2001 Ford F 150 Dash Smoke

As a fellow Ford owner I can assure you that they are made of smoke so what you experienced is normal.

I've looked under the dash now and don't see any charred wires.

It's parked in the full sun now.

Thanks,

You may well be on to something.

I had to take it back after they "fixed" it the last time. Damper doors were frozen in the defrost mode.

It was never right after that. On hard acceleration everything would go back to the defrost vents.

Lyn; Your description of damper positioning problems screams that the root-cause is a bad vacuum leak somewhere on the engine or in one of the other vacuum operated devices possibly the vacuum accumulator canister of in a damper positioner.

I would attach a handheld vacuum gauge on the intake manifold vacuum test port then use a pair of duckbill or vise grip pliers to clamp each and every vacuum hose to identify where the problem(s) is/are.

Poor vacuum will also not allow the damper motor control to work properly.

My 96 FORD F150 had a bad EGR valve that caused me the same damper positioning issues you are describing but I did not have any smoking incidents with it.

It did not have the advanced temperature controls so it did not have any electric or electronic motors on like the newer Fords do.

Maybe you have more than one problem?

Yes, exactly.

They replaced the vacuum accumulator canister and fixed some other leaks.

He told me Ford uses thin (cheap) vacuum lines, and is one of the few who still even uses vacuum to adjust doors etc.

I had two problems, neither one what I originally thought were the problem.

Also the low side Schrader valve failed, apparently not catastrophically.

New vacuum canister, other hose leak repairs, Schrader valve, freon and oil change

for $120.00.

I'm good with that.

I'm about to take it out on the freeway and see if the AC mixer doors work well.

"I had two problems, neither one what I originally thought were the problem"

Many posters who read your egocentric posts have a similar level of ignorance on the subject at hand, and benefit from the thoughtful reply's generated by the folks on IHS. Often times, posters cannot even diagnose the problem they have in order to post the correct question, until replies start to unwrap the real question. So ease up Lyn, we all know you are super smart and very experienced. I think it is safe to say that we all understand the need to google and call the manufacturer. That did not really help you, did it?

I'm just following your lead.

You're my hero.

OK, not so fast.

It's blowing hot air again.

Now, they THINK it's the evaporator under the dash and want a grand to replace that.

As I explained to them, now I have no way of knowing if I really needed a new compressor/manifold since I've had these same symptoms (hot air) all three times.

I'm having another garage look at/repair it. After they evaluate it, I'll report the findings to some organizations.

Well, the good news is that no matter what has happened between you and the A/C repair people, you will not get pregnant.

Oh damn, that was very bad of me wasn't it?

Ok, try looking for any of the A/C components that have an oily appearance on any part of them. There is oil mixed with the 134A to lube the compressor. Wherever the Freon leaked from will also leak the oil. That will leave oily marks. If after a thorough inspection reveals no oil, inspect the drain hose that lets condensation drip from the A/C. If the sealed evaporator is leaking, the oil will eventually be at the drain hose. Good luck.

Don't let a less than limber body stop you, get a neighbor to look for you. You do still have neighbors that talk to you don't you? Oh crap, there I go again. Sorry pal, it just happens.

Bend me over once, shame on you.

Bend me over twice, shame on me.

Not going there.

All of my neighbors still speak to me. I can't repeat what they say to me here though.

The only one who is spry enough is the guy across the street who had the Vette for 8 years, in pieces, and never finished it.

Nope. I'm too old and frail to even crawl under it and lift my head and look up.

I'm taking it to the guy who works on our business vehicles. I should have gone there, but that's another story.

The mechanic (service manager) told me they did not go under the dash during the initial install.

I have no reason to doubt him, but he wasn't the one who did the work.

Did you check the fluid levels? I'm just wondering if you had a leak in a heater fluid line, which dripped onto a hot spot in the engine compartment, causing the smoke/steam you saw.

Consensus of two out of three was it was rubber/insulation smell. It was not steam.

It was not coming from the engine area, but rather from inside the firewall. Most of the smoke was inside the cab.

The heater fan works normally.

I cannot smell any residual smoke smell this morning, even with the fan on????????

Thanks.

Maybe whatever it was blew its fuse about the time you disconnected the battery, so now no smoke. Are any fuses blown. Does anything not work. (I'm sure you probably checked this.)

One possible cause is the blower motor started dragging bad enough to cause the speed control resistors to heat up hot enough to smoke off what ever residue they may have had built up on them.

Being they are cooled by airflow inside the ducting that's how the coils have created smoke in the venting but not anyplace else.

Just a guess.

Blower motor SOUNDS normal this morning.

The truck had been parked for over an hour with ignition off.

It is possible, since it quit when I unhooked the batt that whatever it was must have had 12V even with the ignition off?????????????

That rules out many things.

