes, and no cost.

 

You guys were right about it being separate issues and not just some electrical gremlin.

I filled up the truck and now all of a sudden gas gauge is working for now.. The windows still bounce back but they work to some extent so I don’t really care about those.

I sprayed silicon lube in the running boards brackets, they worked 5-10 times then started bouncing back down when closing the door again. While it’s still not working as it should it seems like the lube is doing the trick, if it was electrical that never would’ve fixed it. Maybe will try again later.

 

Have you had an critters in the engine compartment chewing on some wiring harness wires??? Lots of that going on lately...

 

Nope luckily, just full of wolf spiders on the interior, unfortunately a true story....

I'm going to call the dealership in the morning now that I'm back in town and get it diagnosed. If the truck needs new running board motors, I will likely just replace them with AMPs as I've heard the cost for 1 side of genuine Ford is about the same as a set of 5 year warranty AMPs (with individual replacement parts... Thanks Ford) and I am confident I can install those myself. I think the driver's side brackets are seized or the motor is ka-put. It makes too much noise when closing and the lube only gives it enough juice to do 5-10 closes then it requires manual assistance again.

Thanks once again for all the help on this amazing forum, most trust-worthy mechanics and experts I have met!