PX Ranger, Limp home mode but no fault code

ShaneT

Well-Known Member
Jul 24, 2014
291
308
63
W.A
20,000 and has had the clutch changed earlier .
Went in today they want it for 2 weeks seems a long time
Bummer, I'm well past 20k so hopefully I will be ok, in saying that today my R/H park lights were stuck on, open and closed the doors still on, turned the park lights on then off...all good :noidea:
 

Limpin Jim

New Member
Feb 12, 2016
3
5
3
73
Alice Springs
I own a 2014 px with 57k on clock that goes into limp mode for no apparent reason. Not funny when you're a long way from anywhere. So far each time I've turned the motor off and restarted it and all ok. Been back to Ford three times with no result. Not game to trust it on a long run so it was interesting to read Phild"s account of hot fuel temp. It has certainly given me something to work with and I will bring it up with Ford next time. Hopefully it'll happen sooner rather than later
 
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Meanderthals

Aka PhilD
Mar 16, 2012
837
1,356
93
Near Darwin
I own a 2014 px with 57k on clock that goes into limp mode for no apparent reason. Not funny when you're a long way from anywhere. So far each time I've turned the motor off and restarted it and all ok. Been back to Ford three times with no result. Not game to trust it on a long run so it was interesting to read Phild"s account of hot fuel temp. It has certainly given me something to work with and I will bring it up with Ford next time. Hopefully it'll happen sooner rather than later
Here's hoping that you get it sorted.
By the way, did you read my posting (#14) about the possible alternative that if you had a fuel filter change that someone may have put the hoses back on wrong and you therefore end up with hot fuel being recirculated. On another Forum I posted this to that was a response I got from somebody. Curious that 2 weeks prior to my problem surfacing that was a part of the Ford Service that I had done.
 
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Limpin Jim

New Member
Feb 12, 2016
3
5
3
73
Alice Springs
Here's hoping that you get it sorted.
By the way, did you read my posting (#14) about the possible alternative that if you had a fuel filter change that someone may have put the hoses back on wrong and you therefore end up with hot fuel being recirculated. On another Forum I posted this to that was a response I got from somebody. Curious that 2 weeks prior to my problem surfacing that was a part of the Ford Service that I had done.
Thanks I did read that and I'll bring it up next time I talk to ford. What makes it hard was last time it happened was on a trip to the gulf to pick up our boat(2 tonne) which is a 13 hr trip not towing. Went into limp mode 2 hrs from destination. Cool overcast day sitting on 110-115k????
Next day with boat in tow was 38-40c. Came all the way home no dramas sitting on 100k. Last 200k tried to break it, sat on 115k but still no drama. Very frustrating.
 
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Meanderthals

Aka PhilD
Mar 16, 2012
837
1,356
93
Near Darwin
I didn't notice your location before so would expect that if it was the fuel filter one that it would readily show up and be consistent. Do you have any fault codes come up at all or dash indication of the problem when it happens?

One thing that really annoys me about my fault is that there were no dash indications of the problem, no fault codes in the computer and no amount of diagnostic equipment that Ford used was able to show up what caused it. This is even though the sensors were providing info to the computer on-board to tell it to go in to Limp Home Mode. I was also given no assurance that Ford would address the issue and do a software update to all Ranger's (and presumably BT50's) so that in future there would be fault codes available to identify the problem.

BTW, when you refer to going to the Gulf do you mean North or South? If South then that explains why you were going so slow.
SA.jpg
I so love returning back North and seeing the other side of this.
 
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Limpin Jim

New Member
Feb 12, 2016
3
5
3
73
Alice Springs
I didn't notice your location before so would expect that if it was the fuel filter one that it would readily show up and be consistent. Do you have any fault codes come up at all or dash indication of the problem when it happens?

One thing that really annoys me about my fault is that there were no dash indications of the problem, no fault codes in the computer and no amount of diagnostic equipment that Ford used was able to show up what caused it. This is even though the sensors were providing info to the computer on-board to tell it to go in to Limp Home Mode. I was also given no assurance that Ford would address the issue and do a software update to all Ranger's (and presumably BT50's) so that in future there would be fault codes available to identify the problem.