Unfortunately with the excessive amount of electronic control being ran through the main ECM and related systems many of the things we formerly associated with being a hard on or hard off type of sub systems or function now rarely is.

Most things now are simply a input to the ECM or some other computerised subsystem control module that makes a request for such and such action to happen to which the unit under control can say no or yes to or if it so wills turn things on or off at random despite the key being off and missing entirely.

A friend of mine had a Ford pickup that would turn the interior lights on or off at random and the fault was traced down to being a ECM or such control module problem not an actual hard wired mechanical switch or shorted wire.

The only fix was to replace the control unit which of course had a dealership price tag on it of almost half what the vehicle was valued at so we just pulled the relay out that controlled the interior lights.

Welcome to the new world of drive by wire vehicles. The key being on or off has about as much control over how things work as your foot has over the engine throttle. It's all just an illusion.

Well, I don't like smoke and mirrors.

you might want to check with the guy who converts 110-220

Well it might have been a leak in your evaporator coil and what you saw was freon mixed with oil....it wouldn't last long and it would look like smoke and it does have that smell....

Nope. AC blows cold and it's in the sun at 104°F.

Could this just be the natural biologic decay (think composting) of your marijuana stash that you keep under the dash due to the high temperature.

Nope. No chance.

Twenty years ago, maybe.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[Edit]: Response to #15. We did?? He was gone??

I thought the NSA had terminated him, with extreme prejudice.

I don't agree with his point of view, but he has made many contributions to this forum. I prefer to hear from him than the likes of Kulas or that other idiot who has been posting here latly.

Other idiot?

I can think of two or three, not just one.

HEY! You talkin to me???

Friend of mine's truck, not only burned while parked, but lit his house on fire. Google harder.

http://www.ennislaw.com/ford_fire_recall.html

Welcome back, we all missed you!

speak for yourself

Already got the notice on that one. Mostly happens in high humidity environments and there is even a factory fix using an in-line 1 AMP fuse. (ugly fix, BTW)

That circuit runs from a sensor on the end of the master cylinder that deactivates the cruise control. Yes, for some reason it is hot all the time.

My smoke came from the opposite (passenger side) and was more inside the cab. Disconnecting the battery would have killed that one too.

Google has no answers for this. Ford forums are populated mostly by rednecks who don't know anything about specifics.

Maybe it was a ghost....

no joking.........I'd look at this closely

s been described as a ticking time bomb, a deadly defect, a trip down the road to disaster. It is a tiny component part, no bigger than a sparkplug and shaped very similarly. It is Ford's cruise control deactivation switch. And it is burning down homes across the country. What Is It? The cruise control deactivation switch, also known as the brake pressure switch, sits just above the master cylinder of the braking system under the hood on the driver's side

Been there, done that. #18

Mark! Howdi?

You may be right on target with that link.

Sounds like that is what happened to the one I put out.

Maybe there was some alignment of the sun and various glass surfaces that created a focal point...

F.O. R. D. --Fix or repair daily..Old acronym.. Actually---My newer ( for me--2008) E-250 van, runs like a top--Cold air, great acceleration, quiet, good suspension for a 3 / 4 ton, tows like a champ, and everything works fine…Unlike my old 1988 Ford Van… But hey? What's 20 years of technology?

It is very possible that the guys that worked on it got grease on one of the resistors(as mentioned previously) and the grease burned off by the time you got the cable unhooked.

Also possible that trash got onto one of the same resistors.

Since it was coming from the right hand dash register,that would be my first suspect.

Did it smell like burnt grease or burned honey?

The burned honey smell is usually electrical insulation,from a motor or circuit board.

I was at an intersection one day and saw a ford truck with the hood up,and flames coming from under the hood.

An elderly couple were standing outside,just looking at it,looking confused.

I had recently bought a 10 pound ABC fire extinguisher,and had it in my trunk.

I stopped and the fire had spread from the master cylinder onto the vinyl wheel well cover, and burned through,and was dripping onto the front tire,and the tire was starting to burn.

It took the full canister to put it out.

The master cylinder was leaking fluid onto the manifold,which was fueling the fire,which made it difficult to extinguish.

Anyway,after the fact,here comes the local fire department.

They acted dissappointed that the fire was out.

All they had to do was haz mat control of the leaked fluids.

I can imagine what would have happened if this had been parked inside of a garage or near a house and went un noticed for a few more minutes.

If the tire had really got going, my efforts would have been useless.

My advice is to park the car away from the house till you determine the cause for certain.

The battery was hooked up all day yesterday and I drove it in the afternoon when it was 108°F.

Nothing.

I do not remember what the smoke smelled like, but I do know that there was/is no residual "smoke" smell in the vehicle.

I never saw a flame (realizing flames aren't needed to generate smoke) and it may have been a coincidence that disconnecting the battery and the smoke stopping happened at the same time.

I'm about to drive it to work today.

