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Old 10-27-2010, 04:20 PM   #31
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Re: My SMB is dead in Death Valley

Quote:
Originally Posted by flyfisher
And as long as I'm asking dumb questions, I've looked for the fuel cutoff switch that's supposed to be somewhere in the passenger side footwell, but I'll be damned if I can find it. Is it behind something?

I have a 2005 Ford SMB.

Tom
IIRC, there's a small "notch" on the plastic panel that would be immediately to the righthand side of the passenger's right foot. I can't remember if you have to pull that plastic panel off or not.


Herb

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Old 10-27-2010, 05:39 PM   #32
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Re: My SMB is dead in Death Valley

Why did they have to disconnect the driveshaft? When mine got towed the transfercase was simply shifted into neutral and away it went.

Mike
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Old 10-27-2010, 10:46 PM   #33
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Re: My SMB is dead in Death Valley

The front is heavier (diesel anyway) and it's an EB so all that overhang left the front wheels at the back of the bed... from the sidelines it looks like the way the driver loaded your SMB put the max amount of stress on the bed.

About the taillight,
Quote:
Originally Posted by flyfisher
Jage, you said the engine wouldn't turn over if a tail light was out?
So I've heard. It was in reference to a contest where a number of things are intentionally disabled on a van and they guy telling me the story's team came in second because they bypassed the tail light (brake light I imagine) by jumping the light itself while the winning team just shifted to N, which apparently bypasses whatever light safety interrupt there is. I wish I could remember who told me.

Easy enough to test, just pull the bulbs out the back and try to start your van. Not sure what years it covers either, here is an example:
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/Focus ... _out.shtml
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Old 10-28-2010, 08:18 AM   #34
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Re: My SMB is dead in Death Valley

Regarding the brake light, that was part of a couple "contests" at the Sportsmobile Rallys. You'd walk up to a "disabled" van and be told some details (such as, everything was working fine but you backed into a tree the day before, etc.) Then your team would need to start the van. In this particular case, nothing would happen. But if you shifted into neutral, you could start it. (The fuel pump shut off was another test as were blown fuses.)

Ford (and probably other manufacturers) use the brake light circuit to see if your foot is on the brake when you try to start a vehicle with an automatic transmission. If a brake light is on, there is a complete return path and the computer will let you start the vehicle. Likewise, if a brake light is out, then you can't start it. The work-around is to start it in neutral.

One thing we learned very quickly in this contest was that everything you needed to know is in the vehicle Owner's Guide...the gas cut-off switch included. There is a section on what to do if you can't start the vehicle.

There was a lot of incentive to win these contests (there were different ones each day)...there were 5 van owners per team and, if your team won for the week, each owner on the team received 5 new BFG tires...
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Old 10-28-2010, 11:09 AM   #35
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Re: My SMB is dead in Death Valley

Most interesting about the brake light and no start issue. Our 2007 diesel will start in park with no foot on brake. I do it all the time to warm it up without having to jump up into the driver's seat. Our van was ordered as an incomplete vehicle (RV package) and finished by the van conversion place so I wonder if that makes a difference.

Thread hijack over.
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Old 10-28-2010, 11:32 AM   #36
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Re: My SMB is dead in Death Valley

Hijack continued.

My 6.0 will starts in Park or Neutral, no foot on the brake, parking brake released. Obviously all vans are not created equal.

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Old 10-28-2010, 01:54 PM   #37
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Re: My SMB is dead in Death Valley

Steve,
I had this happen on my 2004 V10. I went through three PCM's in a little over 6000 miles. The best they were ever able to get the new part was 4 days, it is not a high hitter on the failed part list. So now to what my problem was, loose wires going to my StarCool air conditioner.My suspicion is that the PCM does not handle low voltage very well, so any thing causing a short could be the culprit. A couple of things to ask yourself is what you had running at the time of failure, was your inverter and things like that. I can give you more details if you wish. I have told the story in some previous post, but as is with a lot of electrical issues it was not straightforward. Feel free to PM me and I can give you my phone number if you want to ask questions and such.

good luck

Greg
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Old 10-28-2010, 02:17 PM   #38
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Re: My SMB is dead in Death Valley

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ford_6L_E350
Why did they have to disconnect the driveshaft? When mine got towed the transfercase was simply shifted into neutral and away it went.

Mike

Here is what Atlas recommends in regards to towing and your transfer case for those with the SMB build. Cut and pasted from manual;

TOWING
The Atlas 2 speed has been flat-towed for a distance of 300 miles and no problems were encountered. At this time, we can only recommend flat-towing at this maximum distance. After 300 miles of travel, the vehicle should be started. With the transmission in gear and the Atlas in neutral, let the vehicle idle for 5-10 minutes. This will circulate the oil in the Atlas and allow for proper lubrication. We recommend that the Atlas should have at least 500 driving miles on it before you flat-tow, allowing the bearings to break in. When a vehicle is being towed with the Atlas 2 speed, both shift levers should be in the Neutral position. Our experience regarding the transmission towing position are as follows (please also verify in your owners manual
what the vehicle manufacturer recommends):
Automatic transmissions should be left in park Manual transmissions should be left in any gear
If you plan on flat-towing an Atlas 2 speed equipped vehicle and do now wish to stop to cirulate the oil, we actually prefer that you remove the driveshafts from the vehicle. This will prevent any damage that may occur to the internal components due to lack of normal oil circulation.
The Atlas 4 speed should never be flat-towed without removing the driveshafts. The planetary unit, the additional trust bearings, and caged needle bearings do not receive the normal oil flow as they would under normal driving conditions and, therefore, damage will occur.
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Old 10-28-2010, 04:40 PM   #39
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Re: My SMB is dead in Death Valley

Quote:
Originally Posted by roonie
>When a vehicle is being towed with the Atlas 2 speed, both shift levers should be in the Neutral position. Our experience regarding the transmission towing position are as follows (please also verify in your owners manual
what the vehicle manufacturer recommends): Automatic transmissions should be left in park Manual transmissions should be left in any gear.
I understand that the above is for flat towing. Would the above be the same for towing with one end lifted off the ground (like on a regular tow truck)?

steve
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Old 10-28-2010, 04:44 PM   #40
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Re: My SMB is dead in Death Valley

Yes unless you remove the driveshaft to the wheels that are on the ground.
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