BTW, when you refer to going to the Gulf do you mean North or South? If South then that explains why you were going so slow.
View attachment 38846
I so love returning back North and seeing the other side of this.
Nah, nothing at all. Ford have put it on their computer each time and nothing has come up. They are not being unhelpful but as they say if there is nothing showing up how do they know what to fix. Given the conditions on the way back and a couple a tonne behind I was pretty confident something would give. And no we were going north to the gulf but we don't be in any great hurry. By the way thanks for your concern.
 
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Drover

Well-Known Member
Nov 7, 2013
12,723
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QLD
The fuel return set up sounds similar to my old Mercedes engined Jeep, I had a problem which I found the fix but not the why and it's fuel return went via a valve on the fuel filter which I ended up isolating and running the return line direct from rail to cooler, no more problems. I never thought about fuel temp, I was thinking air was the problem but fuel temp sure makes sense now. Touching wood for the Colorado.
 

skippy

Well-Known Member
Jun 21, 2010
935
793
93
Butler/Perth WA
I don't own a BT50 or a PX Ranger and I am posting this below because it might aid someone that's having problems with there's. My intention is not to slander this motor just inform other owners out there that might be experiencing the same problems with their 3.2 Diesel.

In my dealings I have come across two of these motors that have had problems with low oil pressure that have caused problems with the camshafts - Intake & Exhaust.

From what I have heard the problems starts with the oil pumps on these motors. Likely causes - maybe too many kms past oil change, or too long when changing oil which might cause a loss of prime in the oil pump. Put under too much load which the motor was not designed for. These are some of the theories.

Two different mechanics and they have both advised that somehow not enough oil pressure is making it to the hollow cam shafts and they are over heating.
When this happens the gears on the front that run off the timing chain slightly move out of alignment thus causing the timing to be out stighty and then this is causing limp mode.
Once both cam shafts were replaced on both of these cars they appear to be running fine now. Also one has done about 20 thousand since replacement.

From what I have been told the plates that the gears locate onto on the front of the camshaft are the problem, once put under extreme load or overheating due to no oil pressure the locating plates on the end of the cams shafts move(spin) thus causing the timing to be out from the gears.

The only problem is that the new cams that have been installed to both of these vehicles are the same as the originals with the same pressed on plates that the gears rely on.

Both mechanic said that these plates should have been machined into the camshaft to locate the gears and not just have a pressed on plate that gives the week point.

Not a good solution but there are no aftermarket ones on the market yet apparently to resolve this problem.

Hope this reply might help some of you under warrenty for a solution.
 
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Ian/Carmel

New Member
May 6, 2016
1
0
1
Shoalhaven
Rather than continue with what I was writing up in my other thread (Non-trip, trip report) of the saga of repairing my Ranger I think it best to put something here to warn fellow Ranger/BT50 owners.

A summary: Engine lost power and went in to a "limp home mode", but without the usual dash warning light and no Fault Codes, even on genuine Ford Dealer diagnostic equipment. Loss of power happened very quickly and about the best the car would do with the 2500 Kg van behind was about 40 kph. Car has spent the last 6 weeks as of yesterday in with the Dealer trying to find the cause of the problem. Problem was very much temperature related but depending on ambient temperature and driving conditions this failure would take place anywhere from half an hour to one and a half. Without the van on behind it was possible to get up to around 90 kph but very slowly. I don't know what would happen if the journey was continued and/or the temp rose higher. In consultation with Ford themselves numerous sensors were swapped with known good ones, one at a time then test driven, and various other comparisons were made with a working vehicle. Engine computer was twice swapped with alternates as they weren't sure the first one was a correct same version. All accessories fitted by others or myself were disconnected to eliminate non Ford possibilities. Genuine Limp home mode was initially discarded as they thought that all such situations brought on a dash warning and Fault Codes. Even the injectors were replaced. The one difference noted but also initially discarded was a higher than normal fuel temperature reading on the sensor at the engine mounted pump. Last week they went back to that possibility and it was found that when the sensor was removed and left hanging and measuring ambient air temp no problem existed. Finally the fuel pump was replaced and problem apparently cured.

Today I picked up the car and will now do my own testing to try to verify whether it has fully gone away. Part of the delay has been due to our location and the inevitable delays we experience in getting parts delivered but I believe there has been an issue with Ford itself not taking more interest in the issue and trying to speed things up.