Thanks to all for your help.

I am aware of the cruise control switch and received a notice from Ford on it.

did you just refer to him as, "Honey"?????

Well I ain't never heard of such a thing. That musta scared the life outa yall. I betcha that list was hard to make while you was running. Camo t shirt with the arms cut out. two brand new rolls of duct tape. Carton of Marlboro Lights. Wing nut wrench. I'll tell you Lynwood, I have heard of cataracts causing people to believe they see smoke, or Heavenly visions, or even Democrats moving in next door, but this is the first I've heard of vehicular delusions. The fact that it is a Ford makes it harder to explain, I mean, it's not like it was your other car, the Chevy Cavalier, which would be easier to explain. I sure hope you and the boys can get it figured out. Thanks for sharing, though.

You should have it towed to the Ford dealer to have it looked at. It's not worth risking your safety and those around you. I like the suggestion of keeping it parked out on the street, until then.

Maybe somebody put a smoke bomb in the truck as a diversionary tactic to steal your rock.....the only other thing I can think of is that one of the blower speeds shorted out....I've had that happen many times....check each speed...esp high

Everything works as it should. As near as I can tell.

I haven't checked for the rock, nobody wants it anyway. It's too heavy to carry.

FORD=Found On Road Dead

One morning, I got to see the result of the brake pressure switch issue firsthand. One of our fire inspector's pick ups was sent into the fleet shop for a PM service. Overnight it burned the area of the front fender tire and spread to the engine harness and cooked the entire front of the truck. Bad enough that it had spread through the firewall and filled the interior with smoke. After the fire dept (FT Lauderdale) put it out, the heat -cold water cracked the windshield. Truck was not worth fixing.

The scary part is that if the truck had not been there for service that night, It would have been parked inside the attached garage of a good friend's house.

Look at that switch. Look for signs of charring. Get your nose up by the air inlet grill area in front of the windshield. Get someone to blow some air into that grill and sniff the air inside the truck.

Until you find something, do not park in, or adjacent to any part of your house. And of course, not near the Corvette. Don't even let the Vett see the Ford. There may be some driving envy going on there. Is there a sunscreen or car cover on the Vett? Is the truck visible from where the Vett is parked? Has anyone talked about the Truck in the presence of the Vett?

"Your car knows!"

No, the Vette can't see the truck and they are not parked close to each other.

I'm taking the Ford back to the shop that installed the new compressor and manifold.

They guaranteed it for 2 years.

Cheers.

Good luck with that. My son is a service manager at a Dodge dealership and he has half a dozen stories like this every time I see him. You KNOW that won't believe you.

Overheard at the repair shop.

"OK Mr. Lyn. This is very serious, and we will give it our full attention. "

(after Lyn drives off)

"Fred, park this piece of crap in the corner of the lot. Make sure it is not near my car".

Going to the shop tomorrow.

I'll give them about 30 seconds till their eyes glaze over and they quit listening.

I'll want to talk directly to the owner, not the kids who work there.

10-4 Lyn. If anything else crosses your mind, be sure to let us know, okay?

Lyn, in a delicate situation like this, preparation is everything.

Start off with sleep deprivation. No sleep tonight. Breakfast needs to be substantial. No, more than substantial, it needs to be f--king HOT. Hot enough, and nasty enough to insure you will have a BAD case of heartburn. Just before leaving, top it off with a chaser. A garlic chaser. make it just as strong as you can stand it, then just a little bit more.

Now, on the drive there, think about this, that low life POS behind the counter took your money. F--ked up your truck. Almost burned down your house, family, and the Corvette. A NOW he wants to just blow you off like some whining little high school girl.

Are you going to let him treat you like that???????

Noooo. Stand up to him Shout. Get in his face. DEMAND satisfaction. Extract your vengeance. Use your mouth as a weapon Let him feel the burning in your gut. Make him taste the garlic. Make him regret ever screwing with you.

This can be your finest hour. You can do this. Make CR-4 proud.

ON TO VICTORY!!!

Lyn, driving meekly into the parking lot, or appropriate parking area just will not do for a third time visit for the same problem. Start with pulling the exhaust system off as close to the engine as you can. Use a torch if needed. The noise is vital.

As you approach the facility, pull it down into first gear, and stand on the throttle. Drive straight at the biggest window in the place. (If curbs are present, use the driveway cuts to save the tires. ) At the last possible moment, lock up the brakes, and slide the truck at the window. (Extra points if you can get it sideways.)

STORM out of the truck with the engine running and sounding ANGRY at the world. Don't open the door with your hands, Kick that MF door out of your way. Rush the counter line you were going after that POS on the French train. Use the back of your hand to clear any and everything off of the counter. Stare that F--king worm in his beady little eyes, and yell HEY MOTHER F--CKER. WHAT THE F--CK DID YOU DO TO MY TRUCK?

