I have a 2014 Ford Explorer XLT 4x4 V6 with 76K miles. Prior to this week it has only required normal routine maintenance, a few recalls, and a burned out tail light assembly. Due to Covid and working from home it sits more than it gets driven. It does get driven a few times a week for the most part. At last service in June the vehicle was given a bumper to bumper clean bill of health.

On Tuesday I went to run my normal errands. I this case the vehicle hadn't left the garage in several days. The vehicle operated flawlessly the last day it was driven.

Immediately noticed a few warnings on the dash cluster left side info center
- Hill Descent Control Fault
- Service Advancetrac
- Terrain Management System Fault

On the lower right side of the instrument cluster I have
- ABS Warning light
- Traction Control warning light
- Traction Control OFF Warning light


The rotary dial that controls the AWD modes is not illuminated and nonfunctional.

I took the vehicle to Advance Auto and had it scanned. No Codes found.

I found a TSB on the vehicle 14-0115 that indicates the ABS Module needs to be re-flashed with updated software. I took it to the dealership the first thing in the morning and they did that service. It did not resolve the issue but it did throw codes for Right Rear Wheel Sensor. They cleared it 3x and it came back 3x.

I had the shop that normally does my work replace the sensor. This did not resolve the issue but they found other ABS related codes. Their thought was:
- Might need a re-flash
- ABS Module may be bad
- Could be a short or bad ground somewhere
They indicated it was ok to drive, but wouldn't have AWD or ABS functions but brakes would still work in normal mode. That seems to be true.

I was not able to get back to the dealership on Friday due to work challenges.

This morning I decided to be proactive and checked the under hood fuses related to the ABS & Traction control system. All appeared to be fine. I cleaned the blades before reinstalling. No change.

I then checked the under dash fuses. NOT easy to get to by the way. Only one was identified as being related to those systems, it checked fine and was replaced. All wiring connections seemed to be tight.

As the temperature was approaching 90 with the humidity close behind I decided that was enough diagnostics for the day. However I did pop the battery cover on the + and -. Everything looked tight with no signs of corrosion

Tonight I took it for a short drive and the following additional warning appeared in the Info Center
- Service AWD
- Little wrench icon in lower LH side of gauge cluster

Also, for some reason the Air conditioning is not working. In normal or HIGH mode it blows hot air. It appears the compressor is not engaging.


Additional information.

We have had thunderstorms over the last week, but nothing for at least 5 days. However in the last week the following has also happened...
- Printer All in one threw the death code (not repairable)
- Personal laptop has had some odd shut down/start up issues
- Bedroom LG TV screen has a pink haze and no sound (just as of today but it isn't used often).

Normally I wouldn't connect these dots but this is a lot of electrical system failures all clustered together.

Clearly it has to go back to the dealership. All other vehicle systems seem ok.

Any thoughts? Other than the full moon tonight?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Rightwire,

As odd as it might seem, I think I'd disconnect the battery and leave it disconnected for a while to insure the entire electrical system would reset once the battery was re-attached. You seem to have a lot of somewhat unrelated systems misbehaving, so try making the entire system essentially reboot. Can't hurt and its easy to accomplish.

Engine misfires and yellow check engine lights can result in many ancillary systems to stop working - cruise, stability, traction control, etc. Just something they do to make you take it in to get service for the emissions related issue.

But it's a Ford, so...

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Engine misfires and yellow check engine lights can result in many ancillary systems to stop working - cruise, stability, traction control, etc. Just something they do to make you take it in to get service for the emissions related issue.

But it's a Ford, so...

The engine seems to perform normally. Idle is normal and stable. It has normal and expected power and throttle response. I drove it on city streets and on the freeway and noticed no performance differences.

Although now that I think about it, the last time I drove it before Tuesday, it did have a period of rough idle after start up for a short time It seemed to resolve itself.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
As odd as it might seem, I think I'd disconnect the battery and leave it disconnected for a while to insure the entire electrical system would reset once the battery was re-attached. You seem to have a lot of somewhat unrelated systems misbehaving, so try making the entire system essentially reboot. Can't hurt and its easy to accomplish.

I'll try this tomorrow

When my squad did the same thing, it was a bad ground, motor to chassis. Fairly easy to check, the mechanic put a separate cable from the -ve terminal to the frame. Cleared all the lights then replaced the earth strap. No more problems.

Your vehicle sits for days parked outside?

Pack rats might have been munching on wiring underneath the car.

The little critters did a number on my VW TDI wiring.

quote:

Originally posted by GWbiker:
Your vehicle sits for days parked outside?