From what I've been told the fuel temperature ranges from about 40 - 60 degC normally but mine was getting in to the 80's. Apparently at about 83 the problem started to develop but at 84 it was going in to reduced power mode but with no notification of the problem. This has been discussed with Ford and is an issue that has to be investigated. I would hope that out of the inconvenience to us that some good will come out of it and a software update will happen to ensure that others don't suffer similar lengthy delays in locating the problem. With the similarities between them this could well be a BT50 possibility as well.

I will still be talking to the Case Manager that was assigned to me in a few days time and most certainly the 6 weeks timeframe will be discussed further and the problems it caused us. The only actual Dealer issue that I have was with whoever there decided that I should have to pay to refill the tank to continue test drives and eliminate a possibility that the fuel pickup was drawing in some air. My paying for it was immediately refused and was thankfully backed up by the Case Manager just as quickly. It should never have been mentioned though.

I'd be really interested to find out if this issue has happened elsewhere as from my Dealer and Ford discussions so far they haven't mentioned any other incident. If it had I would have expected a much quicker resolution. This doesn't mean that we are happy with it all but we finally do have the car back but it will take a while to regain some trust in it. It wasn't very pleasant to have it go in to reduced power mode so quickly with trucks behind us. I would regard this as a safety issue.

If I hear anything more of interest or it fails again I'll update this. There are a couple of other Forums that I'll post this on as well for peoples interest.

Phil
 

Rog

New Member
Jun 1, 2016
1
5
3
49
Perth
I have had the problem, 2 weeks after a service the Ranger was going into limp mode when the air temperatures got high.

After getting no joy from Ford who were trying replicate the fault I went back through the service record and noticed they changed the fuel filter.

After checking other Ranger forums confirmed that they put the fuel filter lines back on incorrectly. Took it back to Ford and they sheepishly admitted the lines should be blue blue red red from the centre of the engine as shown in attached.

Cheers
Rog
 

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Marv_mart

Well-Known Member
Jan 3, 2014
1,275
2,019
113
Adelaide
Great news that it was finally resolved. I get my fuel filter changed after every major trip (on one now)
Will make sure I check that every time.
 

Shagger

New Member
Feb 12, 2017
1
0
1
38
Act
Hi again all, just thought I'd give you a quick update.
ARB replaced The Longranger fuel tank with a standard one they sourced from Sydney back in late Feb. We then set off on our 3 month trip in March, going around the coast of Vic, S.A, across the Nullabore, quick trip inland to see the Kalgoorlie super pit, then back down to Cape Le Grande & continued to follow the coast line as far as Karatha before going into Milstream, Tom Price, Kurijini, back up to Port Hedland, then Marble Bar, Carowine Gorge, Rudal River, then Gary Junction Rd into the back of West MacDonnell Ranges, King's Canyon, Oodnadatta track to Flinder's Ranges, then back to ACT via Broken Hill. We had an awesome trip, made even better by the fact we had not a single issue with the Ranger going into limp mode!!!

In total we traveled 19.5K Km, with temps as high as 40 degrees (across Nullabore for hours on end, plus at Kalgoorlie). Previously the car went into limp mode as soon as temps went over 30.

ARB are adamant that The Longranger was not the problem, they think perhaps one of the fuel hoses was the cause all along. As a result, it's booked in to get The Longranger reinstalled next month... it also means we won't be able to really test it until summer (with temps above 30) since it's too bloody cold here any other time of year! Fingers crossed...
Hi Dean,

How did you go after fitting the long range tank back on? Where you able to prove the root cause?

I am having a similar issue with my 2017 wildtrack with ARB long range tank. I picked it up 3 weeks ago and it's had this issue 4 times. All on days over 30degrees+ in ACT. No error codes either.

Cheers
 

Yuvi

New Member
Jul 24, 2017
1
0
0
47
Perth
Rather than continue with what I was writing up in my other thread (Non-trip, trip report) of the saga of repairing my Ranger I think it best to put something here to warn fellow Ranger/BT50 owners.