At this point you will have his undivided attention, and respect. Things should go well from this point on.

Just follow my few hints here, and I am sure they will bend over backwards to please you. No thanks necessary. That's what friends are for.

I had a friend who did exactly that.

Problem was his brakes failed at the exact wrong moment.

The man behind the counter was a 6'8" 300 lbs former UFC fighter, and narrowly escaped being crushed.

However my friend was not so lucky.

Even though the accident did not hurt him,the guy did.

After he gets out of the hospital,and serves his time,he will be put on work release if he behaves himself, pays for damages,attends anger management classes,and picks up litter beside the highway for the next 2 years.

Yes that may be true, but it seems a small price to pay for the respect and attention Lyn will receive. If it was easy, everyone would do it.

I'll let you know how that works out for me.

If I'm able.

This just in.

The low side Schrader valve had leak failed. I assume the puff of "smoke" was just R134 venting.

The damper valve mystery was a cracked vacuum surge tank. They're replacing that. That sounds logical to me. $85.00 parts (Ford) and labor.

It remains to be seen, what the final charges will be. That depends if the valve that failed was part of the new plumbing, or the original.

PFR, bite me.

I could of sworn a similar thing happened to you all before, Lyn. When she opened the freezer door, and and she came screaming in from the garage (where the beer fridge and freezer lives) and said "The freezer is on fire, Help me Lord!" Word for word she said that. So you started testing the beers to see if they was ice cold, seeing as how you reasoned, if there was a fire in there, the beer would not be cold. You tested several, and also some potato salad that was an unusual, but interesting color. It was like the color of a summer squash that had been bruised, but not turnt to mush, but ah heck that is not important. Oh yeah, the freezer was going to burn the house down! So you made a list of options, should you get out the genset, load it and the freezer (which was lighter now that you got all that beer out) in the Ford pickup, and take it down to the lower sand pit and figure it out there, or just roll it out to the driveway and use a long extension cord, if you can find it. I remember you said, that cord is made with commie vinyl, you just can't find a good 2 gauge extension cord anymore, at least at Walmart. Anywho, you were trying to decide which would be more technical like, I'm reading this and thinking, "What are you going to do Lyn?" Cause I figure, hell if Lyn can't figure this little puzzle out, there's going be a lot of people disappointed in his posts. Anywho, turns out it dawned on your neighbor, Rednek, that it was probably just condensation from the warm air ( it was 134 that day) hitting the cold air, and that smell, well it musta been the tater salad. Which was strange. Cause it was on fire, wasn't it? I thought she said it was it was on fire.

From post 9: Nope. AC blows cold and it's in the sun at 104°F

I'm a bit perplexed. If the R134 vented, how did you get cold air at 104°?????

Me too, at first.

Remember it was a Schrader valve that failed, apparently not catastrophically.

I'm guessing that it partially vented when the system was still fully charged and in 110°F full sun.

Then the next day when I ran it there was still enough charge left for it to cool.

It did get progressively warmer over the next days until yesterday when it quit cooling totally.

It's fine now, no charges for replacing the valve and Freon.

Tank replacement, $85.00 and oil change $30.00, out the door.

I'm happy with that.

PFR, bite me.

The good news, no matter what happened at the repair shop... you won't get pregnant.

How about this thought. On the back of the compressor there is a pressure safety valve. GM used to use 440 PSI on single systems and 550 on duel systems. Now the truck was parked in the hot sun. How hot does the sun bake that hood? If the pressure rises enough that pressure relief valve will open. High pressure gas will escape (mixed with traces of refrigerant oil) Thus the smoke.

The valves are very reliable, and almost always reseal once pressure drops. And the remaining Freon would still cool the truck. If the valve did not seal perfectly, the Freon would slowly continue to leak. Thus AC would warm up, then quit as the low pressure switch detected insufficient Freon to operate safely.

To check, look for the pressure relief valve, and see if it appears oily?

The told tank issue could be real or ??? Test the returned tank. It should be something you can see.

"look for the pressure relief valve" Yeah, I'm all over that one!

On a Ford the compressor is underneath the engine. The low side port is somewhere close to the firewall, I think.

The plastic tank, I didn't even ask to see. It doesn't matter. If the damn truck gets cold and the cold air comes out of the right holes in the dash, I'm good.

May the Fords be with you. That's cool.

So,,,my first response was spot on......

Very close. My ailment was less costly than a leak in the coil, but.........................

Guess I'll have to retroactively GA you.

One thing I did notice after picking my truck up yesterday was that the odometer has lost 5,000 miles. Poof! Gone.

I'm not actually sure when, during all the battery disconnections, that happened.

Oh, I almost forgot.

PFR, bite me!

Who is your mechanic? I have three cars with around 100,000 miles on the odo. A loss of 5kmi would sure help resale value!