Pack rats might have been munching on wiring underneath the car.

The little critters did a number on my VW TDI wiring.

It is parked in a garage. It rarely sits outside.

Check for damaged wiring by mice.

How good is the battery? Many modern vehicles hate marginal batteries. Also are you only doing short trips? This can also drive car electrical system nuts from to lower battery voltage at startup.

Also Powersurge has a good point "Check for damaged wiring by mice."

Rightwire,

No help on the Explorer but on your home electronics I'm thinking that with those storms that came through that there may have been a lightning related voltage surge that damaged those items. Strange things happen, two years ago we lost a dehumidifier, one GFI, a transformer on the furnace and the control board on our water heater during a storm. Within the next six months our microwave and a small bar size refrigerator quit, I suspect those were damaged at the same time and finally failed at that later date.

quote:

Originally posted by Rightwire:

quote:

Originally posted by Lefty Sig:
Engine misfires and yellow check engine lights can result in many ancillary systems to stop working - cruise, stability, traction control, etc. Just something they do to make you take it in to get service for the emissions related issue.

But it's a Ford, so...

The engine seems to perform normally. Idle is normal and stable. It has normal and expected power and throttle response. I drove it on city streets and on the freeway and noticed no performance differences.

Although now that I think about it, the last time I drove it before Tuesday, it did have a period of rough idle after start up for a short time It seemed to resolve itself.

When is the last time you changed the spark plugs and checked the wires?

Electrical gremlins are a bitch. I run away, but sometimes I git roped in. It sounds like nobody at your dealer/shop wants to dig in either.

The RR wheel speed sensor is very specific & very likely the best point to zero in on.

You need someone who knows how to run a scan tool - Not pull codes, but look at what is happening in real time.
It's unlikely that it something that 'just showed up' after 7yrs/75k miles, unless it's water intrusion into a connector(by the advancing nature of issues, it might be that BUT all being AWD/ABS related, its likely just the RR speed sensor circuit)

If it were me diagnosing - I would:
1. Clear codes/reset everything. Maybe unhook Neg Batt cable for an hour or so to really clear ECUs.
2. Use scan tool to look at RR speed sensor data while driving or record data & look at what was going on when codes come back.
3. If intermittency is seen, diagnose all connection points (continuity, resistance, flaky connection).
4. If that doesn't work, Back to #1.

I might do a bit before #1, that list was all based on what you've said in the thread.

Rust on the right rear brake rotor’s reluctor?

quote:

Immediately noticed a few warnings on the dash cluster left side info center
- Hill Descent Control Fault
- Service Advancetrac
- Terrain Management System Fault

On the lower right side of the instrument cluster I have
- ABS Warning light
- Traction Control warning light
- Traction Control OFF Warning light

My F350 will throw all those codes every once in while and it's a known issue with a connection in the wiring harness behind the parking brake. I pull over, set and release the parking brake, and they go away. Someday, I'll have it fixed for real.

I'm going to guess you have a wiring harness issue, but not the same one as mine. Since your vehicle is sitting more than normal, I'm going to guess rodents have chewed on your wiring somewhere.

When I had this issue with my Explorer (though a generation older) it was the wheel speed sensor had gone bad.

A dying battery can also toss you a whole lots of warnings and do weird things in the electronic age of vehicles.

quote:

A dying battery can also toss you a whole lots of warnings and do weird things in the electronic age of vehicles.

Over the last year of "not driving very far, very often" I've found the resting voltage on our vehicle's batteries slowly dropping. Before they got too low, I'd charge them back up.

Without the occasional charge I expect they would get low enough to drive the electronics crazy.

The battery is less than a year old, so unless it suddenly became defective it should be fine.

This morning I removed '-' terminal connection and let it sit for an hour. I assured the - post and terminal were clean for a good connection. I reconnected it securely and let the vehicle boot up.

Not only did all faults return, but other electrical issues appeared. The rear gate internal button failed. The external switch on the gate also failed, however the keyfob would open / close the gate. Then those function started working again, then stopped, then started working again.

I'm beginning to think that there is definitely a ground issue somewhere.

Have you checked the voltage on the battery (after it's been at rest for a few hours)?

Even a new, good battery can become discharged and not perform adequately.

I wouldn't rule out a bad battery totally. The easiest way would be to put a different one in there.
Other than that, it does sound like a bad ground is a good possibility although not necessarily the battery ground wire. Could also be a connection/ground for the dash.
Check the ground wire where ever the other end goes to and look for a body ground at the firewall too.