A summary: Engine lost power and went in to a "limp home mode", but without the usual dash warning light and no Fault Codes, even on genuine Ford Dealer diagnostic equipment. Loss of power happened very quickly and about the best the car would do with the 2500 Kg van behind was about 40 kph. Car has spent the last 6 weeks as of yesterday in with the Dealer trying to find the cause of the problem. Problem was very much temperature related but depending on ambient temperature and driving conditions this failure would take place anywhere from half an hour to one and a half. Without the van on behind it was possible to get up to around 90 kph but very slowly. I don't know what would happen if the journey was continued and/or the temp rose higher. In consultation with Ford themselves numerous sensors were swapped with known good ones, one at a time then test driven, and various other comparisons were made with a working vehicle. Engine computer was twice swapped with alternates as they weren't sure the first one was a correct same version. All accessories fitted by others or myself were disconnected to eliminate non Ford possibilities. Genuine Limp home mode was initially discarded as they thought that all such situations brought on a dash warning and Fault Codes. Even the injectors were replaced. The one difference noted but also initially discarded was a higher than normal fuel temperature reading on the sensor at the engine mounted pump. Last week they went back to that possibility and it was found that when the sensor was removed and left hanging and measuring ambient air temp no problem existed. Finally the fuel pump was replaced and problem apparently cured.

Today I picked up the car and will now do my own testing to try to verify whether it has fully gone away. Part of the delay has been due to our location and the inevitable delays we experience in getting parts delivered but I believe there has been an issue with Ford itself not taking more interest in the issue and trying to speed things up.

From what I've been told the fuel temperature ranges from about 40 - 60 degC normally but mine was getting in to the 80's. Apparently at about 83 the problem started to develop but at 84 it was going in to reduced power mode but with no notification of the problem. This has been discussed with Ford and is an issue that has to be investigated. I would hope that out of the inconvenience to us that some good will come out of it and a software update will happen to ensure that others don't suffer similar lengthy delays in locating the problem. With the similarities between them this could well be a BT50 possibility as well.

I will still be talking to the Case Manager that was assigned to me in a few days time and most certainly the 6 weeks timeframe will be discussed further and the problems it caused us. The only actual Dealer issue that I have was with whoever there decided that I should have to pay to refill the tank to continue test drives and eliminate a possibility that the fuel pickup was drawing in some air. My paying for it was immediately refused and was thankfully backed up by the Case Manager just as quickly. It should never have been mentioned though.

I'd be really interested to find out if this issue has happened elsewhere as from my Dealer and Ford discussions so far they haven't mentioned any other incident. If it had I would have expected a much quicker resolution. This doesn't mean that we are happy with it all but we finally do have the car back but it will take a while to regain some trust in it. It wasn't very pleasant to have it go in to reduced power mode so quickly with trucks behind us. I would regard this as a safety issue.

If I hear anything more of interest or it fails again I'll update this. There are a couple of other Forums that I'll post this on as well for peoples interest.

Phil
Hi there. I have same issue with ford falcon ba dedicated gas. Car go to limp mode and can't detect any error. Wasting money and time, but no help.
 

Mike turner

New Member
Mar 10, 2018
2
4
3
Australia
I have had the problem, 2 weeks after a service the Ranger was going into limp mode when the air temperatures got high.

After getting no joy from Ford who were trying replicate the fault I went back through the service record and noticed they changed the fuel filter.

After checking other Ranger forums confirmed that they put the fuel filter lines back on incorrectly. Took it back to Ford and they sheepishly admitted the lines should be blue blue red red from the centre of the engine as shown in attached.

Cheers
Rog
Thank you, thank you, thank you, you have saved me the biggest costliest head ache. ......:)
I finally decided to do my own investigation after the air flow mass meter was changed and Nothing happened. Read your post and the pipes were incorrect. Mentioned this to local mechanic and he hadn't quite accepted responsibility but has said its bothered him. Anyways I'm super stoked I read this post. Thank you once again..
 

Fordy

New Member
Jun 11, 2018
3
2
3
Burpenagry EastQld
Thank you, thank you, thank you, you have saved me the biggest costliest head ache. ......:)
I finally decided to do my own investigation after the air flow mass meter was changed and Nothing happened. Read your post and the pipes were incorrect. Mentioned this to local mechanic and he hadn't quite accepted responsibility but has said its bothered him. Anyways I'm super stoked I read this post. Thank you once again..

Hi All,
I have joined this forum to share my experiance with high fuel temperatures.
I have 2013 Ranger and it first went into a limp mode/reduced power mode around the middle of March, it was taken to the local Ford dealer to investigate and have 90k service done, they found no issues. The car did it again at Easter and it was returned to Ford to investigate further, they found no issues again. As we were a week away from departing on a 2 mth trip I took it to an independant mechanic to have tested on a dyno.
After spending in excess of $6k in parts and labor trying find and fix the cause, it was finally found that a kinked fuel return line near the fuel cooler at the rear of the tank was the cause. This stopped excess fuel returning to the tank to cool instead forcing hot fuel back to the injection pump causing fuel temperatures to rise to as high as 85 degrees.
The only time there had been any work done in this area was back in Janurary when I had a long range tank fitted to my Ranger, i wont share which supplier at this stage as it is pending legal action. The car operated fine for a couple of months but was only driven locally. It would take 20-30 minutes for these high temperatures to reached, hence the time between the installation of the long range tank and the first sign of any problems.
The car has now done 12,000km on our trip without any further problems but I am concerned about any long term problems this may have caused.

Cheers
Mark
 
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1DayIll

Well-Known Member
Apr 26, 2016
997
900
93
59
South Morang, Victoria
Hi Mark, lets hope there are no long term implications.

A few yeas back I had a problem with my car and no dealer could find the problem. Went to a private repairer and it ended up being faulty leads when they got very hot. Replaced them and no problems since. Unless the error is shown on the computer, a dealer is not able to tell you what is happening!
 
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Tanamite2

New Member
Jul 12, 2018
4
1
3
Brisbane
Hi All,
I have joined this forum to share my experiance with high fuel temperatures.
I have 2013 Ranger and it first went into a limp mode/reduced power mode around the middle of March, it was taken to the local Ford dealer to investigate and have 90k service done, they found no issues. The car did it again at Easter and it was returned to Ford to investigate further, they found no issues again. As we were a week away from departing on a 2 mth trip I took it to an independant mechanic to have tested on a dyno.
After spending in excess of $6k in parts and labor trying find and fix the cause, it was finally found that a kinked fuel return line near the fuel cooler at the rear of the tank was the cause. This stopped excess fuel returning to the tank to cool instead forcing hot fuel back to the injection pump causing fuel temperatures to rise to as high as 85 degrees.
The only time there had been any work done in this area was back in Janurary when I had a long range tank fitted to my Ranger, i wont share which supplier at this stage as it is pending legal action. The car operated fine for a couple of months but was only driven locally. It would take 20-30 minutes for these high temperatures to reached, hence the time between the installation of the long range tank and the first sign of any problems.
The car has now done 12,000km on our trip without any further problems but I am concerned about any long term problems this may have caused.

Cheers
Mark

Hi Fordy,
Thanks for relating this, as I have recently had a long range tank put on my PX2 Ranger and have had the same loss of power. It first happened going up the Toowoomba range, the vehicle gradually slowed to <20km/hr and I had B-doubles passing me, not a good experience I can tell you! I wasn't even towing, just a 1/2 load in the tray. Ford has not been able to find any problem as there is no fault code, no dash lights etc, and by the time I got it back to Ford, the problem had gone away. Parking up for 10 mins ALWAYS results in the vehicle going back to normal for a while. I also found that while cruising with the cruise control on, it would suddenly start to slow (usually while ascending a gradual rise), and I could drop the speed to 60km per hour for a period & then it would "come good".

Cheers
Jim
 

Tanamite2

New Member
Jul 12, 2018
4
1
3
Brisbane
Hi All,
I have joined this forum to share my experiance with high fuel temperatures.
I have 2013 Ranger and it first went into a limp mode/reduced power mode around the middle of March, it was taken to the local Ford dealer to investigate and have 90k service done, they found no issues. The car did it again at Easter and it was returned to Ford to investigate further, they found no issues again. As we were a week away from departing on a 2 mth trip I took it to an independant mechanic to have tested on a dyno.
After spending in excess of $6k in parts and labor trying find and fix the cause, it was finally found that a kinked fuel return line near the fuel cooler at the rear of the tank was the cause. This stopped excess fuel returning to the tank to cool instead forcing hot fuel back to the injection pump causing fuel temperatures to rise to as high as 85 degrees.
The only time there had been any work done in this area was back in Janurary when I had a long range tank fitted to my Ranger, i wont share which supplier at this stage as it is pending legal action. The car operated fine for a couple of months but was only driven locally. It would take 20-30 minutes for these high temperatures to reached, hence the time between the installation of the long range tank and the first sign of any problems.
The car has now done 12,000km on our trip without any further problems but I am concerned about any long term problems this may have caused.

Cheers
Mark

Mark - another question please, how did/do you measure the return fuel temp? Is there a sensor that can be logged via the OBD2 port?

Cheers
Jim